LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Las Vegas City Council will get a new member next month, filling the seat left vacant when Councilwoman Victoria Seaman resigned to take a job with the Trump administration.
The City Council voted on Wednesday to appoint a caretaker to the job, a temporary appointee who would have to promise not to seek the seat when filing for office begins in March.
That promise, however, has no real effect.
"Even if we do ask or include a stipulation for the person not to run, there's nothing that we can do to enforce that, is that correct?" asked Councilwoman Shondra Summers-Armstrong during Wednesday's meeting.
"Yes," replied City Attorney Jeff Dorocak. "Our request that a candidate stipulate in writing and/or verbally that he or she will not run is an unenforceable promise."
But the council can still ask candidates to make that promise, Dorocak added.
Not only does filling the seat with an appointment ensure Ward 2 residents will have a voice on the council almost immediately, it also saves the city money.
A special election — conducted entirely by mail — wouldn't see a new council member sworn in until December, just three months before the incumbent would have to file for election. (Seaman's term ends in 2026.)
But that election would have cost the city more than $466,000, a sum that Mayor Pro Tem Brian Knudsen concerned council members, because of looming budget issues.
The city also had to pay $286 million in legal settlements to the owners of the defunct Badlands golf course in a long-running legal case. A payment of $36 million is due by July 2026.
In recent years, however, the council has opted to hold special elections rather than fill vacant seats through appointment. Seaman herself was elected in a special election in 2019, and former Councilman Cedric Crear won his seat in a special election in 2018.
Both Seaman and Crear ran for mayor in 2024, but Crear lost in the primary and Seaman lost in the general election to Mayor Shelley Berkley.
The city will start accepting applications and resumes from potential candidates immediately. You must be a current Ward 2 resident to apply.
Applications will be sent to council members for their review, and each member will rank their choices. Final candidates will get a chance to pitch themselves at the council's Sept. 17 meeting, where a final vote will be taken.
Watch the full discussion and vote by city council here: