Carolyn Goodman prepares to move past her husband’s shadow

Carolyn Goodman, candidate for mayor of Las Vegas, is walking a tightrope. On one hand, she’s running to carry on the legacy of revitalization of the city overseen by her husband and the mayor for a dozen years, Oscar Goodman. On the other hand, she’s careful to distance herself from Oscar’s flamboyant, martini-toting image and his more controversial thoughts, such as bringing legal brothels and a red light district to downtown Las Vegas.

In one of her first interviews as a candidate for mayor, Carolyn Goodman was asked Feb. 3 by Las Vegas Sun columnist Jon Ralston on the TV program Face to Face With Jon Ralston about her husband’s brothel idea. While not outright endorsing it, Goodman expressed concern about teens being exploited by illegal prostitution but also said “there’s merit there’’ and “there are pros and cons to everything.’’

Now, Goodman is a lot more careful about the subject. And she’s making it crystal clear: She opposes bringing legal prostitution to Las Vegas.

“It’s illegal and I’m certainly opposed to prostitution. I’m a mother and a grandmother,’’ Goodman said.

With that issue out of the way, Goodman is telling voters and the business community that her experience in creating the private Meadows School shows she’s qualified to be mayor.

Goodman headed the elite, nonprofit, K-12 private school for 26 years—without pay. She retired as its president last year.

Goodman says that if she’s elected she’ll portray the city to the world as a classy place to visit, live and do business.

That compares to her husband’s headline-making remarks about brothels, shipping the homeless to prison in Jean and chopping off the thumbs of people defacing highway bridges with graffiti.

Goodman recently discussed her background and her plans for the city with VEGAS INC.

What’s your background in terms of why the business community should support you?

I started a business—it happened to be an educational organization, but it was a business. I established a budget to carry the business and to set up a mission and a philosophy of what the business was going to be.

And then I watched that business grow over a period of 26 years, supervising the entire organization and being involved in building the pieces—hiring faculty, hiring staff, creating curriculum and then finding the land to build the physical structure. We were in the city limits and had to deal with the facets of building buildings and working with union and nonunion groups. We dealt with OSHA and created the entire physical plant, which is to this day debt free. We went from zero to about a $17 million (annual budget) business. We grew from four employees to just under 150 now.

Over the years, having been very involved and working eight-to-ten-hour days including weekends, I spent most of my time not only in the development of the operation, but on occasion where there was territorialization, I brought people together to see the other side of the business. They were very concerned—nobody was dealing with their issues—so I always had an open door.

In the first and second years, nobody got a raise. But for the next 26 years everybody’s had a raise. We had a short-term plan of operation and we had a long-term plan of operation, both of which were highly malleable, they could change to fit the times.

We also established in the second year a rainy-day fund in case some catastrophe happened—or there was an economic slide—so that we could protect our employees and make sure they weren’t the sacrificial lambs because we had been poor planners. In that sense, that has saved us these past three years, and in these past three years everybody has continued to have raises.

The philosophy behind it is much like Zappos.com, there’s a feeling of family there, a feeling of investing in the business. The plan became very successful because we held on to the entire process and model all the way through.

Having dealt with buildings, permitting, changes and what you have to retrofit because you’re moving something or adding something—I’ve been through all of that. I’ve been hands-on for 26 years. The product has been proven. The organization has a fine national and international reputation. And facets of our program have been recognized with awards from throughout the country.

This is something we hear from a lot of hotels and businesses here in town that are trying to bring in employees, administrators and executives or families. When they come to us and find our school is full, quite frequently they don’t come here.

You understand education. How is it related to economic development and what can the mayor do about it, given that the school district is not part of city government?

The marriage of education and business is very close. Having been involved with this for close to 32 years, I see that it’s absolutely significant that the quality of our schools has to improve in order to attract businesses.

I have met with and offered my full support to Dwight Jones (Clark County schools superintendent). He’s a wonderful man with wonderful hopes for our community and education. I offered him my full support, my advisory support—anything I can do to improve the quality of education.

All I can do or anyone can do on education is be a voice, because that’s not part of the mayor’s role. However, being an educated person who cares about the quality of life here, and giving young people skills to take care of themselves and gain a job, and also to attract business to our community, it’s integral.

What’s your basic pitch to the business community given your background?

Two of my sons are attorneys and one is a physician and a researcher in the medical field. My father was a physician in New York City. So I’m very well grounded in the medical area as in the legal area. Aside from the hotels and the university, having that vantage point there’s a bigger area of knowledge I have and understanding certain pieces that perhaps some others might not.

