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11 candidates apply for state Senate seat formerly held by Democrat Kelvin Atkinson

Michelle Rindels
Michelle Rindels
Megan Messerly
Megan Messerly
Legislature
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Eleven people have submitted applications for the state Senate seat formerly held by Democrat Kelvin Atkinson, who resigned last week and pleaded guilty today to federal charges of misusing campaign funds.

The deadline for applying to the post was noon on Monday. Among the candidates seeking an appointment by the Clark County Commission are Assemblywoman Dina Neal and former Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins, along with former lawmakers Wendell Williams and Mike Malone.

The commission is expected to pick a replacement at a public meeting on Friday afternoon.

Applicants must be at least 21 years old, a Democrat (because Atkinson was a Democrat), and live in Senate District 4, which includes portions of Las Vegas and North Las Vegas. The appointee’s term will last until the 2020 election.

Here’s more information on the candidates:

  • Tom Collins spent a decade as a Clark County commissioner before resigning in 2015. Prior to that, he spent a combined decade — in two different stints — as a member of the Assembly.
  • Katherine Duncan ran for mayor of Las Vegas in 2011 and describes herself as the founding president of the Ward 5 Chamber of Commerce, an organization that helps businesses seeking women, veteran or minority-owned business certifications.
  • James Guthrie is a surveillance agent for Station Casinos — a job that involves detecting cheating or other suspicious activity at the casino.
  • Nigel McCrae is a retiree who previously worked in the satellite communications field and now owns several commercial rental properties.
  • Mike Malone served 12 years in the Legislature as a Republican, with his tenure ending in 1990. He now represents retirees on the board of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association union and says he’s a registered Democrat.
  • Stephen Harvey Munford is a real estate broker, former football and basketball coach in the Clark County School District and the son of longtime state lawmaker Harvey Munford. He lost to Atkinson in the 2016 Democratic primary.
  • Dina Neal is an assemblywoman who has represented one of the two districts nested within Senate District 4 since 2010. She is the daughter of longtime state lawmaker Joe Neal — who represented the Senate district for 32 years — and an adjunct professor at Nevada State College.
  • Shondra Summers-Armstrong is the chief steward with the SEIU for Regional Transportation Commission employees and a longtime employee of the RTC. She has also served on the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority and the Southern Nevada Enterprise Community Board.
  • Marcia Washington, a 52-year resident of Las Vegas, is a former member of the Nevada State board of Education. Before retiring, she worked as a Clark County Fire Department fire inspector and a Clark County School District administrative secretary.
  • Wendell Williams is a former assemblyman and speaker pro tempore who served nine terms in the Legislature. Williams lost a Democratic primary in 2004 to Harvey Munford after a “double dipping” investigation revealed that he had earned thousands of dollars from the city of Las Vegas while also serving as a legislator in Carson City and was fired from his city job.
  • David Anthony Wilson, Sr., a North Las Vegas resident, did not submit any additional background information with his application.
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