Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Nevada Wonk

Carolyn Goodman: ‘I’m pretty good with a mop. I have four children’

Las Vegas mayoral candidate Carolyn Goodman used a speech this morning at a Hispanics in Politics meeting to respond to Councilman Steve Ross' accusation that her husband Mayor Oscar Goodman's policies have caused job losses.

Ross tweeted earlier this week: "Is Carolyn good with a mop? With 50,000 Las Vegans out of a job...Oscar is leaving a big mess to clean up."

It was the first jab lobbed in the otherwise friendly race. Oscar Goodman and Ross were allies in City Hall.

"I'm pretty good with a mop. I have four children," Goodman said today.

"I don't know what his problem is," she added. "He's on the City Council. He votes for everything."

In a half hour speech that included a question-and-answer session, Goodman played to the Hispanic crowd by talking about her love of culture and diversity.

She spoke about working as an outreach counselor early in her career "to break the racial barriers" Las Vegas faced and explained how the private Meadows School she founded requires Spanish language classes for elementary and middle school students.

"I know how rich your culture is, and I know everything you bring to Las Vegas," Goodman said.

She also emphasized the need for a strong school system to bolster Nevada's economy, and spoke against open enrollment.

Goodman said that as mayor, there's little she can do about spiking gas prices but suggested that hotels and casinos reimburse travelers for a tank of gas as a way to encourage tourism, particularly from California.

Goodman is the third mayoral candidate to lobby members of Hispanics in Politics. Clark Count Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani spoke at last month's meeting, during which she announced her candidacy, and Clark County Commissioner Larry Brown visited the group earlier this year.

Hispanics in Politics is Nevada's oldest Hispanic political group, and Latinos will be a key constituency on election day.

Fernando Romero, the group's president, said the organization rarely makes endorsements but will likely do so in the mayoral race.

He pointed out that endorsements can be dicey. He said the group chose the wrong candidate 12 years ago when Oscar Goodman first ran, prompting Carolyn Goodman to say: "I'm begging you not to endorse me."

Another candidate, Ed Uehling, also showed up at the event but was not invited to speak.

Uehling has a different take on the economy than most of his opponents. He maintains that diversification will further crush Nevada's economy and advocates for a singular mission of promoting tourism.

Uehling said Asian and other international visitors can pull Las Vegas out of its slump.

He also blamed economists for the economic downturn, saying they gave people false hope with their predictions that the economy would bounce back this year.

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