Here's where the Henderson candidates stand on the issues

Henderson has seen a laundry list of situations that residents have called "embarrassing."

The city has seen firings, investigations, resignations, ethics complaints, a physical altercation with a journalist, a revolving door of police chiefs, several lawsuits, rumors, censure and a felony charge, as well as continued personal attacks and barbs flung in public. 

This is in stark contrast to the city's reputation for having a low crime rate, high quality of life, plentiful educational opportunities and a parks system that has won national awards.

This dichotomy is playing out in the race to win Henderson's mayoral election. 

Mayor Michelle Romero is seeking re-election for a second term. Her challenger is former Henderson Police Chief Hollie Chadwick, who is looking to usher in some major changes to the current government. 

"It's a very toxic environment there … it feels retaliatory," Chadwick said, pointing out that the city has seen three assistant city managers leave their post in the last three months and several members of the police department's executive team are under investigation. "There's internal strife and there's people that are leaving." 

Romero said that city council meetings have been operating smoothly and pointed to several successes, such as a renewed property tax that will continue to fund the city's parks department. She also touted the coming redevelopment of the Fiesta Henderson casino site, which will be turned into a sports complex after sitting vacant since the pandemic. 

"All of the things I just talked about as accomplishments could not happen with a dysfunctional city council," Romero said in an interview with The Nevada Independent. "We make sure city business comes first, and that will continue no matter who's on the council." 

Romero was close to winning re-election during June's primary, but received 49.75 percent, or 29,040 votes, just shy of the more than 50 percent she needed to be victorious. Chadwick received 23.01 percent, or 13,432 votes, and advanced to the November ballot where she will face off against Romero.

Similar backgrounds, big money difference

Romero and Chadwick are Henderson natives, and both have had long careers in public service. Romero worked in redevelopment and planning for the city and Chadwick in law enforcement for the Henderson Police Department. 

The two have a discrepancy in fundraising — Romero has raised almost $650,000 this period, with donations from Vegas Chamber, Southwest Gas, Nevada Heart & Vascular Center, development firms and several local resort organizations. In comparison, Chadwick has raised around $44,000 with donations primarily from individuals. 

Romero has been endorsed by the Latin Chamber of Commerce, Nevada Law Enforcement Coalition, Vegas Chamber, Southern Nevada Building Trades Union as well as the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1883. Chadwick has been endorsed by Teamsters Nevada, Nevada Voters Alliance, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 72 as well as Nevadans Citizen Action Network. 

Fraught history and deep tension

Chadwick was fired early last year by City Manager Stephanie Garcia-Vaus under Romero's leadership after Chadwick served less than two years as police chief. 

Though the city did not initially give a reason for Chadwick's firing, 233 pages of material released last year show tensions between Garcia-Vaus and Chadwick, including questions from Garcia-Vaus about how the names of Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees in Henderson Detention Center had been released to the media. The police chief who replaced Chadwick, Reggie Radar, is under investigation and another deputy chief was placed on leave this summer. No Henderson police chief has held the position for more than two years since 2017. 

Tensions from the firing last year have not been forgotten, with both candidates making their opponent a topic of conversation, though not always by name. 

"I would just add that there were reasons my opponent is no longer employed at the city, and those will become apparent in the future," Romero told The Nevada Independent. 

Last week, the Committee to Elect Michelle Romero created a website titled The Chadwick Files that points to "Hol-'Lie'" Chadwick's track record as a police chief, including a Las Vegas Review-Journal investigation into Chadwick's decision to clear the record of a police officer who used racial slurs, as well as several official complaints filed against her. When asked about the website, Chadwick said many of the issues raised had been settled through arbitration. 

"If you truly want the community to make up their minds about me, then release all the information," Chadwick said. "Anybody can file a concern they have or a complaint." 

Chadwick said she's running in order to steer the city away from the ugly politics and improve the work culture in local government. She wants to tackle congestion on Henderson roadways (something Romero said she also wants to work on if re-elected) and increase transparency in government. More than anything, Chadwick said she wants to raise the bar in terms of how politicians in Henderson treat each other. 

"We cannot continue to go down this road where we have all this internal conflict, all these vocal and very public arguments, lawsuits going at each other," Chadwick said. "We need to be better leaders. It's our job to set the tone with the workers in the city, with our department heads and what goes on in this community." 

Romero pushed back on the accusation that councilmembers do not work well together and said the leadership in Henderson was "strong" and "coordinated." She said Henderson continues to be an excellent place to live. 

"I feel like people are generally very happy to be living in Henderson," Romero said. "And they think that our high quality of life is either normal, or they just kind of think it happens by magic and it doesn't. It takes very careful planning and leadership to have the type of community we have." 

Comparing the candidates' views

The Nevada Independent is taking a new approach to inform readers about the candidates running for local government: A survey asking candidates to rate their agreement with a series of policy statements, with the option to elaborate on their answers. They were asked to rate their agreement on a scale of strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree or strongly disagree.

Use the tool below to see how the Henderson candidates responded. (Note: some answers have been edited for length. View the full answers here.)

City council 

The other race in Henderson is the Ward III position, currently held by Carrie Cox. She is up against Jennifer Atlas, who has never held an elected position, though she did run for state Senate in 2024, losing to Sen. Carrie Buck (R-Henderson). 

Cox was a daycare teacher and has worked as a family law paralegal. While serving on the council, Cox was censured and charged with felony for allegedly recording the conversation of fellow Councilmember Monica Larson. She's been endorsed by several former Henderson police officers and supervisors, the Fraternal Order of Police, as well as several former state legislators. 

Atlas previously worked in the hospitality industry and as a ballroom dancer before transitioning to healthcare. Most recently, she's worked as a government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. She has been endorsed by Teamsters Nevada, Vote Mama, Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 525, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 720, as well as the Henderson Police Supervisors Association.

In June, Atlas received 38 percent of the vote in the primary against Cox, who took home nearly 31 percent. 

Read more of our previous coverage on the city council candidates here. 

Comparing the candidates' views

The Nevada Independent is taking a new approach to inform readers about the candidates running for local government: A survey asking candidates to rate their agreement with a series of policy statements, with the option to elaborate on their answers. They were asked to rate their agreement on a scale of strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree or strongly disagree.

Use the tool below to see how the Henderson candidates responded.