From the Water Street Farmers Market to the White House, Mayor Michelle Romero has had a hand in Henderson’s three decades of progress but now she faces her next test—re-election.
Romero, a Henderson native, can trace her work in city government back to 1999 with her help in the opening of the Water Street Farmers Market and later the Super Run Car Show alongside business leaders. By 2007, she worked for the Henderson Redevelopment Agency and continued efforts to grow the city’s residential and commercial capacities.
Following a term as a Henderson Ward I councilmember, Romero was elected mayor in June 2022 and said she hopes residents look to her voting record to maintain rural neighborhoods, protect businesses, and support public safety. She acknowledged Henderson, along with other cities, is facing a tighter budget amid an initial $10 million deficit.
“We started with that, we were actually able to address it very quickly,” she said. “And our tentative budget that we approved a couple of weeks ago, there’s no deficit.”
During an 8 News Politics Now interview, Romero addressed the city manager’s decision to fire the police chief, her legal action against another councilmember’s “spurious rumors,” and what transparency means.
On Feb. 14, Henderson City Manager Stephanie Garcia-Vause made the decision to place the then-police chief, Hollie Chadwick, on leave. Garcia-Vause said she and Chadwick had differing leadership styles and declined to provide further explanation.
The departure has been at the center of numerous calls for more information regarding the decision, but both Garcia-Vause and Romero said residents are not entitled to employee information, citing city policy.
“We don’t talk about personnel issues,” Romero said. “That’s not fair to the employee.”
Romero said the departure is not indicative of any discord between the city and the police department.
“The city police department is wonderful,” she said. “They keep us one of the safest cities in America, and it’s because of the hard work of the men and women in that department. Changes at the top don’t really affect their job, and don’t affect impact their ability to do their job well, and so it really has no bearing, one way or the other, on operations at the city, or how we view how we move forward.”
Amid Garcia-Vause’s decision to fire Chadwick, dismiss a police volunteer, and cancel some city “Morning Meet ups,” Romero said she supports the city manager’s decisions.
“I support the city manager in her right to do that, and I have full faith that she didn’t do it arbitrarily, that she followed the appropriate processes,” Romero said. “She values our employees very much. She’s not afraid to make a hard decision if that’s what’s best for the city. And I have faith in her ability to do that.”
Following the announcement of the interim police chief Itzhak Henn’s retirement, Romero faces the chance of a new police chief becoming the fourth person in the position in two months.
“We knew going in that the acting chief was going to be retiring very soon,” she said. “We knew that was happening. It wasn’t a surprise. And I think it will be very close to, if there’s any gap at all, it’ll be very close to when he retires and we have a new chief in place.”
Distrust between Romero and Henderson Councilwoman Carrie Cox has reached a boiling point inside City Hall amid recent legal action.
On Jan. 7, the law firm Pisanelli Bice served a cease and desist to Cox on behalf of Romero. The purpose: to stop the spread of alleged rumors of an extra-marital affair, according to a copy of the letter 8 News Now obtained.
“I had people, both in person and written statements from a multitude of people that notified me of the things that she was saying,” Romero said. “My attorney has letter, after letter, after letter from people. Some of them I don’t even know. Some of them inside city hall. Some of them outside city hall that wrote to me and said we were approached by her.”
Romero said she has a strong relationship with her husband, whom she met almost 40 years ago in school.
“We are high school sweethearts,” she said. “We have a rock-solid relationship, and anytime anybody tries to infringe upon that or make it look bad; I will take action against it.”
Cox told 8 News Now she denies spreading rumors about Romero and claims she had no knowledge of what spurred the cease and desist.
“It was completely unnecessary, and I don’t know what the motivation was,” Romero said.
The cease and desist is one of multiple “made-for-TV” moments the city council has experienced. An abrupt call for recess and a plea for “transparency” have posed tense moments for elected officials.
Read the full article here.
A litany of personal attacks has enveloped the city of Henderson, and elected officials are coming forward to explain why distrust has taken over a part of city hall.
On Jan. 7, the law firm Pisanelli Bice served a cease and desist to Councilwoman Carrie Cox on behalf of Mayor Michelle Romero. The purpose: to stop the spread of alleged rumors of an extra-marital affair, according to a copy of the letter 8 News Now obtained.
“The only plausible purpose that you could have for broadcasting such cruel and despicable statements is to intentionally inflict injury on the mayor, her family and others,” Jordan Smith, a partner with Pisanelli Bice, wrote in the letter.
The cease and desist does not name the person involved in the “spurious rumors.”
In response, the law firm Marquis Aurbach disputed the claim Cox was spreading rumors, citing lack of evidence and describing the cease and desist as vague and nondescript.
“Your client’s demand is utterly devoid of any specific statements or identified credible sources supporting a claim of defamation and which would make your demand for retraction futile,” Brian Hardy, a lawyer with Marquis Aurback, wrote. “Simply put, without knowing what was specifically said, when it was said and to whom the statements were made, my client has no way of addressing the allegations of your client.”
Hardy wrote the claims against Cox require her to find out more about the rumors.
“These claims necessitate and would entitle Councilwoman Cox to pursue discovery into every facet of the alleged underlying truth: whether an extramarital affair has occurred,” he wrote.
