Friday, April 16, 2004 | 5:08 a.m.
Jeff German's column appears Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays in the Sun. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4067.
WEEKEND EDITION
April 17 - 18, 2004
There he was, Oscar Goodman, the embattled mayor of Las Vegas, or more aptly put, the ringmaster of the Greatest Show on Earth, standing by himself in the City Council chambers facing a dozen journalists with questions about his alleged ethical misconduct.
And though he appeared alone on camera during his weekly televised news conference Thursday, Goodman, like all good circus ringmasters, had a supporting cast around him out of the camera's view.
On his right was David Riggleman, the city's communications director, who was holding a large parabolic microphone (the kind you see on the field at television football games) to capture the sound of reporters asking questions.
To his left was Elaine Sanchez, his spokeswoman, who was taking more notes than the reporters. Sitting off to the side was Stephanie Boixo, his young chief of staff, who also was jotting down notes.
Waiting in the wings behind the three rows of reporters was City Attorney Brad Jerbic, the mayor's unofficial legal adviser -- and lead tightrope walker.
And just to make sure the fourth-estaters didn't get too up close and personal with Goodman, three armed city marshals positioned themselves strategically in the audience.
There wasn't as much high drama Thursday as in the previous week's news conference, when the mayor stormed out rather than answer questions from his chief critic, Sun columnist Jon Ralston.
And there was a less contemptuous atmosphere than the news conference Goodman held a few days before that gathering on the steps of City Hall. This is where he rapped the Nevada Ethics Commission for having the audacity to bring him up on ethics charges and said he would continue to run the city as his personal kingdom.
But the mayor's latest encounter with reporters turned into another performance of the circus he has created at City Hall since being informed that he faces a May 12 ethics hearing into allegations that, among other things, he unlawfully promoted a company associated with his son Ross at a Washington cocktail party.
There was Goodman Thursday standing before the media once more, bobbing and weaving under the Big Top as if he were the criminal defense attorney of old, using a little razzle-dazzle to protect one of his notorious clients. Only this time he was protecting himself, which could turn out to be his most dangerous act -- because the the art of deflection doesn't work when you're both lawyer and client.
Goodman ducked questions about next month's ethics hearing, saying he didn't want to hurt his case.
When pressed to answer why he had spoken freely about the ethics charges in several friendly television interviews, including one just three hours before the news conference, Goodman all but admitted that he was attempting to manage his responses with the media.
He said he wasn't going to put himself in a position where his answers would be "misconstrued and played with."
He made it clear that he would rather do one-on-one interviews with naive television reporters -- his "friends" -- rather than experienced print reporters who aren't afraid to call him on the carpet when he's misleading them.
The sad thing is that this circus should never have put up its tent.
When his role at the Washington cocktail party first surfaced, all Goodman had to do was admit that he made an error in judgment. He would have received a slap on the wrist from the Ethics Commission. End of story.
But he chose to remain defiant and turn the debate over his indiscretions into the biggest act in town.
Now some of the people closest to Goodman are being dragged into the center ring. His wife and key City Hall staffers all have been subpoenaed to testify under oath at the May 12 ethics hearing -- the final act of the Greatest Show on Earth.
And why? Because the ringmaster has ordered the spotlight on himself, his family and the city.
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