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Mob lawyer tops Vegas mayor's race
May 5, 1999 LAS VEGAS (AllPolitics, May 5) -- Voters came within 277 votes Tuesday of electing a lawyer whose previous clients included mobsters Tony "the Ant" Spilotro and Meyer Lansky to be the new mayor of Las Vegas. Instead, Oscar Goodman will face veteran City Councilman Arnie Adamsen in a June 8 runoff. Goodman, 59, pumped his fist as he led cheers from his supporters and predicted victory in the runoff. "The result of this election is a foregone conclusion. I will become your mayor," he said. Goodman campaigned on a populist platform and championed himself as a defender of the defenseless who would break up the city's old boy network. Adamsen said electing Goodman would set the city's reputation back 50 years. But Goodman benefited from Adamsen and developer Mark Fine, another leading candidate, who spent much of their time attacking each other. Goodman played himself in Martin Scorsese's "Casino," a movie about the organized crime in Las Vegas. His clients have included Spilotro, the gangster who legend has it put a rival's head in a vise and squeezed his eyeballs out. With all precincts reporting, Goodman had 24,267 votes, or 49 percent of the total; he needed a simple majority to be elected outright. Adamsen had 14,395 votes, or 29 percent, and Fine was third with 7,968 votes, or 16 percent. In mayoral elections elsewhere Tuesday, Denver won't be holding a runoff for the first time since 1979. Incumbent Mayor Wellington Webb rode his city's strong economy to a third term, garnering 81 percent of the vote against three opponents who struggled to raise money. Two-thirds of voters polled three weeks ago could not name one of them. Webb, president-elect of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, said he hoped to use his third term to continue increasing public safety, protecting parks and open spaces and creating economic opportunities. In Lincoln, Nebraska, former state Sen. Don Wesely, a Democrat, defeated Republican City Councilwoman Cindy Johnson 56 percent to 44 percent. Wesely succeeds Republican Mike Johanns, who was elected governor last November. Wesely and Johnson spent a combined $420,000 on the campaign, the most expensive mayoral race ever in Lincoln. In Indianapolis, crime was the major issue in a city that has seen record-breaking numbers of homicides the last two years, the parties selected their mayoral candidates who will face-off in the fall. Democrats, hoping to regain the mayor's post for the first time in 30 years, nominated Bart Peterson, a developer who was former Gov. Evan Bayh's chief of staff. Indiana Secretary of State Sue Anne Gilroy was selected as the GOP nominee to succeed Stephen Goldsmith. In Columbus, Ohio, a November election will bring either the city's first female mayor or first black mayor. Republican Dorothy Teater and Democrat Michael Coleman, who is black, were the top two finishers in a three-way nonpartisan primary on Tuesday. In Cincinnati, voters approved a proposal that will allow for the direct election of a mayor with greater powers. Under the current system, the City Council member with the most votes assumes the largely ceremonial role of mayor. Under the new system, the mayor would have authority to veto council actions. The Associated Press contributed to this report. MORE STORIES:Wednesday, May 5, 1999
• Poll: New Hampshire voters support Bush over Gore • Federal government prepares financial aid for tornado victims • Willey: I told Steele "many many times" about Clinton incident • Kerrey: Senate report on Clinton-China ties no 'love letter' • Mob lawyer tops Vegas mayor's race • Senators grill nuclear lab chiefs on security • Consumer groups deride new bare-bones insurance plans • Agencies don't track actual costs of Y2K, report says • 'Kinetic' Kasich seeks presidency • Holbrooke U.N. nomination clears another hurdle • Kosovo money fight resurrects Central America aid bill • Senate bill would increase supervision of class-action suits • Sen. Specter targets baseball exemption |