In September 2024, Cox allegedly attended a meeting with the other members of the Southern Hills Republican Women (SHRW) club. A member of that group wrote to Romero, saying Cox was telling attendees about the alleged affair, according to the email provided to 8 News Now.
“The conversation disturbed [a member] because she couldn’t understand why she was telling her,” the member wrote. “I told [the member] to ignore the gossip and that it was simply what it is: ‘GOSSIP.’”
Read the full article here.
(September 20, 2024) — Covington & Burling LLP and Pisanelli Bice PLLC lead this week’s edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Nevada Green Party’s request to have Jill Stein’s name reinstated on the state’s presidential ballot Friday.
The justices denied the Green Party’s emergency application to vacate a Nevada Supreme Court order requiring state election officials to boot Stein from its 2024 ballot. The decision comes after the Nevada State Democratic Party filed a lawsuit in June challenging the Nevada secretary of state’s acceptance of the Green Party’s petition and verification of its signatures, which qualified Stein for a spot on the general election ballot. But earlier this month, the state supreme court ruled that the Green Party had failed to “substantially comply” with the state’s requirements for petitions, a decision it unsuccessfully sought to reverse last week. The Nevada State Democratic Party is represented by Philip Irwin, Nicholas Miller, Dean Acheson, David Zionts, Robert Lenhard, Brenden Cline, Samuel Klein and Clayton J. Goetz of Covington & Burling LLP, and Todd Bice and Daniel Brady of Pisanelli Bice PLLC.
Full article here (Law360 login required)
Pisanelli Bice PLLC, a Las Vegas-based law firm, announced today that four of the firm’s leading attorneys will be honored with prestigious Best Lawyers Awards from Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review in the global legal community. Recognizing their high-caliber professional abilities within the legal field and based upon a comprehensive peer review among top legal professionals, the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® will feature firm Cofounder and Partner James J. Pisanelli, firm Cofounder and Partner Todd L. Bice, Managing Partner Debra L. Spinelli, and Of Counsel M. Magali Mercera.
Celebrating Bice’s exceptional litigation skills, Best Lawyers will further recognize him in the 2025 edition of the Lawyer of the Year Awards.
In addition, Best Lawyers will feature firm associate Emily A. Buchwald in the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America.
“This prominent recognition from Best Lawyers illustrates how several key members of our firm now lead the nation in a myriad of practice areas, a status earned through the determined application of insurmountable legal expertise, a highly strategic approach to complex litigation and a stalwart dedication to our clients’ success,” Spinelli said. “Our driven team of professionals takes immense pride in being honored alongside our respected legal colleagues, who clearly voiced their confidence in our top-level legal acumen through this rigorous peer-review process.”
Pisanelli’s Best Lawyers Award honors his outstanding contributions with bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, construction law, construction litigation and real-estate litigation.
Bice’s Best Lawyers Award recognizes his excellence in appellate practice, bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, first-amendment litigation, land-use and zoning litigation, and mergers-and-acquisitions litigation.
Bice’s Lawyer of the Year Award further honors his land-use and zoning litigation.
Spinelli’s Best Lawyers Award celebrates her esteemed accomplishments with bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, construction litigation and health-care litigation.
Mercera’s Best Lawyers Award honors her valuable efforts in commercial litigation.
Buchwald’s inclusion in Ones to Watch recognizes her top-quality work with civil rights law and commercial litigation.
Henderson’s Department of Economic Development was recognized as an Accredited Economic Development Organization by the International Economic Development Council. It is one of only 81 organizations worldwide to earn this honor. In addition to leading to the team to this accreditation, director of economic development and tourism Jared Smith is also a Certified Economic Developer—a distinction achieved by only about 2% of economic developers in the country.
Kevin Murray, manager of housing and justice systems, community solutions for SilverSummit Healthplan, a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation, has been elected to serve as a board member for the Southern Nevada Homeless Continuum of Care. Murray leads SilverSummit’s justice and housing programs and has spearheaded several important initiatives, including partnering with agencies like Las Vegas Rescue Mission and Salvation Army of Southern Nevada for emergency shelter collaborations. As a member of the board, he will contribute to the coordinated and regional approach in planning and providing services to combat homelessness and promote affordable housing solutions.
Select Health announced Jason Worthen as the new president for the Desert Region, overseeing operations in Southern Nevada. Worthen joined Select Health in November 2022 as Medicare assistant vice president, then served as vice president of government programs. As region president, he will be responsible for the development and execution of strategic initiatives across all aspects of Select Health’s activity in the health insurance market in the Desert Region. Prior to joining Select Health, Worthen served as the senior vice president for Medicare programs nationally for Steward Health Care and as regional vice president at Steward Health Care.
Three attorneys at Pisanelli Bice—managing partner Debra Spinelli, partner Jordan Smith and associate Tyler Stevens—will receive the honor of inclusion in Nevada Business Magazine’s 2024 list of Top Rank Attorneys, showcasing the top respected attorneys across Nevada, voted for inclusion by their peers.
Adam Bult will join Carrie Johnson as co-chair of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s litigation department. Bult’s practice focuses on complex commercial and construction disputes handling high-stakes, complicated litigation matters. He is also a member of the firm’s PRIDE group as well as co-chair of the firm’s recently launched sober affinity group, Brownstein Pathways.
