Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

jon ralston:

Race for mayor, like office, not serious

When he won the mayor’s race 12 years ago, Oscar Goodman set the bar low for substance.

And, as early voting starts Saturday, his potential successors have been doing all they can to emulate his example.

Not since 1999 — the last year of a competitive contest for mayor with two intervening Oscar coronations — has there been such silliness. Granted, mayor of Las Vegas is an inherently silly office, trivialized even more by Mayor Martini/Showgirls/MeMeMe. So I suppose we shouldn’t expect much — and the candidates, generally, are meeting our expectations, although with some of the best comedy I have seen in years. Combine that with the Shakespearean elements of tragedy — two loyal Goodman soldiers who believe they were knifed by The Family — and what the race lacks in substance it makes up for in entertainment.

It’s been so long so many folks may forget Goodman won in 1999 through the force of his personality, some brilliant image-making and his foes’ ineptitude. He said nothing about anything, clearly had never been to a council meeting and simply flattened the field with his charisma and media savvy.

Carolyn “I’m Oscar’s wife” Goodman is not nearly as charismatic and camera-magnetic as her husband, but her campaign is even more frivolous than his was 12 years ago. But she is still likely to win on April 5 and be favored in the runoff.

The epitome of her unserious campaign was a recently released YouTube of ex-Dodgers skipper Tommy Lasorda, looking as languid as if he were in a hostage video (except for a guy wandering into the shot at back) and featuring him mispronouncing Carolyn Goodman’s first name. Are Dodger fans here that stupid?

Queen Goodman is well ahead in the polls not because of anything other than sharing the king’s last name. She has come across well in some of the debates, although, like her husband 12 years ago, she has little knowledge. Once, when asked for details, she pointed at Councilman Steve Ross and suggested he give the answer for her.

That is ironic because Ross, trailing badly in polls, has been on a kamikaze mission for weeks, blistering The Family whenever an opening presents itself. Ross was floored during filing, as he has told the story, when His Honor strolled into his office to tell him, after previously saying otherwise, that Carolyn was running to stop County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani from winning, presumably because that CG was the antichrist.

Ross’ former colleague, County Commissioner Larry Brown, is probably more crestfallen over The Family’s betrayal. No one has been more loyal to Goodman, consistently praising his tenure and accomplishments. Brown, like Ross, surely does not believe the risible story that the Goodmans awoke during filing and Carolyn decided to run. That is as believable as some of the other tall tales the mayor has told. (“What, Tony Spilotro was in the mob? Who knew?”)

Brown was anointed before the queen’s entrance but now he must feel like a court jester. He has been running his usual, yeoman-like campaign, but his only chance to get into a runoff is a goodwill reservoir and Jim Ferrence, the grass-roots expert who also had been told by former client Goodman that The Family was out. Brown has seized on the county fire union scandal, hoping people forget he might have ratified a public employee contract or two. Good poll reading and chutzpah, if nothing else.

Brown’s comrade, Giunchigliani, has appeared the most businesslike and substantive in debates, and no one in politics works harder. She also is prosecuting quite the reinvention program, praying folks forget her fiery leadership of the teachers union and her equally incendiary advocacy for legislative tax increases, as she metamorphoses into a budget hawk and consensus-builder. She and her husband, Gary Gray, know how to win low-turnout races, so I do not discount her chances.

Monsieur Chaltiel is an X-factor because of his huge TV buy, but there is more focus on V for Victor’s accent than Dina Titus’ drawl ever caused. And, yet, for those who can understand him, he makes a lot of sense.

But it’s all noise, n’est-ce pas?, because Las Vegas has been The Family’s playground for quite some time, and it appears voters are about to extend their time in the sandbox. So be it.

Mayor Goodman set the standard from Day One, trading in gravitas for gin, and turning City Hall into Roundheels Central, where developers and snake oil salesmen had their way with the government for years. Who says there are no legal brothels downtown?

So maybe we should resign ourselves to the fact that the seriousness of the office is directly proportional to the seriousness of the incumbent and the campaigns being waged to succeed him.

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