Insiders say ethics ruling won’t hurt Goodman

Kirsten Searer

Friday, May 14, 2004 | 9:28 a.m.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman's charmed political career shouldn't be derailed by the state Commission on Ethics' finding Thursday that he violated the state's ethics law, political insiders predicted.

It may seem illogical, but traditional political rules don't apply to Goodman, Democratic consultant Dan Hart said.

"Oscar is Oscar," Hart said. "What you see is what you get. He's not going to change his behavior. I don't believe anyone expects him to, and I venture to say the majority of people in the city don't want him to."

Goodman was found to have violated the law by using his position to help his son's business. However, he escaped a fine after the commission split on whether his violation was willful.

The mixed decision -- that he violated the law but wasn't punished -- shouldn't hurt, political insiders said.

Goodman's brash, often self-aggrandizing style, mixed with his love for a good time and a good martini have made him as popular as ever.

Paul Brown of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada said he thinks voters will view the charges levied against Goodman as minor compared to the federal corruption charges that some politicians in Southern Nevada have faced.

"He's the Frank Sinatra mayor -- have a drink and hang out with the boys," Brown said. "It's the old Vegas image, and I think there are a lot of people who want to believe that."

Even Clark County Republican Party chairman Brian Scroggins, who pointed out that he leads a much more conservative lifestyle than the mayor, said he expects "pomp and circumstance" from Goodman and respected him for wanting the best for his son.

"Mayor Goodman has always been fairly up front with who he is," Scroggins said. "I don't think he's ever pretended to be something he's not."

Goodman promoted Bombay Sapphire gin, which was part of the ethics complaint, and went to a series of "Martinis with the Mayor" parties, including the kickoff party, which featured the "world's biggest happy hour."

Part of the two-day commission hearing this week centered on the city's use of videos of the mayor's appearances on TV programs, including the parties. But witnesses said the mayor was the "face" of Las Vegas, and some said the mayor generated millions of dollars in free publicity for the city.

State Democrats will be happy to have Goodman continue to represent the party on national television, as he did a few weeks ago on CNN's "Crossfire," said state party spokesman Jon Summers.

"He continues to be a popular mayor," Summers said. "He's done a good job for the city of Las Vegas. It's just too early to tell if this is going to have any political impact."

Mike Sullivan, a political consultant who saw people approach Goodman at an airport a few weeks ago as if he was a rock star, said Goodman gets away with his admitted penchant for alcohol and his big ego because he's honest about himself.

"I know it seems over the top, and sometimes it is, but you know, I think in his own way even if he's boasting he's self deprecating," Sullivan said. "He's one of the most self-deprecating guys I know. When you're walking around, he's always talking about his big nose."

And voters sense that Goodman really cares about the city, Sullivan said. He recounted a story of coming back on a plane with Goodman, who was asked by a woman where to get the best martini in Las Vegas.

"He said, 'Fellini's, and you tell them the mayor sent you. You'll get the first one free,' " Sullivan said. "He doesn't have to hide or be politically correct. That's very, very refreshing."

Ken Oram, another Goodman consultant, said he ran a poll of people throughout the Las Vegas Valley about two weeks ago and threw in a question about Goodman. Goodman scored an approval rating in the 80 percentile, something Oram called "basically unheard of."

"And this was a valleywide poll," Oram said. "All I can tell you is this town likes Oscar."

The question on many minds is whether the self-proclaimed "happiest mayor" on earth will try to parlay his popularity into a run for the governor's mansion in 2006. So far, Goodman has demurred.

But even members of the ethics commission effused about Goodman toward the end of the two-day hearing, when the mayor argued that the more he acts like a "mob-lawyer-turned-mayor," including by drinking, the more effective he is in selling the city.

"I've been drinking to excess for I'd say about 35 years," he told the commission on Wednesday. "That's what lawyers do after a hard day."