A lawsuit challenging Scott Black’s candidacy for North Las Vegas Mayor was dismissed by District Judge Jaqueline Bluth last week because Black will not have served 12 years on the City Council at the time of the election.

North Las Vegas communications manager Kathleen Richards clarified how the 12-year term limit works. “This provision prohibits a person from being elected to a local governing body if the person (1) has served in that office for 12 years or more, or (2) at the expiration of his or her current term will have served 12 years or more. This creates a 12-year cap on eligibility to run for an office on a local governing body; it is not a cap on combined or future service.”

The same issue arose in 2022 when then-Councilwoman Pamela Goynes‑Brown filed for Mayor. The Nevada Attorney General’s Office reviewed Article 15, Section 3 and agreed with this interpretation – that the 12-year limit applies only to the time a candidate will have served in their current term. Because she would not have served twelve years at the time of the 2022 Mayoral election, she was eligible to run.

The Attorney General’s Office also provided a court order from a similar Reno case involving Councilwoman Jenny Brekhus, where the court reached the same conclusion.

The plaintiff, Karin Rodriguez, brought the lawsuit against the City of North Las Vegas on March 16, and attorney Bradley Schrager is reportedly considering an appeal. 

Black’s attorney, Donald Williams, will likely file a motion to cover Black’s attorney’s fees since Rodriguez didn’t approach the city attorney before filing the lawsuit. Had the city attorney agreed with the lawsuit’s claims, they would petition the court. If not, they would not, and Black could have avoided paying legal fees.

The North Las Vegas Mayoral race will likely be won by either Black, the Republican Councilmember, or Democratic Assemblymember Daniele Monroe-Moreno. Black is leading the fundraising thus far, and in a statement from his campaign manager, called the lawsuit a “politically motivated attempt to circumvent the will of the vote.”

The primary for the mayoral election will take place June 9, and the general election will be held on Nov. 3.