Local Government for the City of Las Vegas Proper
The City of Las Vegas government operates as a council-manager government. The 19th Mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar B. Goodman, sits as a Council Member-At-Large, presiding over all of the City Council meetings. He was re-elected for a second four-year term in April 2003.

One of the more recent city project’s on the mayor’s agenda was spearheading downtown’s revitalization. This project has created a downtown urban village filled with small businesses, boutiques, fine restaurants, bookstores and an art component. The city manager, Douglas Selby, is responsible for the effective administration and daily operations of municipal services for the city. Other responsibilities of the office include all redevelopment and economic development, and maintaining relationships with other governmental agency levels, including federal, state, county and other local governments.

All municipal elections are open and nonpartisan. Only voters properly registered within the specific boundaries of the city of Las Vegas may vote in the city of Las Vegas municipal elections.

Regarding federal/state/county elections, Nevada is a closed primary state and as such voters are prohibited from voting for candidates from another party. All registered voters may vote in the nonpartisan contests that decide which candidates advance to the general election. General elections are open.

Clark Ccounty and Las Vegas – Clark County is the Surrounding County
Southern Nevada is home to several incorporated cities, including the city of Las Vegas. Each city is self-contained with its own city government, police and fire departments, hospitals, and school systems. The Las Vegas Valley is comprised of several jurisdictions and includes the cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson and unincorporated Clark County.

One of the fastest growing areas in the United States, Clark County welcomes more than 38 million tourists and more than 50,000 new residents each year. The cities of Las Vegas, Boulder City, Henderson, Mesquite and North Las Vegas, as well as 19 other unincorporated communities, make up most of Clark County's more than 1.7 million residents. In fact, Clark County's population makes up 70 percent of the entire state's population.

The urban areas of Clark County's population provide services to a large unincorporated urban area that includes the Las Vegas Strip, McCarran International Airport, the Las Vegas Convention Center, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and many urban residential areas. More than 680,000 people live in unincorporated Clark County. Residents living south of Sahara Avenue (the municipal boundary for the city of Las Vegas), receive traditional urban services from the county.

The Clark County School District is the sixth largest in the nation and has more than 282,632 students and 301 elementary, middle and senior high schools. The area also boasts a number of parochial and private schools.

Clark County plays a major role in the areas of tourism, transportation, public health and flood control and education. The county also aids in the operation of McCarran International Airport, other local aviation facilities and oversees Southern Nevada's only public hospital, University Medical Center. In addition, Clark County provides services for unincorporated townships such as Laughlin and rural communities such as Goodsprings and Searchlight.

Home to the "entertainment capital of the world" and 14 of the nation's 15 largest hotels in 2004, Clark County experienced an economic impact from the tourism industry of $33 billion. Tourism drives the state's economy. Nearly 24 percent of the jobs in Clark County are in the hotel and gaming industries.