We opened the doors at the Meadows School in 1984. With all the headaches that go with it and trying to bring consensus to groups—that’s the one piece that’s probably the most significant. And over the years I’ve been on so many boards of different organizations, and on many of them I’ve been elected to the leadership position. I’m very big on listening and pulling people together. You can’t run anything unless you can do that.

As a mayor with little control—the mayor runs City Council meetings and declares emergencies—what can the mayor be? What has the mayor done? What this mayor (Oscar Goodman) has done is incredible, with only that voice. I have the same voice. I’m different, but I have the same voice.

You don’t build a $17 million business with 150 employees and have it sustained as a family without being the right type of person—to promote, to talk to people, to listen to people, to persuade them to come here to invest. With the right voice, the right person who’s not a “me, I, my” person—I’m not saying anything about anybody else—I’m a consensus builder and a sales person.

What about incentives to bring movie and television productions here?

I remember in 1995 when my husband and I started to promote moving the film business here, having been to Beverly Hills several times talking to people in the industry. All of Casino was shot here in 1995. The only thing they brought in were the trucks with the food every day. I wasn’t in it, I didn’t want to be in it. But I saw the operation and how enormous it was. What’s holding us up? We’re one of six states that have no tax benefit. There’s legislation on the table now to work on that so we can entice the film industry.

That brings me to IT (information technology) and Zappos. It’s unending, it’s open-ended. Look at Austin and Dell. That was a dead little town, it’s flourishing now. That should be Las Vegas, Nevada, and I would do anything I could to bring all the IT together in town and start incubators and help them make this town an international hub for IT.

You’ve shown a special interest in developing the medical industry in Las Vegas.

I see downtown the most significant thing going on is medical care and research at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. I’d do everything I could do to help expand that. I was very involved in the initial meetings trying to get them to come, they dined in our home, the doctors from the Cleveland Clinic.

Having that medical background from my father, who was the head of the New York State Medical Society and a physician there; and my son, who’s a prostate cancer physician and researcher at the Nevada Cancer Institute, is important. Understanding their lingo and what they look at—that’s a huge piece of downtown. You can’t have a great city if you don’t have great medical care. We need to have that presence. The Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland is a phenomenon. That would get a full thrust from me and with that of course so significantly is medical tourism.

What do you see happening with an arena?

That to me is highly significant. There’s something on the table through the Cordish Companies and I see the potential there as being phenomenal, with an NBA team, and keeping it privately funded or with a bond that would be issued. That would have my full support because I can see live entertainment there being married to it, whether it’s soccer, or the NBA or ice hockey. I’m very supportive of the football stadium coming in close to campus for UNLV. You can’t have a university that has its big football field so far away (on Boulder Highway).

Oscar Goodman for years has been the public face of Las Vegas and is seen internationally with his martini and showgirls. If you’re mayor, what’s the world going to see? What are you going to portray?

Whether people agree with how he did it, or what he did, be it cutting off the thumbs (of graffiti vandals) or his martini or the showgirls, it worked well because of his personality and his brilliance. It worked well because it brought attention to the issues he wanted and if he could throw himself out with all his bravado to get that done, it only worked well for Las Vegas. From the day I met him 50 years ago, that’s who he is. He was always very creative, very bright and very funny. That’s his charm.

I’m an under-the-radar type person. I’m not one to enjoy what he does, that flamboyance—that’s not me. I’m a doer, I know I have a proven record of leadership and consensus building. What I would do is be open with the media or anyone to let everyone know in a transparent way what’s going on.

I have a sense of humor. I can entertain a crowd and have done that all my life. But he’s unique—there’s only one Oscar Goodman and he’s fine.

So we’re not going to see you with your signature drink and the male Chippendales dancers?

That’s not me. I’m a mom and a grandma.

In talking about economic development, do you have a good relationship with the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, the NDA and the other groups that are trying to bring businesses to Southern Nevada?

I’ve met many of them. But I don’t have a close relationship with them. I’m not a politician and I have not been in the public sector other than as the first lady here and traveling the country. The prime investors here: Yes I’ve had a front-row seat with them. I’ve had dinner and breakfast and lunch with them. I have a very close relationship with Rossi Ralenkotter and Vince Alberta and the other people at the LVCVA; I certainly know the Nevada Resort Association and Virginia Valentine, who just moved from the county (to head that group). Having lived here 47 years, I’ve been very involved with a lot of people.

