Most voters in Elko County like voters across the United States will see a very orderly ballot come November. Most often there will be two names to choose from or in the cases where third parties are running, at most four, names and just one vote to make. On the other hand there is the West Wendover ballot, where voters will see 13 names and make three choices for the city council.
By the end of Friday’s filing dead line 13 candidates tossed their hats into the ring including two incumbents. John Hanson, Jeff Durham, Izzy Gutierrez, Donnie Andersen, David Serafini, Casey Snyder, Matthew Chavez, Mike Miera, Nick Flores, Dave Wiskerchen, Roberto Trujillo, Jasie Holm and Johnny Gorum are all making a bid for one of the three open seats in the election. Gutierrez and Gorum are seeking re-election.
The relative free for all of the West Wendover ballot has been harshly criticized in the past and will probably be harshly criticized again after election day. But until the peculiar local election law is changed by the city council it will stay in play.
“I said it before and I will say it again,” said former West Wendover Mayor and current candidate for city council Donnie Andersen. “We need a primary election here just like everyone else. With so many people running just 10 votes can change the election results one way or another.”
According to the Elko County Clerk’s office there are about 700 registered voters in West Wendover and elections usually draw about 500 of them to actually cast votes. While in the last vote two years ago there were just six candidates vying for two seats the contest four years ago featured 14 hopefuls for three seats and just one then city councilwoman Emily Carter won a majority of the votes cast.
The ability for a candidate to win a seat with a simple plurality rather than a majority of the ballots means that in crowded races such as the upcoming one in November candidates need not appeal to the electorate at large but instead marshal one electoral sector. The are several voting blocks in West Wendover some of which overlap.
With a large LDS presence in town the “Mormon” vote plays a large factor in every election. LDS candidates have experienced some success in past elections. At least to some extent however the is also a strong anti-Mormon presence in the electorate that offsets the Mormon vote.
As seen in the last election the long dormant Latino vote has made itself known at the ballot box.
For over thirty years West Wendover’s Latino population has hovered between 55 to 65 percent of the population. Yet invariably come local election time Spanish surnames were a rarity on the voter rolls and Latino candidates were rarer still on the ballot.
According to the latest census figures Wendover Latinos make up over 55 percent of the city’s total population, own over 35 percent of its small businesses and own about a third of all homes. However despite being in the majority just three self identified Hispanics have sat on the city council and just Mike Miera and Gutierrez won a seat in their own right. The dearth of Latino presence also extends to city jobs. There are no Hispanics among the city’s top administrators and department heads. Hispanics are also absent in the city’s front office and while a handful have been hired in the police force and public works department the number of Latinos working for the city is in no way proportional to their presence in the community.
The lack of local Latino political clout grows more apparent when it is compared with that of other ethnic groups. It would be almost impossible to imagine a city with 55 percent African American, Irish Catholic, Italian, or Polish majority with so little representation in local government.
But in 2012 West Wendover Latinos came out in force and helped elect two Hispanic candidates Saul Andrade and Gerrado Rodriguez to the city council. Along with previously elected Izzy Gutierrez Latinos formed a majority on the council.
The reason why all three candidates were successful than previous Hispanic candidates may have less to do with having a name ending in a vowel, but rather their own beginnings.
Without exception all three councilmen grew up in Wendover. They are ‘home boys’ in the strictest definition of the term and thus they share a history and a story with every other Wendover resident whether Latino or Anglo. None of them claimed to represent the “Mexican” minority but rather campaigned on what their vision of Wendover was.
“I don’t think there is a big difference,” Andrade said at the time. “We all want the same things for our community.”
In addition to the LDS and Hispanic and various other voting blocks Wendover casinos often make it known just which candidate is preferred by corporate offices. Especially is crowded races this kind of influence cannot be underestimated.
Name recognition may be the biggest factor on a crowded ballot. With that in mind incumbents such as Gutierrez and forum would appear to have a leg up as well as previous office holders like Andersen and Miera. But with half a year to the November ballot lesser known candidates have plenty of time to introduce themselves to the city and make a case for their election.
