By Ricardo Torres-Cortez
Las Vegas Review-Journal
LAS VEGAS 鈥� Las Vegas mayoral candidate Donna Miller wants to leverage her experience as a veteran nurse and operator of a medical flight company to lead the city into the future.
鈥淚 believe it鈥檚 time for the city to have a nurse, a business owner and a community leader 鈥� proven and tested community leader 鈥� to run the city,鈥� she told The Las Vegas Review-Journal in a recent interview.
Miller jumped into the packed and to replace Mayor Carolyn Goodman, who is term-limited.
The nonpartisan race includes two current council members and a former U.S. congresswoman. The winner can be determined outright if a candidate receives more than half the votes in the June primary. If not, the two top candidates will advance onto a runoff during the November general election.
As mayor, she said she would 鈥渕aximize鈥� the development of the Las Vegas Medical District and tackle the shortage of medical professionals in the city.
Miller鈥檚 company 鈥� Life Guard International (Flying ICU) 鈥� transports patients on retrofitted airplanes to and from regional facilities that can handle medical care not available locally, she said.
鈥淚f I do a good job (as mayor), air ambulance would be only one way,鈥� Miller said, adding that she would also advocate to bring a dedicated, standalone children鈥檚 hospital sustained by green energy.
Facing an affordable housing shortage, Las Vegas is 鈥渓andlocked,鈥� Miller noted.
She would encourage developers to build vertically instead of horizontally, and also push to decrease the time it takes to build and make available city-owned land for affordable housing projects.
Miller said she鈥檚 led efforts to provide a monthly health clinic at the CARE Complex on Foremaster Lane, where a large population of unsheltered locals gather.
鈥淚 think quite often we believe homeless equals hopeless, and when we speak that way, we give those people 鈥� the impression that there鈥檚 nothing they can do,鈥� Miller said.
Under her administration, the city would reimagine services and resources and would more clearly communicate their availability.
Additionally, the city would collaborate with neighboring governments and other 鈥渆ntities鈥� to triage that population and prioritize prevention and exit strategies out of homelessness.
鈥淪ome of the challenges that we have in this valley,鈥� she said, 鈥渢hey don鈥檛 know jurisdictional borders.鈥�
Miller said she became well-acquainted with the emergency response system as regional director for the AMR/MedicWest ambulance companies.
鈥淚 think that that system needs to be revised and the way we respond to calls has to be re-thought out,鈥� she said.
Her public safety priorities would center around crime prevention and mental health resources. She said would advocate for family-oriented programs to lead youth into more positive futures.
As mayor, she would support a settlement with the would-be developer of the defunct Badlands golf course, which neighboring residents opposed.
filed by EHB COs. have led to rulings against the city that could push its losses above $200 million if the court decisions are upheld in appeal.
Developer Yohan Lowie鈥檚 attorneys have alleged land taking by the city that stymied his land development plans.
鈥淓ffective communication and early mediation would鈥檝e been the best way to resolve that,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淭hey really needed to communicate with each other; to be proactive and come to some kind of an understanding before it got this out of hand,鈥� she added.
Miller would push to reexamine and clarify policies that might鈥檝e contributed to the legal battle.
She said that must occur to understand the city鈥檚 role, and prevent it from happening again, 鈥渘ot when you鈥檙e in a crisis.鈥�
Miller, who was born and raised in Romania, immigrated to the U.S. in 1999 where she pursued her medical career.
鈥淚 went with the dictionary on one hand and the nursing book on the other,鈥� Miller said.
Miller said she would collaborate with the rest of the city council for a unified vision and welcome input from the community at large to determine the city鈥檚 top priorities.
鈥淚鈥檝e been told I can鈥檛 come to the United States, and I did,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been told I couldn鈥檛 start going to nursing school because I didn鈥檛 speak English well enough, and I did 鈥� or starting my own air ambulance company, and I did.鈥�
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