Columnist Jon Ralston: Goodman frustrated in political arena

Wednesday, March 22, 2000 | 9:50 a.m.

Jon Ralston, who publishes the Ralston Report, writes a column for the Sun on Sundays and Wednesdays. Ralston can be reached at 870-7997 or by e-mail at ralston@vegas.com.

Who would have the audacity to describe the gaming industry as avaricious, parasitic and selfish? Who would have the temerity to accuse the casinos of not giving enough to the community? Who would dare publicly fume, "They put the money in their pocket and walk away from it."

Anti-gaming preacher Tom Grey? Capitol Hill gaming-basher Frank Wolf? Local casino taxman Joe Neal?

None of the above. The answer is Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, who made the comments Tuesday morning during a panel discussion, reiterating statements he made last week at an Urban Land Institute event. Oh, and don't misunderstand: Goodman feels the same way about developers -- and golf course owners, too. Yes, there are exceptions. But in his brief tenure as His Honor, Goodman has discerned a certain lack of community spirit by the city's moneyed interests. And he's mad.

"They have to come forward," he declared during a Chamber of Commerce event with two other mayors, Mike Montandon of North Las Vegas and Bob Ferraro of Boulder City. "I'm going to be in their face."

Goodman still describes himself -- and did Tuesday -- as the "happiest mayor in the world." But his sunny disposition is clouded by his disgust for a power structure he sees as trying to thwart his good works. "Las Vegas is at a crossroads," Goodman told the group. But Oscar Goodman, too, is at a crossroads, less than a year into his term.

Nobody in Nevada politics has ever talked as good a game as Goodman. And pretty soon he is going to be asked to put up or shut up -- if the latter is indeed possible. There is a fine line in politics between being a charming maverick and a loose cannon. In challenging almost every orthodoxy out there, Goodman is teetering on that tightrope, and he could easily lose his balance.

It's difficult to question his sincerity and motivations, notwithstanding his tendency toward hyperbole and affinity for media coverage. He really wants to bring a sports team here and build an arena downtown -- and he can't understand why some elements of the gaming industry won't support him.

He really wants to revitalize the inner city and bring people back there to live -- and he can't fathom why developers who have made a fortune here would not want to help him. And he really believes golf course owners should be giving more of a break to locals -- but "they're not altruistic," he lamented.

Goodman figures if he is willing to sacrifice his six- or seven-figure salary as a defense lawyer to give back to the community, why won't others who have prospered do the same? It sounds reasonable. But His Honor often seems to give no allowances for political -- or even practical realities. He wants to deliver, but the inexorably restrictive nature of politics, especially Las Vegas politics, may hold him back. And he won't be -- or can't be -- confined by ordinary strictures.

His predecessor, Jan Jones, had a similar penchant for talking big -- and about many of the same issues as Goodman -- but later finding it hard to deliver in an often intractable system. She finally grew so frustrated that her way of lashing back at the power elite was to challenge the anointed candidates for governor. She was crushed.

Goodman says what Jones left unspoken, but will he get any further? His irreverence and volubility will either push the system along or his self-proclaimed "big mouth" will be his undoing.

At one point in the discussion Tuesday, one of the three mayors boldly proclaimed, "I get whatever I want on the City Council."

You don't have to guess which one said that.