Jon Ralston on Lois Tarkanian and the challenge she faces

Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006 | 7:10 a.m.

You could hardly blame Lois Tarkanian if she decided to fade into obscurity after serving out her Las Vegas City Council term.

She frequently has fought authority - Bill Walters, Irwin Molasky, John Moran Jr. - and lost. She consistently has been patronized by her colleagues, especially Mayor Oscar Goodman. And she has occasionally been beset by illness that has slowed her since she took over for a recalled Janet Moncrief almost two years ago.

Perhaps Tarkanian should simply submit to the Ward 1 Curse, the seemingly inexorable plague that has erased five council members since 1987. If it wasn't real or perceived ethics problems - Al Levy, Frank Hawkins, Michael McDonald, Moncrief - it was ambition and self-immolation - Steve Miller.

But Tarkanian appears intent on seeking another term in the spring, against all odds and maybe against the city's money machine and her own council (or most of them). The councilwoman declared her intent to run again to the Sun's Abigail Goldman this week in a piece about Metro Officer Laurie Bisch's interest in the seat.

Bisch was one of the surprises of Campaign '06 as her moxie and work ethic almost propelled her past The Helicopter Man Who Fell to Earth, Jerry Airola. Bisch clearly was bitten by a disease even more infectious than the Ward 1 Curse, and the political bug is almost impossible to leech from your bloodstream.

Bisch hurt herself a bit after the race when a tape was uncovered of a conversation between her and another failed sheriff contender, Ron Williams, in which she made some intemperate remarks that could haunt her. If Bisch wants to see - or hear - how that works, she need look no further than the last-minute airing of Dina Titus' recorded remarks weeks after she left an unfortunate voicemail.

Bisch insists she has not been contacted by any of the local business types upset with Tarkanian. She has talked to consultant Dan Hart, who has experience in the ward and may handle her race. And Bisch also surmises - probably correctly - that she will not be the only candidate to try to take Tarkanian's seat.

Attorney John Hunt, who unsuccessfully ran for attorney general four years ago and caught the same bug now afflicting Bisch, has talked about it, too. And doesn't Miller run every time for this seat?

Tarkanian is unquestionably vulnerable. She only received 42 percent of the vote when she was elected in a three-way race in January 2005. The Tarkanian name is not what it used to be when Rebelmania was at its height. And she and her staff are all but pariahs on the 10th floor of City Hall - and that is the real story here.

To some on Stewart Avenue and elsewhere, Tarkanian is a nettlesome gnat that should be swatted away so she will stop being such a nuisance. To others, though, she is the conscience of a place where Oscar and his Dwarves prefer lying back and sipping juice to asking question s.

Unlike some of her colleagues, Tarkanian does not simply follow the mayoral pied piper on deals he is pushing. If she had not asked for and then raised questions about the environmental report on Walters' Royal Links residential conversion project, the developer might be starting to build houses there today. It is not a stretch to say that Tarkanian not only unraveled a done deal but also started a chain of events that resulted in a devastating documentation of city dealings contained in a landmark report prepared by the attorney general's office.

But that may not matter as much to people as their potholes getting filled, their route to work getting more clogged, their neighborhood crimes going up. Bisch - or someone else - surely can exploit that, as could any challenger. And some challenger may have the tacit support of a majority of a council that surely blames Tarkanian for making waves .

Goodman, who will have a coronation for a third and final term next year, could quiet all the doubters who think His Honor wants Tarkanian gone. All the mayor would have to do is call Tarkanian, tell his colleague he will appear everywhere with her, help her raise money and endorse her in campaign propaganda.

If I were Tarkanian, though, I wouldn't wait for the phone to ring.