Fueled by opposition to stadium project, Stavros Anthony to run for Las Vegas mayor

By Conor Shine

Published Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015 | 9:23 a.m.

Updated Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015 | 8:45 p.m.

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman has met her first challenger in her bid for re-election this June: City Councilman Stavros Anthony, who wants to leverage his opposition to the mayor's soccer stadium project to topple the political heavyweight.

Anthony, who was re-elected to a second term representing Ward 4.in 2013, announced his candidacy Tuesday morning.

Already, he's looking to use his opposition to a proposed $200 million downtown soccer stadium as a key plank in his campaign against Goodman.

"If I'm mayor, I will make sure the money that is allocated for our parks is spent on our parks," Anthony said. "People want city hall to pay attention to the voice of the people."

The stadium proposal, which calls for the city to contribute $56 million in funding, plus land at Symphony Park, was approved by the city council in a 4-3 vote in December after months of contentious debate. Part of the funding would be paid for using $3 million annually in money that previously went to city parks.

Anthony was joined by council members Bob Beers and Lois Tarkanian in voting against the stadium. The trio have since launched a petition initiative to put the question of taxpayer funding for the stadium on the June ballot. The group must turn in 8,258 signatures by Saturday in order to qualify the initiative for the election.

Anthony has helped boost the effort by paying to hire professional signature gatherers using campaign funds.

A former Metro Police captain, Anthony also opposed building a new city hall and the Mob Museum because of their reliance on taxpayer dollars.

He made his decision to run for mayor after the city council voted 4-3 to not put the stadium funding issue on the ballot at a meeting earlier this month.

"If the residents of Las Vegas don't support something, I'm going to listen to them. If they want to vote on something, I'm going to listen them," Anthony said.

He'll face a steep challenge in Goodman, who's built a healthy campaign warchest and benefits from widespread name recognition. Goodman has been a vocal cheerleader for the downtown soccer stadium, continuing a mission to bring professional sports to Las Vegas started by her husband and mayoral predecessor Oscar Goodman.

Goodman said she was surprised by Anthony's decision to run, especially after supporting his appointment as Mayor Pro Tem, the council's second ranking position.

"He told me just a few months ago what a great job I was doing," Goodman said. "And that while he'd love to run for mayor, he wasn't going to."

Goodman said beyond the stadium issue, the election would hinge on each candidate's vision for the city.

For her, that means finding new ways to lure tourists downtown and boost the city's economy, even if it takes some public money along the way.

"It's about investing in the community," Goodman said. "We're in a critical time with gaming all over the country. We're not the lone ranger there anymore. We have to do everything we can to drive tourists downtown and to our six wards."

Goodman, a registered independent, has raised nearly $137,000 for her campaign so far, according to recent campaign finance reports, drawing support from casinos, taxi companies, utilities and other big political spenders.

Anthony, a Republican, has raised $1,500, but had about $160,000 left over after his 2013 campaign, which could be put toward his mayoral run.

Candidate filing opens on Jan. 27 and closes Feb. 6. The primary will be held on April 7 and, if necessary, the general election will be on June 2.