Local Government Starts Here, Not in Carson City
I’ve spent a lot of time lately talking about winning elections. Today I want to talk about something just as important.
Showing up.
Clark County is recruiting volunteers right now for Town Advisory Boards and Citizens Advisory Councils across the valley and beyond.
These are the boards that hear land use and zoning questions first, before they ever reach the Planning Commission or the Board of County Commissioners.
If you’ve ever wondered who decides what gets built in your neighborhood, this is where that conversation starts.
There are 13 Town Advisory Boards, or TABs, covering unincorporated towns like Bunkerville, Laughlin, Moapa, Mt. Charleston, Paradise, Searchlight, Spring Valley, Sunrise Manor, Whitney, and Winchester.
Five of those, Bunkerville, Laughlin, Moapa, Moapa Valley, and Searchlight, are normally elected.
This year, some of those elected boards didn’t draw enough candidates, so the County Commission will appoint people to fill the empty seats.
There are also six Citizens Advisory Councils, or CACs, covering areas like Goodsprings, Lone Mountain, Red Rock, Sandy Valley, Mountain Springs, and Upper and Lower Kyle Canyon.
All six of those are appointed rather than elected.
One thing worth knowing. The Paradise TAB covers a large stretch of unincorporated Clark County that includes most of the Las Vegas Strip. That alone should tell you how much these boards actually touch.
So what does the job involve?
Board members attend public meetings, usually at least once a month.
They review zoning and land use applications and make recommendations.
They weigh in on parks, public works, county programs, and local ordinances.
And they carry neighborhood concerns back to county government, and county information back to the neighborhood.
These boards operate under Nevada’s Open Meeting Law, and members go through annual training. Terms run two years, and the next cycle starts January 4, 2027.
The requirements to apply are straightforward.
* You need to be a qualified elector, meaning you’re eligible to vote.
* You need to actually live inside the boundary of the TAB or CAC you’re applying for.
* And you need to be willing to commit to the meetings and training that come with the job.
These are unpaid, volunteer positions. Nobody’s doing this for the money. People do it because they care about where they live.
I know a little something about that. My family has been in this state for four generations.
My grandfather, Jerry Mack, helped finance Las Vegas’s growth and helped build UNLV into what it is today. He always believed that a community is only as strong as the people willing to put in the work for it.
I’ve tried to carry that forward, whether it’s through my time serving on Metro’s Use of Force Board or the work I’m doing now to help elect good leaders across Nevada.
But not everyone needs to run for office or start a PAC to make a difference.
Sometimes the most direct way to shape your community is to show up to a meeting once a month and pay attention to what’s happening in your own backyard.
If you live in one of these communities and you’ve got the time to give, I’d encourage you to apply.
Applications are due by 5:30 p.m. on November 14, 2026, and you can find them at boards.clarkcountynv.gov/active-recruitments.
Local government works better when good people are willing to step up. This is one of the easiest ways I know to do exactly that.
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