Las Vegas- Donna Toussaint, a 61-year-old longtime Las Vegas community activist, has thrown her hat in the ring to replace Republican Valerie E. Weber in Clark County's 5th Assembly District. 

Toussaint, who served for nine years as president of the West Sahara Community Association, has already drawn the support of some of Nevada's highest ranking Republican women and hopes to bring the skills she has garnered from years of community involvement to the state legislature.

"I understand how municipalities work," said Toussaint Tuesday.  "I've gone through the leadership programs in the city of Las Vegas.  I've worked with the city and the county for many, many years, so I know I can bring that knowledge to Carson City."

In addition to her work as president of a large homeowners' association, Toussaint, a mother of three and grandmother of two, has also served on both the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's Citizen's Review Board and the Las Vegas Youth Neighborhood Association Partnership Program.  It was her time on the homeowners' board, however, that inspired her to run for state office.

"Homeowners' associations are one of the biggest growing segments of Nevada.  Every new community is a homeowners' association and there isn't anybody in Carson City that has lived, breathed, smelled, and really been in the trenches of these homeowners' associations."

Among the reforms she proposes to make Nevada friendlier to these groups is changing a statewide requirement that association managers must work provisionally for two years in-state before being fully licensed.

Despite the early time frame, Toussaint has already drawn the support of several leading Nevada Republicans including Weber, Assembly Minority Leader Heidi Gansert, and Sen. Barbara Cegavske (R-Clark 8). 

"They say behind every great man there's a great woman," said Toussaint.  "Well, behind every woman there's a bunch of women helping her."

Toussaint will be relying on that support, as she may face an uphill battle to keep the seat in Republican hands.  Weber won reelection to the seat in 2006 by nearly 800 votes, but like much of Clark County, the district has been trending Democratic in voter registration for most of the last year.  As of December, Democrats had an edge in the district of more than 400 votes with over 3,000 voters registered as independents.

Toussaint was undismayed by this slight edge Tuesday, and is looking forward to campaigning in earnest later in the year.

"Because of the presidential election a lot of people will come out to vote," she said.  "I believe that most people vote for the person.  I don't think that most people vote just because of their party affiliation and I believe that once they get to know me they'll want me and they'll vote for me."

No Democratic candidate has yet announced for the seat, although Assembly Majority Leader John Oceguera Friday described Democratic recruitment in the district as being "close" to completion.