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Las Vegas mayoral hopefuls sprint to finish
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Jason Bean/Las Vegas Review-Journal
Mayoral candidate Carolyn Goodman, right, interacts Saturday with volunteer coordinator Isabelle Holman at her campaign headquarters. Election observers expect the wife of the outgoing mayor, Oscar Goodman, to finish first in Tuesday's primary but not capture enough votes to avoid a general election fight. » Buy this photo
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Larry Brown: Cautious in assessing probabilities.
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Victor Chaltiel: Has spent $1.3 million of his own money.
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Chris Giunchigliani: Walking and knocking on doors.
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Steve Ross: Campaign has struggled to find traction.
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Apr. 3, 2011 | 8:21 a.m.
Candidates for Las Vegas mayor hit the streets and the phone lines over the weekend, searching for the final votes that could keep them in the race after Tuesday's primary.
Carolyn Goodman, still the frontrunner, worked the phones after a morning visiting various events, including a friend's birthday party. Larry Brown breakfasted with senior citizens, kicked off the Western Little League's season and persuaded a Lakers-friendly barber shop to put up some memorabilia from his beloved Boston Celtics:
"They almost booed me out of here," he said, but he made a case for honoring both rivals.
Chris Giunchigliani stuck with her favored neighborhood walking approach, and spent part of Saturday in the neighborhood around St. Louis Avenue and Maryland Parkway knocking on doors, handing out yard signs and, in one instance, scaring an apparent squatter out of a vacant house.
At the home of two longtime supporters, she asked about their neighbors: "Ask them if they're registered to vote," she said. "If not, we'll get them in the general."
As the closely watched Las Vegas mayoral election heads to Tuesday's primary, which will most likely winnow an 18-person field to two candidates, the contours of the race remain pretty much the same as when it started: There are five main candidates, three of whom are considered especially viable.
And the main question is who's going to come in second.
The consensus of the campaigns is that Carolyn Goodman, wife of outgoing Mayor Oscar Goodman, remains the front-runner. Brown, a Clark County commissioner and former Las Vegas councilman, had been comfortably in second place, but is now in a tight contest with fellow commissioner Giunchigliani.
Venture capitalist Victor Chaltiel, meanwhile, has vaulted from obscurity with the help of $1.3 million of his own money, most of which went to television advertising to boost name recognition. According to his campaign, at least, he's polling within the margin of error with Brown and Giunchigliani.
Las Vegas Councilman Steve Ross continued to project optimism heading into the final days before the primary vote, even though his campaign has struggled more than the others to find traction.
"You've just got a heated battle for second, if you believe polling," said Bradley Mayer, Goodman's campaign manager, who said he's been tracking the race via exit polling. "But we don't take anything for granted here.
"There were three main people going in and there are three main people going out. The wild card is Victor. That's the main thing -- how much did that (advertising push) translate into?"
LOTS OF CONFIDENCE
Though it would be an astonishing electoral performance, Chaltiel (pronounced shal-tee-EL) was still confident that it would translate into a second-place finish. Brown and Giunchigliani were equally convinced of their chances.
In Las Vegas elections, if no candidate gets a majority in the primary then the top two finishers continue to a general election, which this year is scheduled June 7.
"I am there. Absolutely I am there," predicted Chaltiel, who grew up in France and French-speaking Tunisia. "I think we are going to be the biggest upset in Nevada politics. To go from zero to being in the general -- and in spite of my accent!"
Giunchigliani was equally sanguine: "I expect to be in second place Tuesday and be in the runoff," she said.
Her husband and campaign manager, Gary Gray, and Chaltiel's manager, Joe Catania, said they were using automated polling, which can be less precise than using poll-takers -- you don't necessarily know if the person responding is actually a registered voter, for instance. But they say it's useful for identifying trends, and they believe they're on their way up.
"I say we've got traction. We've got momentum," Gray said.
"You look at trends over time. It looks pretty good," said Catania, who said the campaign is polling daily. "We're cautiously optimistic."
Brown was cautious in assessing Election Day probabilities.
"Everybody has their own poll and will provide their own numbers," he said. "We can't control them.
"It's certainly going to be very competitive. The dynamic that's different in this race is that there are four or five good candidates ... who are out there campaigning."
The campaign to succeed Oscar Goodman, who cannot run again because of term limits, was always going to be high-profile, since it's the first time since 1999 that the mayor's chair in Nevada's largest city has been truly up for grabs.
Goodman also raised the profile of the job through his colorful personality and ambitious downtown development plans, taking a position that on paper is largely ceremonial and creating an influential bully pulpit.
The race has focused on jobs, economic diversification and even education, although the city and mayor have no direct role in public schooling.
CAMPAIGNS AND ISSUES
For the most part, the candidates have pitched their ideas and experience at voters to differentiate themselves from one another with little personal mudslinging, although Chaltiel's ads take aim at "career politicians" -- a clear swipe at Brown and Giunchigliani -- and Las Vegas firefighters criticized Brown for what they perceived as his linking all firefighters to the sick leave scandal in the Clark County Fire Department.
The 18 contenders in the race is probably a record, according to the city clerk's office. Since 1967, the only contest that's come close was 13 candidates in the 1991 mayoral race.
Brown and Ross announced early. Giunchigliani and Carolyn Goodman made last-minute splashes with their decisions to enter the race, while Chaltiel's momentum began with television exposure in February.
