Election ‘99: After a near-win in primary, more support may come for mayoral bid

Wednesday, May 5, 1999 | 11:26 a.m.

The good news keeps flowing in for Oscar Goodman, who came within a hair of winning the Las Vegas mayor's race in the primary Tuesday night.

Mark Fine, who finished third with 16 percent of the vote and failed to make the cut for next month's general election, said this morning he's leaning toward throwing his support to Goodman, the criminal defense attorney who's threatening to shake up the establishment.

"I have more of a propensity to help Oscar, but I'm going to meet with both candidates and have an open mind," Fine told the Sun.

Fine, who jumped into the race to provide an alternative to Goodman's general election opponent, three-term City Councilman Arnie Adamsen, said he hopes to persuade Goodman to tone down his anti-developer remarks.

"I have a problem with some of the rhetoric Oscar throws around that I don't think is healthy for the community," said Fine, who helped develop the master-planned communities of Summerlin and Green Valley. "It has a tendency to direct itself in a no-growth direction."

Goodman said this morning he would welcome Fine's support and will listen to his concerns.

But Goodman said he's not likely to change his position toward the developers.

His vow to seek higher impact fees for developers catapulted his candidacy to within 277 votes of winning the election outright Tuesday night. He garnered 49 percent of the vote to Adamsen's 29 percent.

Fine acknowledged that Goodman, despite his reputation as a lawyer who has devoted a career to defending mobsters and other high-profile criminals, is appealing to a broad range of voters.

"I don't think people are afraid of Oscar as much anymore," he said.

Goodman attributed his success in the primary to his appeal to the average citizen.

"People believe me, and they believe in me, and they know it's time for a change toward real leadership," he said.

Adamsen, meanwhile, said this morning he hopes to persuade Fine's supporters to back him in the general election even if Fine endorses Goodman.

"The votes Mark got, we believe, were traditional votes, and we'll work really hard to get those voters and all of the other people who didn't vote in the primary," Adamsen said.

Goodman insisted he intends to continue to take the high road and run the same positive campaign that excited the voters in the primary.

"This election is going to be a model of what America is all about," he said, after being declared the primary winner Tuesday night.

And today, he reiterated his desire to remain positive.

"I signed a pledge, and my word is my bond," Goodman said. "I'm not going to get off the high ground. I'm not going to change my ethics and my morality just because I'm running for mayor."

Adamsen let it be known he plans to hit Goodman even harder in the general election.

"We're going to continue to point out differences," Adamsen said. "I want specific answers to specific questions about issues that affect the city and specific answers to the statements he's made."

By most accounts, Adamsen did not have much to be happy about over his primary showing. Yet he was elated.

Bashing Goodman over the television airwaves the last three weeks of the campaign appeared to have paid off for Adamsen. It gave him another shot at becoming mayor. His own polls showed he had to attack Goodman to keep the polished defense attorney from winning the race in the primary.

Political observers believe Adamsen has no choice but to keep up the heat in the general election.

The question among observers now is whether Goodman can remain true to his positive campaign pledge as Adamsen fires away.

"I think Oscar has painted himself into a corner by taking the high ground," veteran political strategist Don Williams said. "It will be hard for him to stay silent, particularly if people are distorting his views or telling outright lies about him."

Adamsen, meanwhile, said voters can expect to see a shakeup within his campaign team.

"We're going to fine tune everything," Adamsen said.

That means reaching out again to the establishment political strategists who stayed neutral during the primary -- people like Billy Vassiliadis, Kent Oram and Sig Rogich.

Adamsen said Vassiliadis, a lobbyist for the Nevada Resort Association, which is nervous about Goodman's candidacy, offered his assistance today.

"We're going to widen our net and concentrate on our ground game," Adamsen said.

As the race heats up, Goodman's presence is likely to attract more national publicity to Las Vegas.

Goodman said "60 Minutes" telephoned him to say it was coming to Las Vegas to do a segment on the mayor's race.

The national media has been intrigued by Goodman's burst on the political scene here. In recent weeks, the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek Time and other national publications all have come to Las Vegas to profile Goodman.

"We're going to widen our net and concentrate on our ground game."Arnie Adamsen