Las Vegas needs to stop and smell the roses. Clark County has been growing rapidly in the past fifteen years at the expense of living standards for its average citizens. Roads are breaking apart, state and city parks are being targeted for development, public services are under stress. Tick wants to start a conversation about the type of place Las Vegas wants to be in the next ten to fifteen years. This is a small valley with many challenges that needs more long-term planning.
Segerblom has fought these battles for years. He worked, for example, to preserve the Las Vegas National Golf Course from development, believing that such places are imperative to healthy, happy living. Likewise he has raised money and begun coordinating efforts to build an art museum in downtown Las Vegas. There is a pent up demand here for cultural institutions. As a major American city, Las Vegas should have a site to host touring art exhibits, if only for the knowledge and creativity they impart on our children and young adults, who currently lack access to historic works of art.
Along these quality of life lines, Tick aims to improve city infrastructure and address the valley’s issues with pollution, infrastructure, crime and education.
Nevada is the driest state in the union with an average annual rainfall of merely nine to ten inches. According to the Colorado River Users Association, Clark County—home to over most of the state’s population—gets 90% of its water from the Colorado River. As a desert city Las Vegas needs to remain ever aware of its limited resources. More efficient systems and incentives to conserve energy and water will allow the valley to adapt to our changing climate and rapid growth.
As with many large cities in the US, keeping our air clean is a constant struggle as well. Solutions have been proposed in the past, such as the creation, implementation, and utilization of public transit systems such as light rail. Segerblom wants to work toward a convenient, efficient option for Las Vegas residents and visitors alike to traverse the city without excessively polluting the air we breathe.
But Las Vegas’s future depends on its young people too. Currently students enrolled in schools in the Clark County School District are not receiving the education they need or deserve. Large class sizes with unmanageable student-to-teacher ratios are such that instructors are unable to give the kind of individual attention that is necessary for student understanding and success. These ratios have been rising—not falling—in recent years. Las Vegas has a responsibility to provide its children with adequate educational opportunities. As a lawyer Segerblom has represented the interests of local teachers and believes that working toward smaller class sizes and higher pay for qualified teachers will improve the city by insuring that its future leaders are prepared for tomorrow.
With crime rates on the rise in recent years, Clark County also needs insure its police force has the funding it needs to recruit new officers. Since southern Nevada is 30% Hispanic, Spanish-speaking officers are in particular demand. But helping all public agencies adapt to our changing demographics is important to Tick.
Las Vegas is a desirable place to live—it’s affordable, diverse, and vibrant. Economic opportunities increase every year, but we need to be insure our government keeps up with that growth and supports of a high standard quality of life.
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