First day of early voting brings out residents, mayoral candidates

By Delen Goldberg

Published Saturday, March 19, 2011 | 1:51 p.m.

Updated Saturday, March 19, 2011 | 3:45 p.m.

Early voting started Saturday in Las Vegas, and the candidates running for mayor scrambled to get voters to the polls.

Each had a slightly different goal.

Las Vegas first lady Carolyn Goodman wants to earn enough votes to land the mayor's job without having to go through a general election.

To do that, she'll need more than 50 percent of the vote. That's ambitious and is unlikely, but not impossible.

Clark County Commissioner Larry Brown, who recent polls have shown to be in second place, wants to win enough votes to maintain his runner-up status.

If no candidate receives a majority of votes, the top two finishers advance to the June general election.

Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani hopes a grassroots push will propel her into second place to bump Brown off the ballot. Most polls show her trailing Brown in third place, but the tallies are close and she is within striking distance.

Get-out-the-vote efforts will be key in this race as turnout in municipal elections is traditionally low. A few thousand votes will likely decide who wins or remains in the running.

Voters trickled through polling places Saturday but the turnout was paltry compared to last November's elections, when people lined up and waited for up to a half hour to cast their ballots.

Early voting runs through April 1, and primary day is April 5.

At a polling place in the Meadows Mall, Goodman and Brown appeared to capture the most votes, according to interviews with voters. That's not too surprising considering Goodman's campaign headquarters are around the corner and Brown represented the area as a city councilman.

Goodman seemed to be on most of the voters' minds -- for better or for worse.

"I don't like him and I don't like her," Las Vegas resident Ernest Gibbs, 65, said of Mayor Oscar Goodman and his wife. "I think he's an embarrassment to this town. He'll tell her what to do. She has no experience."

Gibbs declined to say whom he voted for but said it was someone with political experience.

Housewife and mother Lois Guttenberg, 44, said her choice was "a no-brainer." She cast a ballot for Goodman.

Guttenberg's children don't attend the Meadows School, the private school Carolyn Goodman founded and ran for 25 years, but Guttenberg said Goodman's education resume is impressive.

"I like everything about her," Guttenberg said. "And I love her husband."

But Goodman's focus on education turned off some voters.

"It's an important issue, but the mayor can't do anything about it," said Brian Eagan, a 36-year-old lawyer.

Eagan said he voted for Brown.

"I know his track record in the northwest," Eagan said. "He's the most competent. The city could benefit from his expertise."

All of the leading candidates campaigned hard Saturday.

Goodman stormed Cardenas Market, a Latino grocery store, handing out campaign buttons and fake casino chips bearing her likeness. A mariachi band and dancers greeted her as she walked into the store.

Oscar Goodman stood at her side, chatting up customers and urging people to "vote early and vote often."

Brown raced back and forth between Little League games at Rainbow and Mt. Ridge parks and made appearances at early voting sites.

Giunchigliani knocked on doors, attended the "Run Away with Cirque du Soleil" event at Springs Preserve and popped into the Winchester Cultural Center and West Sahara Library.

City Councilman Steve Ross held a meet and greet at the Desert Vista Community Center in Sun City, while businessman Victor Chaltiel rallied supporters at his campaign headquarters.

Most set up phone banks and went door to door.

Many of the campaigns focused on similar neighborhoods, mostly Summerlin and the northwest. Several polling places were set up in those areas, and residents there tend to vote in high numbers.

At an Albertsons in Summerlin, a short line formed at a polling place. Loyalties were more evenly split at that site.

Donna Levy brought her three daughters to vote, and all pulled the lever for Giunchigliani.

"After doing the research, she's the most intelligent candidate with the most experience," Levy said.

Standing next to the Levys was Shelli Wara, a 60-year-old real estate appraiser. She said she chose Chaltiel.

He's her neighbor, but also "a very kind man and a very successful businessman, which will help Las Vegas," Wara said.

Most of the polls are open until 6 p.m. tonight.