Commentary: Jack Sheehan has a face-to-face with two of the area’s most powerful elected officials

Sunday, July 30, 2006 | 7:40 a.m.

We'll call it chewing the morning fat with Oscar and Bill.

As part of a television pilot on Las Vegas, I recently participated in a one-hour discussion with the two men who get most of the credit - or blame - for what's happening in our city on a day-to-day basis.

What came out of that visit with Sheriff Bill Young, who was as relaxed and freewheeling as could be following his decision not to run for re-election, and Mayor Oscar Goodman, who was his usual outspoken and provocative self, was the strong respect the two have for each other. But there also are some pronounced differences in their philosophies about what is best for Las Vegas.

Here are some highlights from that hour, brought to you without commercial interruption, to provide a glimpse of the dynamics that take place daily on the top floors of City Hall:

Q (By yours truly): Who has more influence in Las Vegas between you two?

Bill Young: I think the mayor is probably the most influential political figure in the state, what with his personality, his exuberance for the community, (laughing) his love of alcohol I wasn't so sure about it when he got elected. I mean, I've lived here all my life and I wasn't convinced a criminal defense lawyer, particularly this criminal defense lawyer, was up to the challenge.

But I'll tell you that he parks close to me at work and usually our two cars are the first to arrive in the morning and the last to leave at night. That tells you something.

Oscar Goodman: The sheriff and I have done some good things together, and I think the public safety downtown has improved tremendously. But look, as far as influence in Las Vegas, the sheriff has a real job. His responsibility is to make sure that the city is safe, and after 9/11 his responsibilities escalated a hundredfold.

I renewed my acquaintance with Bill down in San Diego, before I was elected mayor, and at the time I didn't have a cell phone with me and I had to call my wife, and he loaned me a quarter. We've gotten along since then.

BY: I wasn't particularly fond of Oscar Goodman in the '80s when I was a working cop and he was defending Tony Spilotro and those guys. I was resentful of him because of what he did versus what I had committed my career to, but then that's a natural contention between cops and defense lawyers.

You two are on different sides of the fence regarding the question of legalizing prostitution, or even having a red-light district in Las Vegas.

OG: Well, I've said many times that legalizing prostitution is a discussion we should be having, but the truth of the matter is that the public's not ready for that. Although when I talk to people one-on-one and they feel they're not going to be quoted, they tell me I make a lot of sense when I talk about legalizing it.

They seem to like the idea of having a red-light area where it could be closely monitored, where the prostitutes can be subjected to medical examinations to make sure they aren't transmitting diseases, where customers aren't as likely to be trick rolled. And of course there's the phenomenal revenue that would be obtained as a result of having legalized prostitution here.

I've had two important casino owners tell me if I got it going they would build the most beautiful bordellos you could imagine down on East Fremont Street, and that's a good way to redevelop, to be honest with you. But I understand there are religious implications, moral implications and the like.

BY: Look, I don't like prostitution in any form. You look at the four-mile quarter along the Strip with 15 of the largest hotels in the world, and the number of conventioneers, and the 'What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas' mentality, and it's very difficult to deal with from a law enforcement standpoint.

We need to do something, particularly on the Strip. It's getting to the point where it's starting to morph back to the way it was in the late '70s and early '80s, where there were streetwalkers everywhere.

Unfortunately, the county's been very resistant to building a jail to house all the hookers. Either they haven't had the money or it's not on their priority list, but I think this is coming back to bite them ... I think the mayor and I agree that we have to put the prostitutes in jail, not just hit them with a fine and put them back on the street an hour later.

OG: Right now, it's not legal here. And either you have a law or you don't. It's like immigration. You either are going to enforce the law or you're not going to enforce it. And you don't have clean hands if there's a law on the books and you're not enforcing it.

Should we rethink the marketing strategy of selling Las Vegas as an 'anything goes' city?

OG: Well, yeah, that's our image of course, but once they get here the visitors realize that prostitution is not legal and that if they're going to violate the law then they have to take the consequences. That's one of the reasons why you might want to legalize it.

BY: Well I disagree with you. I think a lot of people come here and really believe it is legal. If you're the unknowing tourist from the Midwest and you've heard about Vegas and you've heard about the legalized brothels in Nevada, you might not be familiar with the actual law in Clark County.

I saw a mobile billboard the other day driving up and down Las Vegas Boulevard in front of these beautiful hotel properties. It was a naked girl, and the sign said, "Let's come together." Now if that isn't the most outrageous advertising.

It just gets so frustrating for me, the lack of resources and other people holding the purse strings who don't see the problems that I do on a daily basis. It's one of the reasons I've decided that I'm going to hang it up at the end of the year. We must have more resources because we have to have an absolutely safe environment here. Las Vegas has got to be known as the safest tourist destination in the world at all times.

OG: I couldn't agree more with the sheriff on that point, and I feel good that my city has been very supportive of him, on every initiative that he's taken up, more cops on the street, better jail facilities, a new metroplex. I'm not saying I'm going to resign if we don't legalize prostitution. That's not where I'm going at all. I'm just saying it's something that should be discussed.

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