Lonely voice against mountains of debt

By Sam Skolnik

Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009 | 2 a.m.

The woman waited quietly for her turn to speak, her hands clasped in front of her, her head unbowed.

Save for a couple of exceptions, it seemed the whole room was aligned against her: politicians impatient to tout their idea of a new city hall, hundreds of out-of-work laborers and their supporters eager to work on the project.

Rochelle Abram was one of the few who spoke against the project at Wednesday’s Las Vegas City Council meeting — and one of just two who were not a Culinary Union official or a neighborhood activist.

Just a concerned citizen.

The seven-member City Council, including Mayor Oscar Goodman, unanimously authorized a “lease-purchase” agreement to fund the new city hall project, which the city estimates will cost $150 million to $267 million.

Most council members used the opportunity to weigh in on behalf of the project. They said it would provide jobs, spur further downtown redevelopment and wouldn’t take funding away from schools, despite what has been claimed.

In December the Culinary proposed two ballot measures the city is fiercely opposing, including one that would repeal the Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency’s current plan and force the agency to submit future redevelopment projects for voter approval. The other is designed to stop the city hall project by requiring voter approval of lease-purchase projects.

At a council meeting the month before, when the Culinary made its intentions known, more than 100 union members wearing red T-shirts loudly expressed their opposition to the project. Goodman responded by accusing the union of intimidation.

The city had been waiting for its chance to show some muscle. On Wednesday it got that chance.

More than 300 construction workers from Laborers Local 872 packed the council chambers, cheering and pumping their fists at the remarks they liked and booing those they didn’t.

The workers backed the council members and the city’s top staffers who detailed the city’s financial justifications.

In all, 10 people came to the podium to support the new city hall, including seven laborers. Five spoke against the project, including Culinary attorney Richard McCracken.

Abram, who wore a yellow suit, a patterned tie over a white shirt and long, braided hair, followed McCracken. She went on the offensive immediately.

She claimed the city hall plan would mean the city would incur $100 billion in additional debt that it hasn’t disclosed — that’s “billion” with a “b,” a distinct unlikelihood, to say the least.

Numbers aside, Abram echoed the concerns that many in the community have expressed — that incurring hundreds of millions in debt amid a deepening recession is not wise, and that the current city hall is functional and paid for.

“I understand everybody in this room would like to have a job, income, but let’s not do it forsaking our children’s interests,” Abram said.

Soon after, Abram broached another topic — the closure of F Street near Interstate 15, which has become a hot-button issue for many residents of West Las Vegas.

Goodman saw his chance.

“OK, that’s it, that’s it,” he said, interrupting Abram to raucous cheers from the crowd. They wanted another speaker, someone in favor of the plan, to come to the microphone.

Abram stood for one more brief moment at the podium. She then turned and walked backed to her seat.