Up in Flames

It's hot outside. And it's quite dry. Yep, it's awfully dry outside.

How dry? Take a look at this map. The drought continues to worsen. And as the drought worsens, so does risk of more epic wildfires burning across Nevada.



Mount Charleston, as well as the Las Vegas Valley below, were seriously threatened by the Carpenter 1 Fire nearly a year ago. Chris Giunchigliani understands this quite well, as she spends plenty of time with her neighbors & constituents in Las Vegas and at her mountain house on Mount Charleston. Chris Giunchigliani has experienced firsthand the effects of climate change, and she urged others in Southern Nevada to take this threat seriously.



From Wall Street titans to mayors across the nation and The Pentagon, Americans want strong action to take on climate change. And Nevada, the rest of the nation, and the rest of the world stand to benefit from strong climate change.



But of course, Cliven Bundy and his merry gang of "outlaw cowboys" refuse to accept this. The Bundy Gang are too busy "going Hollywood" to worry about such things as climate change.

Yet while they're cashing in on breaking the law and pandering to dangerous extremists, BLM Southern Nevada Fire Management Officer Mike Haydon has to focus on protecting our public lands from not only dangerous extremists with "Range War" fantasies, but also climate change.



Representatives from Rep. Steven Horsford's (D-North Las Vegas, and his district includes Mount Charleston) office, Rep. Dina Titus' (D-Paradise) office, and Clark County Commissioner Larry Brown's (D-Las Vegas) office also dropped by yesterday's event at Mount Charleston because they're concerned about what lies ahead for Southern Nevada... Especially if we don't take enough action to take on climate change.



This s--t is serious. It's not something to mock. It's not something to blithely dismiss. And it's certainly not something to deny just to "score political points".

Don't believe us? Remember what happened at Mount Charleston almost a year ago. It can happen again. And we likely will see more of those large wildfires at some point soon. Either we can take action to save ourselves, or we can let our future burn up in flames.

With AB 484 Dead, UMC Plan Reignites Clark County Controversy

Back in January, we looked at the stark divide that was beginning to emerge on the Clark County Commission. On a host of critical issues, there's seemed to be a persistent 4-3 split. Perhaps the one issue this has most often been manifesting itself has been the ongoing struggle over UMC, Southern Nevada's only public hospital.

Earlier this week, the Assembly Health & Human Services Committee heard testimony on AB 484. This bill calls for a new governing board for UMC, but opponents fear it threatens the hospital's mission as a critical health care provider for those who can't access care anywhere else. And opponents fear this bill may actually be a back door route to privatizing UMC.

Yet what truly surprised nearly everyone this week was the appearance of three County Commissioners... To testify against AB 484! No one saw this coming.

“This is a slippery slope. We have a moral obligation to make sure we take care of the needy people in our community,” [County Commissioner Chris] Giunchigliani said. “I would caution that no matter what happens with this bill, which I hope does not pass, that we be very cautious about unintended consequences.” [...]

[Commissioners] Giunchigliani, [Tom] Collins, and [Lawrence] Weekly told legislators that changing UMC’s governance structure wouldn’t address underlying revenue issues that cost the county tens of millions of dollars per year.

Collins called the proposed changes “unproven” and said it was an instance of “government trying to pass the buck.”

Weekly said the proposed legislation wasn’t “genuine” and was being fueled by special interests. He said commissioners should spend more time working on hospital issues before offloading those responsibilities to an independent board.

“If you move forward with this … what you’re going to see down the line is a whole bunch of special interest folks coming out of the woodwork and UMC won’t be that safety net hospital anymore,” Weekly said. “I don’t think enough time has been spent as a board caring for this hospital like we should.”

Giunchigliani said county commissioners need to have the “courage” to take serious action to fix UMC’s financial situation, including possibly creating a countywide tax to help pay for hospital operations.

“We have to clean up our own house to some extent and we don’t need AB484 to do that,” she said. “This bill diverts us from that discussion. We’re not dealing with how do we fund the hospital or add to our payer mix.”

Yes, that actually happened this week. What was supposed to a "Clark County backed bill" drew opposition from three sitting Clark County Commissioners. And yes, the Nevada Legislature took notice.

And as a result, another surprise occurred. AB 484 died in committee yesterday. Remember that yesterday was the deadline for bills to pass from their originating committees. So because the Assembly Health & Human Services Committee took no action yesterday, AB 484 will likely go nowhere this session.

Assembly Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick [D-North Las Vegas] said part of the reason the bill failed was legislators were reluctant to get involved in an issue that could be solved at the county level.

“Anytime that any county comes before us and they have a split vote, we try to send things back to them so they can work on them,” she said. “It's really their issue that they need to resolve amongst themselves.”

So it's back to the drawing board for the Clark County Commission on charting the future of UMC. And going forward, UMC will likely remain a county issue for some time. Since AB 484 is no more, the county will probably have to give up any plans to privatize the hospital for now.

Now, it's just a matter of whether the Clark County Commission can overcome this 4-3 divide and come together for a holistic solution for UMC. Again, this is Southern Nevada's only public hospital. And it's the only source for health care for many in Clark County who have the legal right to access health care somewhere in the county.

