Goodman leads way with money for April election

Judy Odierna

Wednesday, April 2, 2003 | 9:14 a.m.

Incumbents running for re-election in Las Vegas have collectively raised more than $2 million, monetarily trouncing their opponents.

Campaign reports were relesed on Tuesday for the municipal elections on April 8. Early voting is currently going on and will continue through Friday.

Leading in contributions is Mayor Oscar Goodman, who has raised more than $1.1 million, including individual 137 contributions less than $100. Goodman has spent more than $865,000 of that.

Some of Goodman's larger donors were Barrick Gaming Investments, $5,000; Boyd Gaming, $10,000; the California hotel, $10,000; the Excalibur, $10,000; Station Casinos, $25,000; and the Luxor, $10,000.

Goodman also received $10,000 each from the Parkinson Family Trust, Timothy N. Poster, Rebel Oil, John Staluppi Jr., Doyle Brunson and Ricbar LLC.

Goodman's opponents have raised little in comparison.

Joe Falco, a car salesman, raised and spent $185; of that $85 was loaned to himself. Tom McGowan, a retired musician, raised and spent $300; Carlos Poliak, a sanitation worker, raised and spent $100. Edward R. Schmitt, a plumbing contractor, has raised $6,350 and spent $6,200. Allan "Big Al" Smith's report had not been filed as of Tuesday.

Councilman Michael McDonald raised $566,149 and spent $333,660. McDonald received the bulk of his top contributions from car dealerships. Contributions included $10,000 from Courtesy Pontiac; $10,000 from the Southern Nevada Franchised New Car and Truck Dealership; $5,000 from Henderson Hyundai Superstore; and $5,000 from Planet Hyundai.

McDonald also received $7,500 from the Stratosphere; $5,000 from Station Casinos; $5,000 from Palace Station; and $5,000 from Santa Fe Station. He also received $5,000 from Coast Casinos Inc.

Howard Hughes Properties contributed $10,000 to McDonald's campaign. McDonald also loaned himself $20,100.

Opponent Janet Moncrief raised $12,438 and spent $11,760.95. Moncrief loaned $3,800 to herself and received $5,000 from the Trinidad Surgery Center, of which she is one of the owners.

Paul Chomintra, a businessman, raised and spent $150. Civic activist Peter Christoff loaned himself $5,000 and spent most of that at Kinko's and for postage.

In Ward 3, Councilman Gary Reese raised $400,976 and spent $249,150.

Some of Reese's larger contributions were D Texas Investments which gave $7,500; Boyd Gaming, $10,000; and Howard Hughes Properties, $10,000.

Also, Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani gave $500 to Reese; Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid gave $500; and Commissioner Myrna Williams gave $250.

Reese's opponent, Keith Vanderwyst, a draftsman, raised $625 and spent $666. Opponent Fernando Romero's report was unavailable.

In Ward 5, Councilman Lawrence Weekly raised $295,504.02 and spent $152,265.87.

Weekly received $1,000 from Barrick Gaming; $10,000 from Boyd; $5,000 from Boulder Station; $10,000 from Coast interests; $7,500 from D Texas Investments; $10,000 from Howard Hughes Properties; $10,000 from Station Casinos; and $4,000 from the Chelsea Property Group.

Weekly's challenger, Jefferson Lee, a supervisor with Delta Airlines, raised $125 and spent $1,991.75. Gene Collins, a former assemblyman, raised $12,525 and spent $12,407. Collins' largest donor was Mandalay Bay, which gave $2,500.

In the city's hotly contested Municipal Court Department 6 race, Deputy District Attorney Abbi Silver has raised the most money of the seven challengers. Silver leads the pack with $128,319. She has spent $61,954.

In addition to a number of contributions from attorneys, Silver also received $1,000 from Mermaids casino; $1,000 from Resort Gaming Group; $2,500 from Coast; and $1,000 from the Palms. Blueberry Hill Family Restaurants gave $2,500 and Blueberry Hill Neighborhood Bar and Grill gave $2,500. Silver also loaned herself $2,064.

Gary Pulliam raised $58,305 and spent $50,220.80.

Bill Gonzalez raised $32,654. He loaned himself $12,300.

Lillian Davis raised $20,150 and spent $16,336.96. Davis loaned herself $20,000.

Bill Henderson raised $12,250. He loaned himself $11,200.

Still not posted are the reports of candidates Stefany Miley and Larry Jordan Weinsteen.

In the Municipal Court Department 1 race, incumbent Toy R. Gregory raised $120,250 and spent $60,949. His largest donors were $5,000 from Mandalay Resort Group; $5,000 from Gragson and Associates Inc.; and $5,000 from Ricbar.

The reports of Gregory's two opponents, Mathew Paul Harter and Denise McCurry, were not available.

Municipal Judge Bert Brown of Department 4, who did not draw an opponent, raised more than $64,000 and spent more than $55,000. Judge George Assad of Department 3, who also unopposed, raised more than $193,000 and has spent $11,558.