Don’t ever call him a gadfly

By Mark Hansel

Sunday, Nov. 19, 2006 | 7:16 a.m.

Anyone who has been to a Las Vegas City Council meeting has seen the wizened man in the red shirt and black suspenders, leaning on a well-used walker and waiting his turn at the podium.

If Tom McGowan is allowed to speak on an issue - whether it's an ordinance prohibiting solicitation on Fremont Street or a builder's request for zoning change - he likely will. He'll often use every second of the three minutes allotted to him. Sometimes, he submits a note to the council with additional comments.

McGowan doesn't do it for publicity or to massage his ego. It's his civic duty.

"I'm just a concerned American citizen," he says. "If you don't exercise your rights, you lose them."

McGowan, 74, bristles at the suggestion he is a gadfly.

He supports the democratic process, he says, but is concerned that elected officials often make decisions without fully understanding the issues.

"The election process is not guaranteed to imbue someone with expertise in all matters."

He begins prepping five days before a council meeting. When he gets the agenda in the mail, he goes through it item by item, paying particular attention to issues that allow public comment. He has been attending council meetings for more than 15 years, so he's not often caught off guard. But if he has a question about an item, he calls City Hall for clarification.

He admits he is more passionate about some issues than others.

For example, he's concerned that downtown revitalization is coming at the expense of low-income residents. He lives downtown and sees the inconvenience of construction, street closures and disrupted public transportation.

"The key word in community development is not development," he says.

The theme of developing a sense of community often creeps into his discussion of other matters. But he researches all issues diligently and does not let his fervor, or lack of it, influence his presentation.

Listeners who have heard his gravelly voice rise to fever pitch in the midst of an animated presentation in council chambers might dispute this.

McGowan came to Las Vegas from New Jersey in 1954, after serving in the Navy Air Corps during the Korean War. His first job was at the Flamingo Hotel and he worked mostly as a piano player and singer at different venues. He's retired.

He is not just a sideline political participant.

He has run for mayor twice. There's a rumor around City Hall that Mayor Oscar Goodman paid McGowan's filing fee during his 2003 campaign, but McGowan denies it. He promises to run again next year.

Until then, he shows up at the council chambers every other Wednesday, confident he is as prepared as anyone (and more than most) to speak on the issues at hand. McGowan recognizes that the frequency of his trips to the microphone cause council members to tune him out sometimes.

"I want them to listen to me, but I'm not doing it for them," he says. The important thing for McGowan is that public discussion takes place on every issue and becomes part of the official record.

Goodman welcomes Mc- Gowan's input.

"It makes me fell warm and fuzzy," the mayor says. "Any participation by citizens is welcome."

McGowan says he might make fewer trips to the podium if others were willing to come forward and speak.

He's one of only a few regular speakers at council meetings. Most people attend only when a specific issue affects them personally.

Another frequent speaker, Beatrice Turner, says that she would love it if more people showed up.

"I see people all the time that say they see me (on television) at the council meetings," Turner, 46, says. "I tell them it's too bad I don't see them there."

Turner, who recently lost a bid to become Las Vegas constable, says she is concerned that council members sometimes seem out of touch with community issues.

When the council was considering a ban of selling authentic-looking toy guns from an ice cream truck, she told it the real threat was that the trucks were used as a front to sell marijuana and that that was common knowledge on the streets.

Councilman Gary Reese says input from citizens adds a much-needed perspective.

Turner, a home-care nurse, said she recently expressed concerns that a senior housing project under construction may not be properly equipped for seniors. Reese encouraged her to check out the project and get back to him with her suggestions.

"I think (McGowan and Turner) have a lot of good ideas, and I don't mind at all when they speak," Reese said. "Everybody deserves that right."

It's a right that neither McGowan nor Turner plan to give up anytime soon.