So what happens next? For now, that big question moves out of Carson City and back to Clark County HQ in Downtown Las Vegas. Good luck with that.

No Mo' "Vegas 911!"?

So it finally happened. After a series of threats, they finally did it. Yesterday, Clark County Commissioners voted unanimously to abolish the Las Vegas Township Constable's Office in 2015.

Barring a legal decision to the contrary, the Las Vegas Township Constable’s Office will be abolished in 2015.

The Clark County Commission, after two hours of discussion at their meeting Tuesday, voted unanimously to abolish the office, effective when the term of the current elected constable, John Bonaventura, expires in January 2015. [...]

The primary job of the office is to enforce evictions and serve civil documents such as subpoenas, property liens, court summonses and wage garnishments filed in Las Vegas Township.

Although commissioners have not determined how the duties of the office would be divided among other agencies, most of them likely will fall to the sheriff's civil process section. [...]

Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani said the decision to abolish the office this time around stems from an effort to provide services more efficiently.

“The office in my mind is no longer necessary. We have a sheriff’s office that can handle it. We have private sector folks that can do it,” she said.

In recent years, the Las Vegas Constable's Office (and especially Constable John Bonaventura himself) has been making news for all the wrong reasons. Sexual harassment allegations, a DUI arrest, meddling in the Steven Brooks scandal, and even a reality TV audition video (??!!) have created some embarrassing headlines. And the Clark County Commission wants no more of it.

However, this story is far from over. Bonaventura is now suing to halt this planned abolition of his office. A hearing has been set for April 30.

And this isn't even the only effort to abolish the Las Vegas Constable's Office. On Monday, State Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson (R-Attention) dropped SB 294, which abolishes the office and shifts duties to the Sheriff's Office as soon as the bill becomes law. So there's also that.

And something's telling me this melodrama won't be going away any time soon. Bonaventura seems to like his current gig, so he doesn't want it to be pulled away so soon. Yet Clark County Commissioners are tired of the scandalicious headlines, and the recent news has made them question the very necessity of the Constable's Office. Even certain Nevada legislators want to elbow their way into this story.

In the mean time, we're just wondering when we can expect local law enforcement that our communities can trust. Let us know when that happens.

Clark County... WTF?!

Yesterday, I was shocked. And I wasn't the only one. Even Ralston was appalled.



So what actually happened? In case you can't see the above video, let me give you a quick synopsis.

Steve Sisolak wanted to be Clark County Commission Chair. And he knew 3 of his Commission colleagues (outgoing Chair Susan Brager, Larry Brown, and Mary Beth Scow) agreed.

However, Tom Collins also wanted to be Chair. He figured he had 2 more votes in his corner (Lawrence Weekly and Chris Giunchigliani), but Giunchigliani was still out of town and Collins needed more time to round up the extra vote he needed to get that Chair.

Here's where it starts getting nasty. When Tom Collins tried to delay the vote for Chair by mentioning Chris Giunchigliani's absence, Susan Brager quickly shot him down and claimed Giunchigliani never requested a postponement! With that out of the way, Steve Sisolak was then elected as the new Commission Chair.

But wait, there's more! The Commissioners present even squabbled over their seats! Larry Brown no longer desired to sit between Tom Collins and Chris Giunchigliani, so he asked to move. Yet right after Brown made his request, Lawrence Weekly refused to change his seat! And Tom Collins followed suit!

I'm not even kidding here. So what happened? Jon Ralston has an idea.

You can’t make this stuff up, folks. This really happened at a public meeting of the most powerful elected body in Nevada.

Beyond the immature pyrotechnics, here’s the serious conclusion: This is a bitterly divided board, one of the most in memory. And it’s personal. If Giunchigliani had been there, it would have been 4-3 on many votes, including for the chairmanship, perhaps, and certainly on one at the end on the coroner’s inquest system.

But the Sisolak-Brown faction won that one, too, with only Weekly and Collins opposing a proposal put forward by the new chairman and his lieutenant that abolishes the current coroner’s inquest system and replaces it with one derided by critics who say it is not nearly as transparent.

Certainly not as transparent as the power play executed by Sisolak and Brown on Monday, which gave us a window into a board that someone will soon be calling The Silly Septet.

So there are actually some serious policy disagreements behind the personal squabbles. In particular, there is a sharp divide on issues like reforming Metro (Police) and privatizing UMC. Still, that was some awfully juvenile behavior on display at Clark County HQ yesterday.

And this has folks asking what's next over there. Last year, there was a renewed focus on the problems facing city governments in Southern Nevada. Will 2013 be the year when Clark County retakes center stage?

There's actually another dynamic behind what happened yesterday. Rumors abound on the political future for Steve Sisolak. Will he run for Governor next year? Will he run for another high office? So is he using his new Chairmanship of the Clark County Commission as a launch pad for higher office?

