Woman Elected Las Vegas Mayor in Her First Try

Jan Laverty Jones, who Tuesday was elected Las Vegas’ first woman mayor in her first run for political office, says she was helped by an influx of new voters and a desire for positive change at City Hall.

Running against 12 other candidates, Jones received 52% of the vote in Tuesday’s primary election, avoiding a runoff election and winning a four-year term as mayor.

“I think it’s a whole new city,” Jones said. “The city went from 40,000 registered voters to almost 90,000 in four years. People are really looking for a change, and when they decided, they went for the person they thought would provide leadership.”

Jones, who gained fame making television commercials for the Fletcher Jones car dealership, vowed to listen to all interests when she takes over from Mayor Ron Lurie in mid-June.

Jones finished with 21,758 votes on a day when 50.5% of the city’s registered voters went to the polls. She easily outdistanced City Councilman Steve Miller, an early favorite in the race, who finished with 11,377 votes, or 27%.