Vegas’ New Mayor, Is There A Goodman In The House?
There is about to be a new Las Vegas mayor. We will soon be electing a new leader, a new representative of Sin City. Election day for our new mayor is June 6th.
According to ballotpedia.org, there are 13 candidates vying for the role of the new Las Vegas mayor. Shelley Berkely, Victoria Seaman and Cedric Crear are all leading in the polls and fundraising for the position. What’s the common denominator of these three? None of them have the last name Goodman, and I for one am not happy.
Goodman Was The Ultimate Las Vegas Mayor
When I first pulled into Las Vegas on March 27. 1998, Vegas was looking for a new mayor. On my first night in my hotel, I watched a commercial where the FBI Mafia Divion talked up Oscar Goodman and how tough he was to go up against. A mafia lawyer was running for mayor of Las Vegas? Oh how perfect is this? I thought. And it was.
Oscar was amazing for this city. Yes, he had some blunders, but what politician doesn’t? This dude had showgirls at his side and cocktails in his hand. Unapologetically too. But he did so much more than just be a “the happiest Mayor in the America”, according to unlv.edu. Oscar Goodman was a major part of Downtown revitalization, especially the area that has the Symphony Park. Which includes the Smith Center and the Luvo Brain Institute. He also began the conversation when it came to bringing major league sports to Las Vegas. Yes, they laughed at him, and us, as a city.
Related: Las Vegas Quickly Becoming Sports Capital Of The World
However, when Carolyn Goodman, his wife, took office in 2011, she continued the work and conversation. This time, the naysayers were still laughing, except this time it was all the way to the bank.
The Golden Knights, The Las Vegas Raiders, the Las Vegas Aces, and on the way, The Las Vegas A’s. Plus, an unnamed Las Vegas NBA team is also gearing up to start playing ball in Vegas. Granted there are so many things and people in play to make all of that happen. But The Goodmans love this city and they believed in us like no other. And because of that belief, and their leadership, here we are, 23 years later considered the Entertainment AND Sports Capital of the World.
So what do we do without a Goodman as our Las Vegas Mayor? How do we exist? Who is going to make sure cocktails are still flowing?
Hey, don’t they have any kids?