Las Vegas’ Ward 6 just turned into a political brawl. Two high-profile locals have jumped into the City Council race, setting up a high-stakes challenge to incumbent Councilwoman Nancy Brune. Steve Grammas, the longtime president of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, and Dave Marlon, founder and CEO of addiction-recovery nonprofit Vegas Stronger, have both filed to run, centering their pitches on public safety and economic growth. With the June primary coming up fast, voters in the northwest are staring at a three-way fight over policing, development and how the city spends new revenue.
The city’s municipal primary is set for Tuesday, June 9, 2026, with early voting scheduled in late May. If no candidate wins an outright majority in the primary, the top two finishers will move on to the Nov. 3 general election. According to the Nevada Secretary of State, those are the official primary and general election dates statewide.
Money and the race
Brune heads into campaign season as the best-funded candidate, reporting roughly half a million dollars in reserve and bringing in six figures this year. Grammas and Marlon are not exactly running on fumes either. Grammas reported raising roughly $123,000 and having about $200,000 available, while Marlon has more than $115,000 on hand after pulling in about $68,000. Those figures, pulled from recent campaign filings, signal that Ward 6 will see an unusually well-financed council race, according to The Nevada Independent.
Who’s running
Grammas, a longtime Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department detective who leads the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, is building his campaign around public safety, government accountability and what he calls “smart growth.” A Republican, he has been telling Ward 6 residents he wants more amenities in their neighborhoods and a more hands-on style of representation at City Hall. Coverage of his announcement in the Las Vegas Review-Journal underscored his high-profile union role and visibility within law enforcement.
Marlon, co-founder and CEO of Vegas Stronger, is casting himself as a jobs-and-recovery candidate who still puts neighborhood safety front and center. His platform emphasizes job creation, business development and targeted strategies for homelessness, including discouraging panhandling and sending specialized response teams to encampments instead of leaving it to traditional law enforcement alone. Campaign records indicate he has injected personal funds into the race and reported roughly $68,000 raised this cycle, according to Dave for Vegas.
Endorsements and donors
The endorsement and donor game is already sharpening the lines. Grammas has lined up support from local law-enforcement groups and building-trades unions, while Brune has backing from the Clark County Education Association and firefighters. The Nevada Current reports that Grammas has pulled in more than $45,000 from Station Casinos and members of the Fertitta family, while Brune has drawn contributions from gaming interests and other local firms. Those alliances show how both law-and-order and business power players are investing in who controls Ward 6.
Brune, the sitting representative for Ward 6, is leaning on a record heavy on local projects, including a new Skye Canyon police substation, traffic-calming efforts and housing workshops. She has also promised to put new parking-fee revenue toward multi-level parking structures and other infrastructure improvements. Her campaign materials list public safety and smart development as core priorities, and her website catalogs recent Ward 6 investments. The City of Las Vegas describes Ward 6 as including Skye Canyon, Sunstone and Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs.
Policy flashpoints
Health care has emerged as one of the more combustible local issues. In March, a judge’s ruling cleared the way for Sunrise Hospital to seek a Level 1 trauma designation, a seemingly technical decision that quickly became political. Coverage by FOX5 detailed the court order, and more recent reporting has tracked how the designation has been folded into campaign attacks and rebuttals. Those arguments are amplifying the race’s themes of public safety and transparency, as candidates try to tie council decisions to real-world outcomes in Northwest Las Vegas.
With early voting set for late May and Election Day on June 9, the campaigns are shifting from rollout mode to direct voter contact, neighborhood gatherings and targeted outreach. If no one cracks 50 percent in June, the top two finishers will face off again on Nov. 3, giving donors and political organizations several more months to spend money and mobilize. Official details on polling locations, early-voting schedules and candidate filings are available from the Clark County Election Department.
The Ward 6 contest is quickly becoming a test of competing visions for how Las Vegas should balance safety and growth in its northwest neighborhoods. Expect the pace, and the rhetoric, to heat up as June 9 approaches, with both challengers trying to pry away voters who backed Brune in 2022.
