(Dana Gentry) – Henderson’s former police chief, a former real estate executive from California, a local salesman, and an interior designer are hoping to extend the race for Henderson mayor into the general election. Mayor Michelle Romero won the 2023 contest outright in the primary with 75% of the vote. She faced two opponents in that race.
A candidate who receives a majority of the vote in nonpartisan primary races wins the election outright.
Romero has presided over a four-to-one voting bloc on the council with Councilwoman Carrie Cox the odd woman out. Cox, who is also up for re-election, was censured by the council and faces felony charges for spying on Councilwoman Monica Larson and a constituent. She denies any wrongdoing.
Romero, via her campaign manager Liz Trosper, declined to speak with the Current.
“Everywhere I go in the valley, people are referring to us as Henderson High School,” says former Henderson Police Chief Hollie Chadwick, who was fired by the city early last year. “It’s embarrassing. It’s setting the wrong tone for the community, and we can’t just point the finger and say it’s one person. The council is a team. They all need to get along and learn to respect each other and value each other’s opinions.”
Chadwick announced her candidacy a year ago, shortly after she was terminated without cause.
She ignored recommendations to fire police officers who covered up a car accident, according to reporting from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
She says the suggestion that she’s hoping to unseat Romero “out of spite is so silly. I would never put myself through this, nor would my heart carry that kind of hate. I’m just not that kind of person. I thought being a cop for 22 years was a tough job, but this is a totally different environment.”
Adam Price moved to Henderson from California six years ago. He’s chairman of Henderson Democrats and thinks residents are looking for change. He hopes to “make Henderson a town that works for everybody, and not just those at the top.”
Price raised $15,700 in the first quarter of 2026 (about half from himself) and has $1,255 remaining.
Price was active in politics before coming to Nevada. He testified before California lawmakers on behalf of gay and trans rights measures and intends to stay active in Nevada politics, regardless of the outcome of the race.
Andrew “your boy dru” Ramirez did not respond to the Current’s request for an interview.
On a morning news program, Ramirez said he is a local salesman who models himself after Presidents Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan. He said affordability is on the minds of Henderson residents. He’d like to see nuclear power plants installed in the valley to bring lower costs to families “and even a budgetary surplus for years to come.”
Angeles Scorsetti is an “Immigrant who bet on America and built a successful business through hardwork [sic] and determination,” according to her website. She’s “dedicated to enhancing public safety, supporting local businesses, and ensuring responsible growth and success.”
She raised $5,000 in the first quarter and has $3,400 in the bank. She did not respond to the Current’s requests for an interview.
Romero, who served on the city council before she was elected mayor, and ran the redevelopment agency before that, raised about $800,000 through the first quarter of 2026, with about three-quarters from corporations, political action committees, and other campaigns. Much of it is from developers and their attorneys. She had roughly $703,000 on hand as of March 31.
Chadwick has raised about $50,000 through the first quarter and has about $21,800 on hand. She notes the contributions are not from corporations. “That’s all friends, family and citizens that have met me at meet and greets, and all of a sudden are donating money. People are rallying.”
Exceptional governance?
Following her election as mayor, Romero championed an exceptional governance policy, which states among its six points that “exceptional” councils “have clear roles and responsibilities that are understood and adhered to.”
In Henderson, that’s taken to mean city council members need to consult with management before speaking, especially with news media.
“They should be able to talk, and not clear everything with the city manager,” says Price, adding he’ll eliminate the policy if he’s elected.
Chadwick asserts Romero is attempting to “control the narrative” and finds the policy to be “disingenuous. You have one mayor and four councilpeople, and they should all be able to express their concerns or opinions because they’re all elected to represent wards, not to have one unified voice and muzzle. We can be respectful of other people’s opinions and make decisions based upon the facts and how we’re supposed to represent those that elected us to office.”
Chadwick says she leads “in a different way. I believe in making sure that we take care of the individual human beings that live and work in Henderson. That’s how I differentiate myself from my opponents.”
Romero, according to Chadwick, fails in that respect.
“We need to be very transparent with what we’re doing with our community,” she said. “Don’t just give a little sound bite and not give the meat and potatoes.”
Romero has acknowledged Henderson’s challenges.
In her state of the city address late last year, Romero noted “we are seeing signs of weakness, instability and slowing growth as a city,” but assured residents the city is able to fulfill its commitments. Henderson, she added, faces “flat or declining revenues, rising benefit costs, and the potential expiration of dedicated property tax revenues.”
Two years ago voters turned down a proposed tax increase to fund $27 million in fire services for rapidly growing areas where they are lacking. The costs are now being paid from the city’s general fund.
The city is asking voters to approve a measure on the June primary ballot that would extend for 30 years an existing property tax of 12-cents per $100 of assessed value that currently funds almost half of the city’s park budget. Unlike the 2024 proposal, the measure will not increase property taxes.
Price has a 12-point plan on his website. It calls for city employees getting “at least a 3% to 4% pay increase for cost of living.” Previous raises, he says, were “a joke. We need to pay our city employees and treat them respectfully for their dedication.”
Local governments, he adds, are facing budget issues because of the policies of Gov. Joe Lombardo and President Donald Trump. “It’s costing us a lot of money, and we’re seeing things roll backwards,” he says, citing Henderson’s potential loss of park funding.
Luxury abounds
Henderson, like other municipalities in Southern Nevada, has a “significant housing shortfall,” Romero noted in her state of the city address, estimating the shortage of “attainable” homes at 6,000, but projected “to balloon to 40,000” in four years.
In 2022, the Current reported that 93% of apartments built in Henderson in the last decade were luxury units. Construction of low- and extremely low-income units, a product in desperate need, is rare.
