Tarkanian plans a run to retain her council seat

Dan Kulin

Sunday, April 23, 2006 | 7:23 a.m.

Hoping to put the rumors to rest, Las Vegas Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian said she plans to run for re-election next year.

Tarkanian won her council seat in a January 2005 recall election that sacked then-Councilwoman Janet Moncrief.

The next regularly scheduled election for Tarkanian's Ward 1 seat will be in 2007.

Tarkanian said she wants to stay on the council to continue working on issues such as toughening property maintenance codes and improving playgrounds and parks.

And quashing, at least for now, another Ward 1-related rumor, former City Councilman Michael McDonald said he has no plans to run for political office again.

McDonald, defeated by Moncrief in 2003, has since worked as a consultant on government relations and land-use issues.

McDonald said he, too, has heard talk that he might return to city politics but insists it's not true, adding that he is busy and happy in the private sector.

A proposed resolution critical of the federal Patriot Act is heading to the Las Vegas City Council on May 3 with the support of the Nevada chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The ACLU was at the forefront of supporting such a measure, which was discussed at length during a March Council meeting.

The proposed city resolution includes several critical comments, including stating that the 2001 Patriot Act and its 2003 revision included provisions that allow the government to potentially violate citizens' rights.

"The City of Las Vegas affirms its strong opposition to terrorism, but also affirms that any efforts to end terrorism not be waged at the expense of the fundamental civil liberties, rights, and freedoms of the people," the proposed resolution states.

It also says that the city opposes any actions that would violate a citizen's right to due process or privacy, or that would authorize the collection of information about an individual's political, religious or social views "unless the information directly relates" to a specific criminal investigation.

Lee Rowland, a public advocate with the local ACLU chapter, said she would also like the city resolution to specifically criticize racial profiling. But the proposal as currently written is satisfactory, she added.

"Fundamentally it's a good resolution that we would support," Rowland said.

ACLU leaders had hoped to secure Metro Police's support for the city resolution, but Sheriff Bill Young has said he would not weigh in on the matter.

In the end, Rowland said, it is more important that Metro Police "just not actively oppose it."

It is important for Las Vegas to pass the resolution and add to the voices critical of the federal act, she said.

The Patriot Act has drawn intense fire from civil libertarians for infringing on personal freedoms by giving federal investigators overly broad powers.

Eight states and more than 400 local governments, including the Elko city and county governments, Sparks and Silver Springs have adopted resolutions critical of the act.

Now that Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman has declared he would remain as mayor and not run for higher office, he's sharing a story that he says offers insight into the difference between here and Washington, D.C.

"I spoke to a very important person, and he said the great thing about being in Washington was that he could call anyone and they would all return his call, and I said they take my call," Goodman said.