interviewed Strothers and Villeda

An open seat on the North Las Vegas City Council has attracted three first-time candidates who will face off in the June 9 primary for the chance to represent their home district – Ward 1.

The candidates — Diana Ramirez, Sherry Strothers, and Esmeralda Villeda — are vying to replace term-limited North Las Vegas City Councilman Isaac Barron, who has held the seat since 2013 and served as mayor pro tem beginning in 2016. 

Ward 1 is a heavily Hispanic community on the east side of the northern Las Vegas Valley, bordering the Nellis Air Force Space. 

Barron was the first Hispanic member of the North Las Vegas City Council and Southern Nevada’s first Hispanic Mayor Pro Tempore. He is now running for the state Senate seat held by Sen. Edgar Flores (D-Las Vegas).

If any candidate receives more than 50% of the votes during the June 9 primary for the nonpartisan office, they will win the seat outright. If nobody reaches a majority, the top two contenders will move forward and appear on the November 3 general election ballot.

Diana Ramirez 

If elected, Ramirez said her priorities would include public safety, victim advocacy, and community engagement.

Ramirez has served on the board of directors for the Neighborhood Housing Services of Southern Nevada, a nonprofit focused on affordable housing, for more than seven years. She also serves on the City of North Las Vegas Parks, Arts, Recreation, and Culture Advisory Board. Beyond her advocacy work, Ramirez is employed as a ramp agent for Southwest Airlines.

As of mid-April, Ramirez has raised more than $9,000 in campaign contributions. She has spent nearly $5,000 and has about $1,300 cash on hand. Her largest campaign donor was Alonso Medical Center, which donated more than $1,700. 

Ramirez is a registered Democrat, adding that she is looking to collaborate on solutions with anyone regardless of political leanings.

While campaigning in North Las Vegas, Ramirez said the top priority for voters was improving public safety. Ramirez said the city could work on practical solutions to improve safety, including investing in community policing, mental health response, pedestrian safety, and youth engagement.

Solutions can start at the community level, said Ramirez. After participating in a community leadership institute hosted by NeighborWorks American Home, Ramirez said she worked with locals to develop a neighborhood improvement plan and hopes to expand that model to other neighborhoods. 

Small changes can make a big difference for public safety, said Ramirez. She pointed to the death of a 12-year-old boy who was hit by a car and killed at Eastern and Owens while walking to school in October last year. After the student’s death the City of North Las Vegas added crossing guards to the intersection.

The lack of safety measures at the major crossing had received complaints from parents and students for years, she said.

“When there’s constant complaints throughout the years that this is a dangerous intersection, we have to be proactive instead of being reactive,” Ramirez said. “It’s incredible that a child’s life was lost before we did something about it. That’s not right.” 

Other solutions could include “mobility stations” where people can wait for buses in safer areas further from the road, and rerouting heavy traffic away from school zones. Solutions also require more community engagement, said Ramirez, adding that she believes there need to be more town halls that meet people where they are. 

“I’ve been that person with concerns, and I felt like I wasn’t understood and I wasn’t heard, and there was always some excuse. No, we’re going to find solutions. Enough with excuses. Let’s get down to the nitty gritty and get a solution to these issues,” Ramirez said. 

“I have been a long time community leader and advocate. I love this community. Nobody knows this community or has fought for this community as hard as I have. I show up. That’s my reputation, showing up for whatever issue it is, no matter what time or day, I am there. I will continue to do that as a representative,” Ramirez said.

Sherry Strothers

If elected, Strothers said her priorities would include public safety, housing affordability, and revitalization of aging neighborhoods. 

Strothers works as a real estate agent in North Las Vegas. Before that she served in the Navy for 30 years. Strothers is a registered Democrat and said she was inspired to run for public office after the 2024 elections resulted in the reelection of President Donald Trump. 

As of mid-April, Strothers has raised nearly $15,000 in campaign contributions. She has spent nearly $13,000 and has about $6,500 cash on hand. Her largest contributions were in kind services paid by Strothers for her campaign, amounting to more than $5,000.

Strothers stressed the importance of targeted actions to enhance police service, like recruitment and retention bonuses, along with neighborhood-based assignments. 

Ward 1 has some of the city’s oldest neighborhoods and busiest intersections, said Strothers. If elected, she said she would advocate for cost-effective solutions to increase safety for pedestrians, including repainting high-use crosswalks, more reflective markings, and more lighting near schools and bus stops. 

Strothers said she wants to revive a veteran housing initiative across from the North Las Vegas VA Medical Center that was blocked because the zoning was only for commercial use. The passage of Assembly Bill 241, which requires cities to allow housing on commercial land, means that project can continue, said Strothers. 

Affordable housing also starts with fair rental prices, said Strothers. She supports policy that prevents high rental increases, similar to a 5% limit on rent increases pushed by the Culinary Union in 2022.

