Mayor at work in U.S. capital

Jonathan Lipman

Friday, July 16, 1999 | 10:58 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Mayor Oscar Goodman was on Capitol Hill on Thursday, charming politicians, poking fun at his image, and lobbying for federal money to carry out his numerous proposals.

It was clear he succeeded at the first two, but on the third he left with no promises, only hopes.

Goodman's top priority was to get money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist in the cleanup and repair following the storms that battered Las Vegas this week and last. He and Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., made a joint statement in the morning in reaction to Gov. Kenny Guinn's statement that there was no state or county money available to help Las Vegas. One of FEMA's usual requirements is that federal money be matched by local funds.

Goodman said he had no guarantees from anyone about the money, and Berkley frankly admitted that she did not know if any money could be made available. But Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., was more hopeful, saying it was "looking good" that President Clinton would declare Las Vegas a disaster area, clearing the way for federal funds.

Reid sent a note to the White House on the issue, said Reid spokesman David Cherry, adding, "The fact that the senator sits on the Appropriations Committee doesn't hurt."

Goodman also met with a variety of Washington players, including Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., officials from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Mickey Ibarra, director of Intergovernmental Affairs for Clinton.

"I'm here to make sure that Las Vegas gets every bit of federal money that it is entitled to from Washington," Goodman said.

HUD is one likely source, Berkley said, especially for the areas that Goodman has targeted for urban renewal on the west side of the city. The end of Goodman's official day was marked by a reception in the Capitol building, hosted by Reid. It gave the mayor a good chance to rub elbows with half of the Democrats in Congress. At least 10 members dropped by, mostly senators who needed a quick break from the fatiguing Patients Bill of Rights debate on the Senate floor.

Far from keeping his image quiet, Goodman seemed to invite scrutiny. To start with, he showed up a full 45 minutes late to his own reception. Sens. Tom Daschle and Edward Kennedy, who along with Reid were leading the floor debate on health care, were both forced to leave before meeting Goodman. Kennedy had met with the mayor earlier in the day.

When Goodman did show, he wore a dark blue pinstripe suit straight out of Mafia myth. When a reporter asked him if he was concerned about his "mob lawyer image," he jokingly looked over his shoulder in surprise.

"A lawyer?" he asked nervously, "for the mob? Here?"

Clutching the fabric of his sleeve, he said, "Would I wear this suit if I was concerned about this image?"

Indeed, not many of the senators seemed bothered by Goodman's less-than-perfect past clients.

"Everyone loves Oscar," Reid said. "Oscar's our main man."

Goodman and Reid knew each other back in the 1960s, when both were "the rising young stars" in the Las Vegas legal community, Goodman said.

"He was about as good as it got as a young lawyer," Goodman said. "He went his way into politics and I went my way to become 'The Mob Lawyer.' "

Jonathan Lipman

writes for States News Service.