It will probably be the most expensive mayoral race in city history. By March 24, the last campaign finance reporting date, the top five candidates were already pushing the $3 million spending mark, not counting what's being spent in the run-up to Tuesday and the coming expenditures by whichever candidates make the general election.
The spending, however, generates relatively few votes, and the low turnout probably means that the result will be close and determined by the efficiency of a candidate's campaign operation. All of them tried to get people to vote during early voting and will be making phone calls and knocking on doors to get supporters to the polls on Tuesday.
The 1999 election had 25 percent turnout, which was a high-water mark for recent city elections. Estimates this year are for 40,000 to 50,000 voters to participate, which would be 18 percent to 22.5 percent of the city's 222,185 active registered voters.
A pay increase approved in 2007 takes effect for the next mayor, who will not be able to hold outside employment and will be paid an annual salary of about $130,000 during the four-year term.
Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
1. What’s the next step Las Vegas needs to take to address an ongoing budget shortfall?
Larry Brown: Stop being “all things to all people.” Focus on core services such as parks, infrastructure and public safety.
Victor Chaltiel: Promises to review the budget line by line, searching for waste, fraud and mistakes.
Chris Giunchigliani: Look at additional labor concessions and possible management overstaffing, and an efficiency program where a portion of savings accrue to the department that finds them.
Carolyn Goodman: “Strategic alliances” with other cities in areas such as purchasing or information technology will provide savings.
Steve Ross: Seek efficiencies and work with bargaining units; keep priority on public safety.
2. City employee unions agreed to concessions and cuts in pay and benefits. What should be done next to make sure compensation doesn’t get out of hand?
Larry Brown: Eliminate antiquated benefits such as automatic pay raises and cost-of-living raises.
Victor Chaltiel: Study moving away from a defined benefit pension system; ensure salaries are in line with the private sector for similar jobs.
Chris Giunchigliani: Look at longevity pay and employee health insurance contributions.
Carolyn Goodman: New city employees will have to come in at salary and benefit levels that are more in line with the private sector.
Steve Ross: Keep contracts flat, have employees pay more toward PERS and other benefits, similar to what the private sector does.
3. What’s the first place the city should look at to consolidate or share services with other local governments?
Larry Brown: Business licensing, permitting and inspections.
Victor Chaltiel: Business development should be coordinated among all local governments and the state instead of entities competing against one another.
Chris Giunchigliani: Business licensing, code enforcement, animal control, parks.
Carolyn Goodman: Business licensing.
Steve Ross: Purchasing, detention center support, business licensing.
COMPILED BY ALAN CHOATE
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This is REALLY exciting! This race of professional, worthless LOSERS is being so well covered! I wonder which insider will win this time. I'm so undecided with all of the WONDERFUL candidates that I don't know who to vote for. * * * So I guess I won't. Du-uh! * Welcome to Fabulous Las Corporation!
The only job they have after they get elected dpo is to get RE-elected.
No more Politicians
Victor
lol
No GoodMan
is a beast
It is pretty clear in my mind, that if three of the candidates - two county commissioners and a city council member - REALLY wanted to improve Las Vegas, they would have done so a long time ago! By the way, who has been doing their jobs the last two months while they beg for votes and film TV commercials?
Neonopolis! World Trade Center! Sports Arena! New City Hall!
We need a mayor with vision--and a really big ego. And a mirror.
Or--maybe one that can simply do the math..
Politicians will take your money and spend it on projects that provide few jobs, and only for the short term. This business candidate will use private financing with incentives to create new businesses that will provide 1000's of permanent jobs. With 30 years experience in real estate, land development & international finance contacts, I can turn the City of Las Vegas around. Marlene Rogoff, Candidate for Mayor of Las Vegas. For details, listed to interview on www.knpr.org and www.friendsofmarlene.com
Time for a younger face in the Mayor's Office.
Fact is a very, very small part of the voting public of the City of Las Vegas will decide who will be the next leader of our great city. That is a pretty disgusting fact. Less then 20% of us really care enough about this city to work on it's future. Katie, you are right, th public will not be hoodwinked, most of them just don't care and will do nothing while there are others that want to do something about our city. I am not saying you are the one to do it. You have idea's but no real way of funding most of those idea's. Nice to have goals but you have to have real plans to back up those plans. Until the people of Las Vegas get off their butt and really do more then complain on the Internet they will get what they deserve though.
We the people of Las Vegas will not be hoodwinked or bamboozled. We will turn out in great numbers to vote for the only true voice of the people, KatherineDuncan.com
We will stop the outright abuse of City funds given to downtown developers who break the law by not hiring people from Las Vegas. We The People have a plan and we will have our voices heard. No to career politicians, no to business run governement.
Vote for a humanitarian who is the voice of the people. We the People will get back into the drivers seat and when we say the City, it will mean the people and not the staff & elected officials.
KatherineDuncan.com
First of all no one has ever asked which one of these candidates would do the best job if there were ever a disaster or emergency situation in the city. That is the only other thing the mayor is officially charged with doing other than acting in City Council.
There is only one candidate I can imagine staying up for days with the on their feet intellect to manage the national media in order to continue confidence in our region so that visitors keep coming and that is Chris G.
I am appalled how over the last week Brown and Ross both said they would support a repeal of domestic partnerships, and oppose public school instruction that says homosexuality is an acceptable lifestyle. Las Vegas can't afford to be labeled as a bigot capital - we will lose $$$$$$. It is also not the right thing to do by our LGBT community.
As for Carolyn I gave her a lot more credit before the race started. She is really not that bright once you read the interviews or see her in action.
For my family it is Chris G all the way!