Las Vegas Review-Journal - Jane Ann Morrison

Oscar the Spoiler? Think hard about who would be hurt if Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman ran for governor as an independent. Goodman, a Democrat, would infuriate the Democrats because in a three-way general election, he’d likely pull more from Democrats than Republicans.

Political reporter Molly Ball’s story today shows that Goodman is thinking about it. Guess he’s feeling ignored these days and needs to do something that would keep his name in the news and encourage people to ask breathlessly: Are you running?
 
Goodman has never been a party stalwart. He endorses without considering party affiliation. He hasn’t been involved in the party. He told Ball he used to be a Republican. Since mayor is a nonpartisan job, he hasn’t answered a lot of questions that would define his political philosophy.

He’s turned to Jesse Ventura, the wrestler turned governor of Minnesota, for political advice, which says plenty about Goodman’s judgment.

Obviously, Goodman needs a political job so he can remain in the limelight when his term ends in 2011 and term limits (which I personally oppose) leave him jobless and irrelevant.

I’ve said all along, he’d be perfect for lieutenant governor but a disaster as a governor because he’s more a cheerleader/promoter than a policy guy, and I do want a policy wonk as my next governor.

Goodman’s veracity has been a problem since he was first elected in 1999. His tendency to say whatever he likes without knowing or understanding the facts. (Remember the 18 missing ballots in the Ward 4 race?)

He’s loosie goosie about what happened in years gone by. (Remember his erroneous insistence that his client Frank Rosenthal wasn’t a government informant while Goodman represented him?)

And when it comes to policy, one can only wonder why he’s insisting on going full speed ahead with a new city hall when the timing is so terribly wrong.

But that’s Goodman’s personality. Take a stance and refuse to compromise.
 
He can run as an independent on the cheap. He’d be on the November ballot without undergoing the rigors (or the attack ads) of a Democratic primary.

He'd probably pull 20 percent of the vote from disgruntled members of both parties, at least in Clark County, although he would do poorly in the rest of Nevada. But I’d guess he’d pull more from the D’s than the R’s.

Democratic leaders have got to be asking themselves: Where can we find a place for Oscar the Spoiler, something that makes him happy but gets him out of the governor’s race?

But then maybe that was Goodman’s plan all along?