Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Las Vegas mayoral hopefuls get real on the issues

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Carolyn Goodman makes a remark during a mayoral debate with Chris Giunchigliani sponsored by the NAACP Saturday, April 16, 2011 at the Pearson Community Center.

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Chris Giunchigliani makes her opening remarks during a mayoral debate with Carolyn Goodman sponsored by the NAACP Saturday, April 16, 2011 at the Pearson Community Center.

Sun Coverage

Las Vegas mayoral candidates Carolyn Goodman and Chris Giunchigliani debated three times last week — talking diversity with the NAACP, business with the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and economic development with the Commercial Real Estate Development Association.

What follows are selected questions and the candidates’ responses from last week’s debates. These excerpts have been edited for clarity.

Which government services would you consolidate within the first 180 days of your administration?

Goodman: Having not been on the inside of the mayor’s management team, I would certainly not say right now what I would do. That would be totally irresponsible. My first act would be to come in and get to know the people, sit down with city management, become familiar, give them charge and have them come back to the mayor’s office and to the City Council to tell us how best we can work forward.

Giunchigliani: Business licenses — I’ve already started to work on that. Liquor and gaming fees — those need to go away. We’re charging exorbitant prices in the city that have been a barrier to businesses opening. I would also look at animal control and code enforcement. And we ought to do an interlocal agreement with the city and the county at minimum on park maintenance.

What would your 30-second commercial say to businesses looking to move to Las Vegas?

Goodman: Education. People will not move to a community where education isn’t equal to or better than other places. We have lost 140 businesses coming here because our education is so poor. We need to make sure our education is at a level that will draw families here that will own businesses.

Giunchigliani: We’re the cleanest, greenest, friendliest city in the world. We have the most diverse community, and we’ll help you by matching customers to your business. It’s about rethinking how we do business for you on your behalf.

What are your plans for the city’s invisible infrastructure (sewers, water, etc.)? How will you maintain infrastructure in these hard fiscal times?

Goodman: Very careful planning and prioritization. There are dollars that are assigned for infrastructure, for everything that people would want to be equitable. Some blighted areas, those properties were purchased years ago by private individuals. If they start to build, they are responsible for making sure the curbs and the roadways are there. The private sector needs to step up to make this happen.

Giunchigliani: Las Vegas has enough capacity. As we were growing, what we should have done — and this is a policy that I want to bring to the board as mayor — is that infrastructure needs to go in first. Developers should not be able to put a project in without putting in sidewalks, water, sewers. They got away with murder over the past 10 years and added to our problems without paying taxes on it.

Part two is we have to do conservation pricing on our water bills. The Southern Nevada Water Authority, which is a regional board, still has not gotten to that. We as a community should be able to use our own gray water (treated wastewater) on our homes.

Do you support project labor agreements (which are negotiated by developers, contractors and unions before a project begins, and define wages and work rules)?

Goodman: I’m about accountability and an equal playing field and equal time and everybody having a job equally.

Giunchigliani: I support project labor agreements, and I’ve voted for them. I also believe there needs to be a women-and-minority program in place.

What will you do to ensure that your administration reflects the ethnic diversity of Las Vegas?

Goodman: It is about you (residents) selecting the people you want to represent yourselves. I would be in your wards, any of the wards, with the ward leaders. You elect someone, not have us decide who that should be.

Giunchigliani: You don’t wait for people to come to you, you go to them. I’ve already started to build a book of women and people from every diverse group so there are already people in place who can step in to advise and/or hire when we have open positions. Part of that is the training that comes into play. We need to have a leadership program that promotes people, especially people of color, and women.

Would you support a conversion from a defined-benefit to a defined-contribution retirement plan for public employees?

Goodman: After full examination, with all the information pointing to that being the right thing to do, I would do it. I would study it in relation to the economy and what is on the table. I will never make a decision without being fully informed, and this is an issue that needs full information.

Giunchigliani: I will not support changing from the current system. What we don’t want is to have a community underfunded because you have an underfunded system. If you make a change now to that system and don’t have people paying in, you will actuarially destabilize it.

How much transparency should there be in collective bargaining negotiations?

Goodman: I am about the right of every individual to choose whether to be part of a union or not. I am pro-collective bargaining. However, I am about the leadership in collective bargaining representing the rank and file honestly. And I am also about open and transparent public involvement in the process. At the point a contract is imminent and all the work is done, before they vote on it and it is finalized, it needs to be before the public.

Giunchigliani: I support collective bargaining as well. I’m also a proponent of open bargaining. I actually negotiated back in the ’70s in Kansas where they have open transparent negotiations, and I think that’s good because the public can see what is going on. We as elected officials can see what’s going on.

Do you support binding arbitration when labor and management can’t strike a deal?

Goodman: I am opposed to binding arbitration. I believe elected officials are the ones who should be involved. I believe also that anything that’s binding and has not come to a resolve, you haven’t brought the right issues to the table, to the two sides. They need to know this is their community, our community. There has to be some give and take on both sides.

Giunchigliani: I support binding arbitration. The decision to add it was made both with management and employees because they did not want police, fire or teachers to go out on strike. It’s the hammer to make them stay at the table. But in the long run, you still have to make sure that the arbitrator, if they don’t settle at the table, bases decisions on the ability to pay.

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