Goodman seeks high-tech firms for downtown

Sonya Padgett

Friday, July 23, 1999 | 10:22 a.m.

Enticing technology companies to open offices in Las Vegas may be the key to giving the downtown area new life, Mayor Oscar Goodman said Thursday.

Downtown revitalization is becoming Goodman's mantra, and in an effort to make it happen, he's talking to representatives from international high-technology companies such as Lucent Technologies and Microsoft.

"I'm really going out of my way to get these people," Goodman told reporters at a weekly press conference.

Goodman placed a call to billionaire Bill Gates to discuss building a Microsoft office downtown, but didn't get through to him.

"I guess my prestige as mayor of Las Vegas wasn't enough" to get Gates on the phone, Goodman said.

Bringing Microsoft into the valley would add a significant boost to the economy and the image of downtown, Goodman said.

"Gates is an interesting fellow from what I read. He has a social conscience," Goodman said. "I think his presence would revitalize downtown. I'm going to tell (Gates) Las Vegas is user-friendly."

Shortly after the elections, Goodman vowed to concentrate on downtown redevelopment, saying, "The revitalization and reinvigoration of downtown is one of my top priorities."

Trying to attract "Silicon Valley-type" businesses to the area has become one of his major goals.

While he was in Washington, D.C., last week, Goodman spoke with a representative from Lucent Technologies and talked to a Department of Housing and Urban Development official about redevelopment.

Goodman was in Washington to attend a reception in his honor, as well as to ask government officials for federal aid to help Southern Nevada with flood relief.

Though Goodman got the brush-off from Gates' office, he's determined to speak to him.

With his first month in office coming to an end, Goodman again declared himself in love with the job.

"I'm a very happy mayor (and) I've enjoyed every single minute," he said.

With the exception, that is, of two of the three minutes allowed for public comments on agenda items during City Council meetings.

"I love City Council meetings, but I never realized how long three minutes was," Goodman said. "I'm going to move these meetings along" possibly by shortening public comment to one minute per speaker.