Adamsen targets outdated ordinances

After narrowly escaping the primary election with his political career, councilman and Las Vegas mayoral candidate Arnie Adamsen vowed that the weeks leading up to the June 8 general election would be about four things:

"Issues, issues, issues and more issues," Adamsen said May 4 after earning enough votes to force a run-off with Oscar Goodman.

Keeping to that theme, Adamsen held a press conference Tuesday afternoon at his campaign headquarters to discuss this issue: using staff and council resources to wipe six antiquated ordinances off the city's books.

"They have no application to modern society," Adamsen said to three reporters as half a dozen family members and campaign volunteers quietly did paperwork nearby.

The candidate did reveal something at the beginning of his sometimes fragmented press conference that he said does have application to modern society -- a one-page form that applicants for business licenses use at the city and county. The form has been in use for some time now.

"What I'm saying is, government needs to be efficient and forward thinking," Adamsen said, segueing into his theme that removing outdated laws is a step in that direction.

Adamsen cited two examples of ordinances he says are "clogging up the books."

One is a 1912 ordinance that says, "You cannot display a horse or jackass on city streets," Adamsen said, referring to a law that outlawed the showing off of horses for stud service purposes.

"That has no application in a modern city," Adamsen said.

Another ordinance Adamsen would like to remove from the books is one that makes it "illegal to cuss on city streets or in alleys."

He said, if elected mayor, he would work to put one of the ordinances on the city attorney's portion of the City Council agenda at each meeting.

Asked why he hasn't brought this issue up during his 12 years in office, Adamsen said: "I'm trying to show the differences between my opponent and myself."

When the question was repeated, Adamsen answered: "I haven't had the opportunity to deal with them as a mayoral candidate."

Adamsen contrasted his proposal on the outdated ordinances -- something that he said could be accomplished -- to Goodman's proposal for a truck-only lane on U.S. 95, a proposal he laughed off as not feasible.

"What I'm talking about is workable solutions to real problems," Adamsen said.

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