LAS VEGAS -- Las Vegas City Councilman Steve Ross was reelected two years ago, but now some residents in his district, Ward 6, are trying to undo that election.
Ross is the subject of a recall effort that has almost enough signatures to put his future back on the ballot.
Ross has had his share of problems on the council, from a 2009 finding that he broke ethics laws to a fifth place finish in this year's race for mayor.
Residents are now going door-to-door in northwest Las Vegas asking people who voted in the 2009 election to choose to recall him from his council seat.
Their issues center on a zoning dispute in the Centennial Hills Auto Mall, where longtime car dealer Joe Scala was forced to close his dealership Christmas Eve 2010.
Scala says he asked Ross for help with a zoning problem that would have allowed him to keep his doors open, but Ross didn't help.
"My passion to have him recalled is because he could have done something," said Janice Gibbons, who worked at Scala's dealership for 17 years. "I'm certain he could have done something, a temporary solution to allow us to work."
Gibbons has found work at another dealership, but she says her former co-workers haven't been as lucky, and blames Ross for their plight.
"Then put your money where your mouth is," said Gibbons. "Do what you said, cut through the red tape. And you know, keep our business open."
Ross defends himself by saying Scala didn't do what he'd asked.
"He literally did nothing. And so when you look at me and say, 'Councilman, you're all about jobs.' I am about jobs. It's about creating jobs and keeping businesses in business. He didn't do anything to help himself. It was his choice to close his doors, not my choice to close his doors."
But Scala says he did try to meet Ross's conditions, which included asking his competitors to agree to a zoning change. After losing his dealership, Scala has paid for television ads targeting Ross as anti-business. He's now supporting the recall and even donating a vehicle to help signature-gatherers do their work.
A business dispute is not the only reason Ross is in hot water with some residents.
In 2008, Ross promised he wouldn't accept a $23,000 a year pay raise approved by the city council. But, Ross ended up taking that raise after all, claiming he agreed to forego a small cost of living increase.
That angers recall organizer Marc Newman who once worked for Ross's 2005 council campaign. Newman quit after an old domestic violence allegation surfaced against the councilman.
"It was interesting to note the councilman commented in an article in the Centennial View regarding the recall taking $70,000 of the taxpayers money," Newman said. "Yet, if you add up the $20,000 a year raise over four years, that's $80,000 of the taxpayers' money that as long as it's going in his pocket, he's not concerned."
Some are also angry about a state ethics commission finding that Ross broke ethics laws when he voted for a new city hall, currently under construction on Main St.
Commissioners said Ross had a conflict of interest because of a construction union job he held when he cast his vote.
But for Ross, the issue comes back to an angry businessman with the money to make himself heard.
"This is my view: this is a used car salesman that has very deep pockets that is funding this effort, because he didn't get his way."
As for Marc Newman, who has talked to hundreds of voters in Ross's district, it's a matter of the grassroots saying Ross hasn't done right by them.
"I actually say the councilman is out of touch with the realty of the ward, because he hasn't gone out and talked to these folks," said Newman. "This is about what the neighbors want, and basically I am a steward of their wishes at this point."
Recall proponents have until next Friday, August 19, to gather about 1,100 signatures. As of Wednesday afternoon, they had about 960.
To sign the petition for the recall there are two requirements. First, you must have voted in the 2009 election and be living in Ward 6.
