LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Las Vegas Councilwoman Victoria Seaman — who came in second in a bid for mayor last year — announced Monday she will seek a seat on the Clark County Commission in 2026.
Seaman is seeking to challenge incumbent District F Commissioner Justin Jones, who has announced he will seek a third and final term on the commission.
In an interview on Monday, Seaman said she wanted to explore building a new animal shelter in town, make it easier for businesses to get up and running and find a way to help small businesses impacted by the Formula 1 race that disrupts traffic on and around the Strip every November.
Watch Victoria Seaman announces commission campaign
"I spent the last six years as the Ward 2 city council member and I had goals that I accomplished, and I'd like to bring that same passion to county commission District F," Seaman said. "It's the fastest-growing district in the valley and I'm very excited about this run."
Seaman is eligible for at least one more term on the council, she's giving up the seat to run for commission.
"I think the districts are very different. It was a little big of an uphill battle with me," she said. "Even thought its [Ward 2] a nonpartisan seat, it was very Democratic. And commission [District] F is a little bit different. I think you have a lot of nonpartisans, which I do very well with. It was a district that President Trump won."
Although the duties are very similar, Las Vegas council members run as nonpartisans, while county commissioners run under a party banner. Jones is a Democrat, while Seaman is a Republican.
"I think [District F] is a place where I want to set goals and make things easier for businesses," she said. "As far as getting their permits, I've met with so many businesses in commission [District] F and the biggest complaint is that it takes a year to get their permits. They're already paying rent, they're already paying on their loans. And you know, we should make it easier."
Asked about her goals, Seaman said they included building another animal shelter, perhaps in District F.
"Help them build another shelter," she said. "That is one of the goals, and I heard they're talking about it. And it will be a goal of mine to make sure we're a growing city. One animal shelter is not enough for the entire county."
When it comes to public subsidies for sports stadiums — such as the proposed Athletics stadium slated for the old Tropicana hotel-casino site — Seaman said those decisions have already been made. But she said it would be "a better decision" to have such facilities built privately, the way the T-Mobile Arena was built for the Vegas Golden Knights.
She said, however, she's disturbed with the annual disruptions caused by the Formula 1 races on and around the Strip.
"That's a real problem for me, because I've heard from those small businesses and that's their livelihood," she said. "They put their life savings into that. And I've got to tell you, I'm a small business girl. I believe I know what people go through when they put their money, their life savings, into businesses. And you know, it's not fair to those businesses who have invested before F1 so that's something we really need to look at."
Seaman said she agreed with Gov. Joe Lombardo's approach to affordable housing, including his push to get more federal land for housing development in the valley.
Asked what boards she'd like to serve on, Seaman named the Regional Transportation Commission, audit and debt committees and the Metro Police Fiscal Affairs Committee, the joint city-county panel that oversees the police department's budget.
Watch the full interview with Victoria Seaman here
In response to Seaman's announcement, Jones said in a statement he's not backing down from his bid to keep the seat.
"It has been an honor to serve this community on the Clark County Commission and I am proud to be running for re-election to represent District F, which my family and I have called home for more than two decades," he said. "With a groundswell of support from residents across my district, I will continue to fight to make Clark County the best place to live, work and raise a family."
Seaman's electoral history
Seaman has a long political history in Las Vegas.
In 2012, she lost a bid for Assembly District 9 by just nine votes.
She came back in 2014, winning the election to Assembly District 34 against Democrat Meghan Smith, who was ruled ineligible to run just weeks before the election because of residency.
Smith was later indicted for perjury but agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor to settle the case.
Seaman served a single term in the Assembly between 2014 and 2016, when she gave up her seat to challenge state Sen. Nicole Cannizzaro in Senate District 6. Seaman lost that race by just 1,036 votes.
Cannizzaro is now the state Senate's minority leader.
In 2019, Seaman won a special election in Ward 2 after then-incumbent Councilman Steve Seroka resigned. Seaman campaigned on the issue of settling the long-running and bitter dispute over the development of the former Badlands golf course.
She was easily re-elected to her Ward 2 seat in 2022.
Last year, Seaman ran for mayor in a crowded primary field that included former Congresswoman Shelley Berkley and fellow Councilman Cedric Crear. Seaman and Berkley went on to face off in the November general election, where Berkley won 53% to 47%.
After the election, the Badlands case was finally settled, but for a much larger sum than a Seaman-backed proposal in 2022 that would have ended litigation for $64 million. That deal collapsed before it could be voted on by the council.
Seaman is known on the council for her efforts to improve animal welfare in the city. She staged an unplanned visit to the Animal Foundation shelter, which she said revealed substandard conditions there.
WATCH | City of Las Vegas discusses new bills addressing animal abandonment, hoarding
Seaman's tenure on the council also included a physical altercation with fellow Councilwoman Michele Fiore, in which Seaman suffered a broken finger. Seaman sued Fiore over the incident, a case that has since been settled.
The city deleted a video of the incident, despite the fact that it had been requested by reporters. An independent investigation later blamed both women for the incident.
Jones, meanwhile, has had issues of his own. The State Bar of Nevada in March issued a reprimand after Jones deleted text messages relevant to another development project near Red Rock Canyon. He took responsibility for the missing texts, although he said he had no memory of actually deleting them.
FULL INTERVIEW | Steve Sebelius interviews Justin Jones after State Bar Panel
That development project is also moving forward after another long-running legal battle was settled.
If elected, Seaman would be just the second Republican elected to the commission in the last 17 years, following April Becker's victory in District C last year.
Do you have questions about politics, elections or government? Email us using the Ask Steve link on our website.
Local News