Monday, March 24, 2003 | 11:01 a.m.
Mayor Oscar Goodman, the self-proclaimed happiest mayor in the world, confesses to tiring a bit as his first term in office comes to a close.
"See, I have bad feet," Goodman said. "I stand for eight or nine hours a day sometimes, giving speeches and walking around. If my feet were good, I wouldn't have a problem."
Goodman still revels in the moniker of "happiest mayor" after four years on the job. His wife, Carolyn, thinks Goodman is more at ease as the mayor than in his former role as a criminal defense attorney. He put aside his successful law practice four years ago to be a full-time mayor, a position considered part-time that pays $53,422 a year.
"I think the emotional and psychological pressure he endured through his 35 years in private practice were great and took a toll," Carolyn Goodman said. "I think he's a much happier individual because he doesn't have someone's life in his hands.
"Now he's part of the greater good and he's in a popular position. Being a federal criminal defense attorney is not a very popular position to be in. It's a lonely position."
Goodman loves being loved by the people and likes people to know he is nice to everyone, he and his wife said. That attitude was evident at a recent speaking engagement at Los Prados Country Club. Hundreds of attendees laughed at his jokes, asked for autographs and marveled at the former mob attorney.
"I've always had a good feeling toward him," said Las Vegas resident Anita Bruno, 69. "He's a good guy and he's down to earth, and he is doing a lot for our community."
Political analysts say Goodman's popularity, his $1 million war chest and the lack of a well-financed opponent make it virtually certain that Goodman will win another term.
Despite having five challengers, Goodman may not even be forced into a runoff in the general election. If he receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the April 8 primary, the race is over. If not, he will face the second-place finisher in the general election.
But once in office for another four years, analysts say, Goodman will have to make good on promises he has talked up during his first four years in order to leave a political legacy.
"Downtown development is a critical issue for him in his next term," said Michael Bowers, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "Not only with the development of the (city-owned) 61 acres (downtown) but of the revitalization of the downtown itself.
"If he gets the academic medical center, it's a very big shot in the arm because it's so not Las Vegas. It would make Las Vegas the center for medical care delivery. It's a very important thing to do, but that alone will not create a legacy."
Political consultant Mark Benoit agrees.
"He has staked his whole political identity on downtown," Benoit said. "For years people have been used to the fact that downtown is associated with crime and drugs and prostitutes. He still has a lot of that to overcome."
Since Goodman was elected four years ago his most prominent role in the city has been as its spokesman. He appeared on CNN to blast the NFL for refusing to run an ad promoting Las Vegas during the Super Bowl; he became a spokesman for Bombay Sapphire gin; and he did a poster for the California Raisin Marketing Board. Along the way he has told anyone who will listen about downtown and his hope for redevelopment.
By talking up Las Vegas to the national media, the mayor says, he has helped generate an interest in the city.
"If you spell it right, you are doing Las Vegas good," he said. "Las Vegas is different than any other place. If I was in El Paso, they would probably lynch me and rightfully so. But in Las Vegas I think that this is part of the persona."
However, Goodman is promising a different kind of mayor if he gets re-elected. He says he would return to law, taking a couple of cases, during the second term. But, he adds, they wouldn't be anything "high-profile."
"You're going to see a lot of changes," Goodman said with a smile, and no elaboration. "You will see a tougher mayor."
The past four years have been an education, a learning experience, Goodman says. The first lesson came when he realized that, as mayor, he was only one of seven votes on the City Council. He also found some of his statements alienated segments of the community.
One of those targets was gaming. At a speaking engagement at the American Gaming Summit in February 2002, Goodman blasted the industry, saying he was disappointed in its lack of support on everything from battling a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain to efforts to bring an NBA team to Las Vegas.
Bill Bible, president of the Nevada Resort Association, was quoted soon afterward criticizing Goodman.
"I'm of the belief that most people in the industry don't really take him seriously," Bible told the Associated Press in March 2002. Bible did not return repeated calls seeking comment for this story.