Development, Chadwick notes, is the engine that drives local government, but she warns city leaders need to carefully weigh quality of life issues. “A lot of complaints I get right now are about how many taverns there are compared to grocery stores.”
She questions some of the city’s priorities while facing budget constraints, such as its purchase of the Fiesta parking lot in 2022 for $32 million.
“The city has sat on that property without any return while they talk about tightening their belts,” she says, noting city workers have been engaged in prolonged wage negotiations. “Why are we in the business of buying these properties versus making sure our blue-collar workers are paid correctly?”
The city’s Boulder Highway Reimagined project is of concern to residents who don’t want additional multifamily development.
“I don’t think we need any more high density housing, and we certainly don’t need any more luxury housing,” Chadwick said. “I’m not knocking either one of those, but we are in a crisis right now where we need to make sure we have efficient, single family homes that are attainable for our working class.”
Price, on his website, suggests developers “waive closing costs to make new homes more accessible.”
Henderson’s “build, build build mentality” fails to consider resources, such as water, says Price. “The valley is really good about how our water gets returned to Lake Mead.” However, data centers, use tremendous amounts of water. The Google operation at Warm Springs and Boulder Highway used 352 million gallons of water in 2024. “But they (city officials) are telling you that you can’t water your grass. That’s a little crazy.”
Price notes the Google data center “employs 20 to 50 people. So for all those resources it’s using, we’re getting very little in return.”
The beautification of Water Street
Henderson’s efforts to beautify the oldest parts of town, particularly Water Street, have prompted suggestions the city is displacing the poor and elderly to attract luxury development and appease business owners who don’t want the poor and elderly outside their establishments.
A bus that once stopped outside a Water St. senior center was relocated several years ago about a mile away.
“If you’re a senior citizen who doesn’t have a vehicle and maybe an assistance device, we can’t expect you to walk a mile, especially in higher temperatures,” said Chadwick.“It’s great to beautify Water Street, but we also have to value and respect the people who have been part of this Henderson community for many years.”
The new bus stop location is more “centrally located in the heart of downtown Henderson, with accessibility to City Hall and the Justice Facility,” a Henderson spokesperson said at the time, adding the change would ease traffic congestion and “offer additional parking for local businesses and events at Water Street Plaza.”
Price owns a document preparation company located on Water Street, where he assists people with their estates.
“I think we need to approach that situation with some humility,” he says, noting that neighborhoods surround Water Street. “Building up and supporting our community is great, but if we’re going to do it, it needs to work for the people that live here, and not just the people at the top. It’s got to supply them job opportunities. We have an unemployment rate that’s at 5.5% – higher than the national average.” The city, he says, should provide incentives to help property owners improve homes in the area.
Chadwick notes that the city’s detention center is on Water Street. “Twice a day people are released and they’re back on the street. I try to remind everyone that being homeless is not a crime.”
Price says Henderson should build a homeless shelter, adding there’s nowhere to currently send the unhoused.
“I would like to see some substance abuse counselors there. I would like to see some job counselors there to get them back on their feet,” he said. “I think it’s important to help lift people up and not shut them down or criminalize them.”
Going to the dogs
In 2023, the Current reported that Henderson’s animal shelter was short staffed, housed dogs in sweltering outdoor kennels, and “lacked necessities, such as adequate enclosures for animals, a sink to wash food bowls, or a commercial grade washing machine to launder bedding.”
The city was spending $2 million a year on the shelter, an amount that was unchanged for eight years. Romero subsequently spearheaded some modest improvements.
A study commissioned by the city in 2024 found the shelter had a severe staffing shortage.
The city set aside $3.5 million for improvements. That eventually doubled to $7 million, with most of it coming from redevelopment funds, which are designated under state law to improve blighted areas.
In her state of the city address, Romero spoke of “extensive renovations” to the existing shelter, including expanding the medical area, replacing and adding new dog kennels, and converting existing spaces into new isolation rooms.
Now, an undisclosed amount is earmarked for office space for code enforcement officials, which recently took control of Animal Protections Services, a department previously under the police department.
Plans for the renovation, which must be under construction by September, according to the contract, have yet to be finalized, a spokesperson says. It’s unknown how much of the $7 million budget is being diverted from animal care to office space.
Sources with knowledge of the operation say some improvements are being made, and that kennels are being upgraded, but new kennels have not been added.
During public comment at an April council meeting, Henderson resident Melissa Trasatti criticized the transfer of animal control operations to Code Enforcement, and questioned the use of money earmarked for animal care going to office space.
In an unusual departure from council protocol, Romero told Trasatti to stay put after her comment and responded, saying the office space is “saving money from the rents that we were paying previously for the animal shelter and public response team to respond or to be housed elsewhere.”
When Trasatti asked to say more, Romero responded “No.”
“To make her stand there and publicly berate her like that is just highly unprofessional and unnecessary,” said Chadwick, adding that animal shelter staff fear retaliation. “That’s why they keep sending somebody who doesn’t work there to speak for them at council meetings. They fear getting fired.”
On Wednesday, the city confirmed that animal protection staff is housed only at the animal shelter, not on leased property.
“If you really have $7 million, let’s get on with it, but also be transparent with the community,” Chadwick said of Romero. “If you’re using that money to build office space for code enforcement, that is not benefiting the animal shelter. We need you to just be honest about what you’re doing.”
Price, whose website features a campaign dog, says the second largest city in the state requires a second animal shelter, with air conditioned and heated kennels.
Early voting begins on May 23. Election day is June 9.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. This article was originally published via NevadaCurrent.com on 5/14/2026.
