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By Mark Wright
Maverick LDS Mayor of Mesquite Nevada in Political Fight
MESQUITE, NEVADA -- Mesquite, Nevada is a small, rapidly growing town
located just a little more than an hour north of Las Vegas. Like
Vegas, Mesquite has a frontier-town heritage with an eclectic mix of
hotels, motels, casinos, multi-million dollar homes, golf courses and
just plain folks. Unlike Las Vegas, however, Mesquite is currently
embroiled in a power struggle for control of Mesquite's future that's
shaping up like a political version of the legendary "Shoot-out at
the O.K. Corral." Mesquite's Mayor, Charles "Chuck" Horne, an active
member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, finds
himself in the thick of the gunfight.
Horne's attitudes about his role as mayor and the direction of
development for Mesquite has successfully galvanized opposition
forces who are not enamored with Horne's vision for the future.
Specifically, Horne has vowed to "clean up" Mesquite and get rid of
what he perceives to be "corruption." In addition, Horne is actively
working to change Mesquite's form of city government so that the
mayor, not the city manager and council, calls the shots. Finally,
Horne is actively trying to change the makeup of the city council by
supporting three candidates who are trying to unseat incumbent Horne
opponents in the June election. These various activities have put
Horne at odds with the City Council, city administrators, casinos
owners and developers.
Representative of the many voices raised against Horne is that of
local newspaper editor Bill McClure, who is responsible for
publishing the Desert Valley Times. "He's a self-styled anarchist is
what he is. I fought 22 1/2 years for our country and our flag and
I'm not going to let this turkey take it down. He wants to run this
town with an iron fist and I'm not going to let him get away with
it." Similarly, Mesquite Chamber of Commerce President, and Director
of Marketing for the Oasis casino, Kirk Lee opined, "Mayor Horne has
a right-wing agenda that is destroying this town."
While his detractors are numerous and vocal, Horne also has a loyal
following of supporters who are glad to see someone in authority
stand up to the development interests that have ruled Mesquite for so
long. It also appears that, at least for the present, Horne's
opponents have done little more than "wing" him. For example, a
petition for a recall initiative against Horne died for lack of
signatures when the mayor successfully contested the validity of some
of the names on the petition. In August of last year, despite a
record turnout of voters, Horne survived an actual recall vote by a
fairly convincing margin of 1,351 to 919. Horne has also demonstrated
a willingness to fight back at his opponents, even going so far as
spending more than $90,000 to sue the city council.
All of this posturing and infighting has not been without cost in
this small, close-knit community. In addition to alienating many of
his opponents in the Mesquite political arena, Horne has also brought
some rancor and discord to his religious community as well. While
almost all of the city council members are also members of the
Church, there is no brotherly love lost between the mayor and his
opponents. Apparently, some members of the Church even refused to
sustain Councilman David Anderson, a Horne opponent, in his LDS
Church leadership position. While such an action is not unheard of,
it is certainly very rare and yet another indication of the strong
emotions on both sides of the issues.
With only two months until the next election, and with both sides
working at a feverish pitch, the residents of Mesquite remain
divided. And, given the relatively high stakes, it's very possible
that the repercussions of this gunfight could reverberate far into
the future.
Source:
Maverick Mayor Tweaks Mesquite Establishment
Salt Lake Tribune 22Apr01 T2
By Mark Eddington: Salt Lake Tribune
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