Goodman said he now wishes he had never made the comments at the gaming summit.
"I think I set myself back as far as community partnerships when I was critical of the gamers and particularly on their turf," he said. "But I warned them. They wanted me to talk about gaming being charitable citizens, and I said, 'You don't want me to do that.' I went there and did what I said I was going to do and they hated me. But that's OK, we made up."
Goodman said he has learned that he needs the gaming community on his side to realize his vision for downtown, which includes an academic medical center, high-rise residential buildings, a park and a performing arts center.
"They are our IBM, our Microsoft," he said. "They are the economic engine that drives us and, until they buy into these things, it'll be a slow progress."
Some gaming companies have bought into Goodman, contributing thousands of dollars to his campaign, according to a campaign contribution and expenditure reports released on Jan. 15. Boyd Gaming Corp. donated $10,000, Station Casino founder Frank Fertitta gave $5,000 and Station Casinos gave another $5,000. Hotels and casinos on Fremont Street also made contributions including $5,000 from La Bayou casino, Mermaids casino and the Plaza.
Don Snyder, president of Boyd Gaming, has also bought into one of Goodman's ideas and is a co-chairman of the Las Vegas Performing Arts Center Foundation, which wants to build a performing arts center downtown.
"I have had the chance to work with the mayor more than anyone else in the industry so I understand him more," Snyder said. "When he didn't see people getting involved as quickly as he'd like, it spurred him to be a little more aggressive. The venue he chose probably wasn't the best to express this and I think he would also think so today. I think as a leader he's doing a much better job being sensitive to all sides of the issue."'
Still at odds with Goodman, though, are advocates for the city's homeless population.
Homeless advocates were left aghast by Goodman's 2002 State of the City speech in which he said a contingent of the homeless was "robbing people, raping people and killing their own."
"He called a lot of people insects -- I mean, come on these were his clients," said Linda Lera-Randle El, director of Straight From the Streets. "When he speaks to people who say, 'I just want my booze and drugs,' he doesn't ask why. (Goodman) is known to be a partier and a drinker, and they entrusted him with their deep dark secrets, only to have him use that against them."
However, Goodman for the most part has mended political fences, especially with onetime foe Councilman Michael McDonald.
"The (council) votes are 7-0 or 6-1," Goodman said. "I have complete support of my council and that's a hard task in politics. That's not the way it was before. It used to be very divisive. ... (McDonald) supports everything I do now."
The lone dissenter these days is the other McDonald on the council, Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald. She was at one time the person who helped shift the balance of power on the dais to Goodman during his feud with Michael McDonald.
Boggs McDonald, though, says her votes are cast on the issue and are not directed at who sponsors the item. For example, she voted against giving an additional $7 million to the Fremont Street Experience, a project supported heavily by Goodman.
"The votes I cast never had anything to do with Goodman. They have to do with the issue before me," she said. "Anyone could have been sitting in the mayor's chair."
While Boggs McDonald respects Goodman in his capacity as mayor, she said she would never ask for his support again in a political race. When Boggs McDonald, a Republican, challenged incumbent Rep. Shelley Berkley last year, Goodman at first promised to stay neutral. He later endorsed his fellow Democrat and appeared in a commercial for her.
"From a political perspective Goodman is irrelevant to me," Boggs McDonald said. "I grew up in a military family where honor meant something and when you gave your word you took it to your grave. The whole experience was enlightening in that I wasn't in that environment of honor anymore. I'm thankful to him for jarring me into reality."
Goodman said at the time that he hoped Boggs McDonald understood "the realities of life and politics."
As Goodman campaigns for another four years as mayor, he said he hopes the public understands the reality of his life in politics.
"I think a lot of people don't think I'm serious," he said. "But I'm dead serious when it comes to making a difference as far as this community is concerned. I don't take myself seriously, I take the job very seriously. I don't know if people can understand that."
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