20-05-2025
Henderson Mayor counters calls for transparency amid launching re-election bid
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — 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 city some '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.
'I think generally speaking, we have really strong relationships with each other,' Romero said. 'At the council level, we try to focus on the work. Whenever there are issues at a council meeting, sometimes passions get high. People feel very strongly one way or the other.'
Romero said she views her role as mayor is to course correct during the meetings and keep the focus on the agenda and residents' interests.
'If we need to take a recess and let people cool down, that's what we'll do,' she said. 'Doesn't mean that there's chaos, you know, people like to portray that there is, you know, all kinds of chaos going on. That's not what's happening.'
Romero said the criticism of the city's transparency is not factoring in the multiple opportunities residents have to get to know their elected officials.
'I believe we are one of the most transparent governments out there,' she said. 'We regularly hold meetings, informal meetings with our residents. We have coffee with the council. We have meetups with the mayor. We have quarterly meetings where we allow the residents to come and ask anything that's on their minds, and we answer their questions right there.'
8 News Now staff attend the public morning meetings regularly and have been told by city public information officers not to directly quote elected officials or ask questions for reporting purposes at the 'Morning Meetups' and instead request statements through the communication office. City staff previously defended the meetings as an opportunity for specifically Henderson residents to be provided with access to their elected officials.
'I have had questions from reporters at morning meetups regularly,' Romero said. 'And I answer them on a regular basis.'
Romero said that between the city's public records portal and quick reply to residents at 'Morning Meetups ups' the city is a leader in transparency.
'If we've heard something that's popping up, traffic or something like that. We try to focus on that, but at the end, we still allow questions and answers that are free flow,' she said.
When it opened in 1998, The Reserve was a hotspot hotel and casino for Henderson residents, later becoming the Fiesta Henderson in 2001.
In Mar. 2020, Station Casinos closed the Fiesta Henderson property due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The casino and hotel property never reopened, and its land was later purchased by the city for $32 million using city redevelopment agency funds.
Woodbury Corporation entered into a negotiating agreement with Henderson on the Fiesta site in 2024, only for it to end inconclusively.
'They were asking for more than we were willing to give to a private project,' Romero said. 'And so we let the exclusive negotiation expire.'
Romero said the end of talks with Woodbury is not indicative of no plan, instead pointing to other proposals they have received.
'We will come forward again with a proposal,' she said. 'But we're not going to irresponsibly spend public dollars on a project that we don't think gains the public benefit to that degree.'
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