One of the challenges in economic development is that Las Vegas is perceived as Sin City and probably some executives don’t want to bring their kids here and raise them here. How far are you willing to take the Sin City image?

I very much favor a quality of life to help people achieve their highest potential. It means educate everybody. Give them opportunities to get jobs and develop their own businesses and have pride. The hotel industry in Nevada, when it was the lone ranger, which it no longer is, it’s all over the world—it was selling, “Come here for excitement, for great entertainment, for great food, for great shopping.” Anything to sell tourism—that was our industry. My husband and I have always talked about diversifying the economy. We need to establish an identity.

Coming from my background, we moved here specifically to fulfill our dreams raising a family and helping to develop this community. It needs culture, it needs a quality of class. The hotel industry and tourism are pieces. We need our identity and it only comes from diversification. My entire life has been about raising my children with quality and understanding. It is about teaching them, “What is quality, what is culture, what is truth?” I carry as my husband carries from our upbringings the core values of goodness and truth and putting in a long day’s work and not blaming the world for problems and doing something about it.

I believe the role of the mayor is to continue what’s been started, which is adding a new identity to our community. Diversity. To promote and bring some class and an identity when people say “Las Vegas,” they think, “Oh my gosh, that great symphony. Oh my gosh, you can get the best medical care there. You can go there, they are the center of technology in the world.”

Tourism has to be here, it’s what this whole place grew out of. We should market the city for some other things, for instance the wonderful 12-months-of-the-year great weather. Think of all of the people shoveling snow and the floods and the catastrophes happening around the world. What a great place we have. You wake up every day, the sun is shining. Out of every bad comes good—the foreclosures because of the economy. What a great time to buy! Come here and start your business! Senior citizens should move here, it’s beautiful. We have hundreds of golf courses, the best food, the best shopping.

Let’s clarify what, if anything, you want to do for a red light district downtown.

It’s illegal and I’m certainly opposed to prostitution. I’m a mother and a grandmother. I am horrified at the teenage prostitution. I am horrified at the human trafficking. I would want greater Metro Police presence to do something about that. The health issues are absolutely critical. I was out at the country club the other day, on Joe W. Brown Drive behind the Hilton, and no question there were three prostitutes trying to hail people down. If the Legislature decided to pass legislation (allowing prostitution in Las Vegas), I think you’d have everybody in the city up in arms.

If it did come up in the Legislature, and you’re the mayor and the spokeswoman for the city, what are you going to tell the Legislature?

I would tell them I’m opposed to it. I’m trying to bring culture, quality education and a family lifestyle. Keep them (legal prostitutes) wherever they are, people can drive there. That’s a nonissue (for me). How could I be for that?

What differences over public policy have you had with your husband?

He always says we’ve been married nearly 49 years and I never listen to him. I remember one argument at the time the City Council was discussing closing F Street (as part of the I-15 widening) and I worked in West Las Vegas and I said to my husband several times, “It’s not the actual closure, it’s the psychological barrier you’re putting up in people’s minds. It’s a terrible idea, don’t do it. You need to feel people, they’re part of the city.”

Our personalities are different. Our core values are the same.

Do you see your husband playing a role in a Carolyn Goodman administration?

It’s something I would sort of have to walk through. I respect him. He respects me. We’re both fairly intelligent. Our parents gave us great educations. Where it would be helpful—he has 12 years of meeting people and being in the heart of it all—of course (I’d talk him about helping). This is about Las Vegas. It’s not a question of pride for me: I want what’s best for this city.

You may not want to speak for Oscar, but what’s he going to do after his term?

He hasn’t decided. I held off retiring for the longest time waiting for him to make up his mind. The thought of him running for governor (in 2010)—the governor in this economy has spent so much of his time on just budget, budget, budget. That’s not Oscar. Oscar’s out there trying to get business and create things, not numbers. I asked him, “Are you going to teach at the law school? Are you going to write a book? Are you going to go into movies and TV?” Because he loved the time in Casino (where he played himself) and he did some vignettes in some series. He loves that. He couldn’t make up his mind, so I took the leadership and said “I’m going to retire.” He said, “What are you going to do?” I said, “Until you make up your mind, I can’t.” Then I began to think because people said, “Why don’t you run for mayor?” Even federal judges said, “Why don’t you run for mayor?” And people said, “We need you to run for mayor. You’ve been side by side with him. You know what’s going on.” I kept saying, “I’ve been working for 26 years.” Then we woke up one morning and he said, “Don’t do it.” And I said, “I have to do it. You’ve created so much and I know I’m the right person to take it forward.”