Goodman and Giunchigliani headed for June runoff for Las Vegas mayor

By Delen Goldberg

Published Tuesday, April 5, 2011 | 7:43 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, April 5, 2011 | 11 p.m.

Former private school administrator Carolyn Goodman and Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani will face off in June to decide who will be the next mayor of Las Vegas.

Goodman, wife of Mayor Oscar Goodman, made it to the general election easily, with 37 percent of the vote, while Giunchigliani secured second place with 17.35 percent of the vote, beating fellow county Commissioner Larry Brown by a scant 15 votes.

Businessman Victor Chaltiel landed fourth with 14 percent of the vote.

City Councilman Steve Ross earned about 6 percent of the vote, placing him in fifth.

Brown said late Tuesday that he will endorse Giunchigliani.

Former state Sen. Bob Coffin and Adriana Martinez, the former Democratic Party chief, are headed to a runoff to represent Las Vegas’ Ward 3.

Meanwhile, the two incumbent council members seeking reelection — Lois Tarkanian and Ricki Barlow — easily retained their seats with each receiving more than 70 percent of the vote in their respective races.

The open Ward 3 race attracted seven candidates for the seat left vacant by longtime Councilman Gary Reese, who retired due to term limits. Coffin edged Martinez by 49 votes, receiving 34 percent of the vote to her 33 percent. Las Vegas Planning Commissioner Steve Evans was a distant third with 22 percent.

Candidates receiving more than 50 percent of the vote are elected outright. Otherwise, the top two vote-getters square off in the general election.

In the Ward 1 race, Tarkanian, who has two challengers, received 74 percent of the vote.

In the Ward 5 race, Barlow, who attracted three challengers, received 73 percent of the vote.

In Municipal Court races, incumbent Judge George Assad will face lawyer Heidi Almase in June to decide the Department 3 race. Assad, who drew five challengers, had 29 percent of the vote; Almase received 19 percent.

Those figures point to a difficult race for Assad. The field challenging Assad mushroomed after police announced Assad’s son had been arrested on charges of robbing a casino. Anthony Carleo is accused of being the “biker bandit” who stole $1.4 million in chips from the Bellagio in December.

In the Department 2 Municipal Court race, Sonny Bonaventure, with 30 percent, and Susan Roger, 38 percent, will advance to the general election.

In Department 5, which drew only two candidates, incumbent Judge Cedric Kerns won by 1099 votes over challenger Bruce Gale.