“It was voted down unanimously” by the North Las Vegas City Council, Strothers said. “I want to see something like that. I don’t want to kill industry. I want business to still be attracted to North Las Vegas, but we do need something that minimizes the ability for large landlords to just arbitrarily raise their rent,” Strothers said. 

While North Las Vegas is growing, Strothers said Ward 1 has been neglected and left out of revitalization plans. She said she would focus on attracting businesses that offer living wages and not just minimum wage jobs. She highlighted the need for businesses that keep money within the city to boost the local economy.

Part of that would be ensuring the city enters agreements with responsible developers, said Strothers. She pointed to an incident where the City of North Las Vegas repurchased 135 acres of land near the VA Medical Center for approximately $53 million after developer Pacific Group failed to fulfill development obligations.

“What is important to me is that any contract that we have, anything that we agree to, has to benefit the residents of North Las Vegas, particularly Ward 1, or it’s not a good contract,” Strothers said. 

Investing in the future of young people would also be a priority, said Strothers. She suggested creating a program that partners with trade unions to offer apprenticeships in high schools. She also said she would advocate for a centrally located public library in Ward 1. 

“I’m not ambitious. I have no desire to go into any political office higher than City Council North Las Vegas, Ward 1. This is my ambition. I want to do my part. I want to do as much good as I can do,” Strothers said. “Residents can hold my feet to the fire if I don’t uphold what I said I was going to do.”

Esmeralda Villeda

If elected, Villeda said her top priorities would be community-centered growth, public safety, and infrastructure improvements. 

Villeda is a real estate agent and is the vice chair of the City of North Las Vegas Planning Commission, which makes recommendations to the City Council on matters of planning and zoning. Villeda is a registered Democrat.

In the first quarter, Villeda has raised more than $22,000 in campaign contributions. She has spent nearly $38,000 and has more than $48,000 cash on hand. In the previous filing period, Villeda raised about $87,000 and rolled over about $65,000 into her campaign. 

Her largest donors were SB Specialties, Inc, Jay H. Brown LTD, Kaempfer Crowell LTD, Bliss Car Wash Nevada LLC, Diamond Solo LLC, KL QOZB LL, LLC, Broadacres Open Air Marketplace LLC, and North Valley PAC, which each donated $5,000.

Villeda has been endorsed by Barron, the term-limited Ward 1 incumbent, and the rest of the City of North Las Vegas council, including Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown. She was also endorsed by the North Las Vegas City Police Officers Association, the Southern Nevada Building Trades Union, the Board of Realtors Association, and Cement Masons and Plasterers Local 797.

North Las Vegas is one of the fast growing cities in Nevada, said Villeda, making infrastructure development and intentional city planning a necessity. 

Villeda said she would prioritize growth that supports affordability, attainability, and proximity to amenities like grocery stores and parks. 

“We want to make sure that residents don’t have to drive 10 to 15 minutes to a grocery store or 10 to 15 minutes to a community park,” Villeda said. 

The City of North Las Vegas has taken steps in recent years to address housing affordability and infrastructure improvements like street repairs and community cleanups, said Villeda. Villeda said she is in the best position to continue that work if elected to the seat. 

“I’ve been on the planning commission for three years now. I see where the city is going. I see the momentum. I’m already working with our council members, with our mayor, making sure that we continue to keep that momentum going,” Villeda said. 

On the planning commission, Villeda said she advocates for community parks within new subdivisions to ensure residents have easy access to amenities similar to those in other jurisdictions. Those improvements are an important part of attracting residents and growing the local economy, said Villeda.

She pointed to one such development at Decatur and Ann Road that was redesigned to include more amenities after input from the planning commission.

“That community in particular is one that I’m excited about, because we are bringing those amenities that other jurisdictions are getting into the City of North Las Vegas,” Villeda said.

“One of the things that I’m continuously advocating for when sitting on the Planning Commission, is ensuring that we are having and we are bringing those amenities closer to residents,” she continued. 

Once residential plots are developed, Villeda said the city hopes to attract more grocery stores and commercial development.

“Those big anchor grocery stores need the homes around the land they plan to develop before they can come in and build. And so that’s where we’re at,” Villeda said.

Villeda said the City of North Las Vegas and the planning commission have tackled housing affordability by approving a mix of housing developments that cover all income levels. 

“We have luxury rentals going up, we have apartment buildings being built, we have town home communities being built. We have single family home communities being built, attached single family homes. So we love to know that we are providing our residents with ample options as far as housing goes,” Villeda said. 

Responsible development also increases public safety, said Villeda. The city is constructing a new fire station to improve response times as the city expands.

“That’s where that public safety factor comes in,” Villeda said. 

The City of North Las Vegas is also set to improve after the city’s recent efforts to recruit and train new police officers, said Villeda.

“We have over 80 police officers that are going to be joining our police force,” Villeda said. “That means that we have more police officers on the streets patrolling our city. We have faster response times.”

“We need to ensure that our residents have adequate access to public safety, and to ensure that we keep our call time response at the lowest possible,” Villeda said.