And does Tom Collins resent that? Or is his animosity towards Sisolak mostly rooted in policy disagreements? Or may it be a combination of both? And is it really a coincidence that Collins seems to have the support of the more progressive Commissioners while the moderates and conservatives are coalescing behind Sisolak?

Whatever the case, it looks like we'll all need to buckle up... Because Clark County HQ will be in for quite the bumpy ride this year.

One Wash, One Spring, One Big Deal

So Pittman Wash is turning out to be one big f*cking deal. Why? The neighbors love it, the wildlife live in it, and the City of Henderson may now be realizing the city is better off preserving it.

As summer has progressed, it feels like we've been witnessing a critical mass forming. Project GREEN has been speaking up, and local residents have been paying attention. And this has made the real difference here.

We're finally seeing progress as both the City of Henderson Public Works Department and Clark County Regional Flood Control District are seriously considering better alternatives to concretization. Believe it or not, there truly are other options available that can secure the bluffs abutting the wash while still preserving the glorious natural beauty that makes Pittman Wash so special and so unique.

Pittman Wash is one of only six natural riparian habitats left in Clark County, and the spring flowing at the railroad trestle is one of the only ones left in the entire valley. Take a look for yourself.



Now think about where else we can see something like this. And think of what would happen if this were replaced by concrete. Think of what would happen if we start to see this unique stretch of wilderness in the desert vanish away.

This is why it's critical to keep the calls and emails coming. Please thank our Henderson City Council members for considering alternatives to full concretization.

Mayor Andy Hafen: andy.hafen@cityofhenderson.com

Council Member Gerri Schroder (Ward 1): gerri.schroder@cityofhenderson.com

Council Member Debra March (Ward 2): debra.march@cityofhenderson.com

Council Member Kathleen Boutin (Ward 3): kathleen.boutin@cityofhenderson.com

Council Member Sam Bateman (Ward 4): sam.bateman@cityofhenderson.com

And please ask Clark County Regional Flood Control members to support alternatives to concretizing Pittman Wash. In particular, make sure to thank Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani for her efforts to ensure Regional Flood Control looks at alternatives that are less environmentally intrusive.

Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani (District E- Paradise/Las Vegas): ccdiste@clarkcountynv.gov

Clark County Commissioner Larry Brown (District C- Las Vegas): ccdistc@clarkcountynv.gov

Las Vegas City Council Member Steve Ross: Email Contact Form

North Las Vegas City Council Member Robert Eliason: Email Contact Form

Boulder City Mayor Roger Tobler: Email Contact Form

This is just too big of a deal to lose. We need to preserve and protect Pittman Wash so we can continue to experience the wondrous beauty of the Mojave Desert in which we live.

(And by the way, many thanks to Project GREEN for last night's nature walk exploring the spring at the center of all this controversy. As you can see, the spring can explain for itself why this is such a big deal.)

Final Thoughts Before Early Voting

So early voting begins tomorrow in the final round Clark County municipal elections. As I said earlier this week, it's extremely important for us to participate, as local government is the government that most affects our daily lives. So now, on the eve of early voting, I'd like to make some final comments... And personal endorsements.

Henderson Ward 4 is definitely getting rough & tumble in the home stretch.



We've been seeing the accusations, the lies, the twists & turns, and so much more. I know it's easy to just dismiss it all and succumb to apathy. However, here's why we shouldn't.

Henderson faces difficult budget decisions. We need to think of new ways to bring jobs and businesses to town. We have older neighborhoods that need more TLC, as well as newer areas that can't be forgotten.

Henderson has plenty of challenges, and I think what was said on KNPR's "State of Nevada" yesterday really boils it down well for us. Go ahead and listen to that segment, then tell me which of the candidates actually has good ideas for Henderson, and wants to put some real thought into the work going forward on city council. This is why I will be voting (again) for Sam Bateman in Ward 4. He really seems to get it.

And what I've said about Las Vegas before also continues to stand.





Where does Carolyn Goodman stand on... Well, on ANY issues?! Ralston seemed to be back in touch with his cynical side in suggesting she "knows little, except how to win", but I'm hoping the people of Las Vegas expect more and better out of their mayor.

Now contrast that with this...



And with this segment on KNPR's "State of Nevada" this morning! Again, you tell me who has the ability to turn Las Vegas around and make the city work again. Whether or not you're good at pronouncing her last name, Chris Giunchigliani is very much someone who's interested in actually working for all the people of Las Vegas.

I'll have a couple more endorsements and suggestions up tomorrow morning. And whether or not you agree with my personal endorsements, I hope you vote in this election and make your own voice heard.

Scenes from the Campaign Trail: AIDS Walk Las Vegas

It was a hot Sunday morning in Las Vegas, and over 8,000 people showed up to walk... To raise awareness, and raise money, to help Nevadans fighting HIV/AIDS. AFAN puts together the walk every year, and this time was simply amazing. There were a number of high-profile celebrities helping the cause, such as Penn & Teller (who show up every year!), Holly Madison, and 8 News Now's Chris Saldana.















And of course, we also had some fabulous elected officials join the party (and the cause) as well. State Senators David Parks (D-Paradise) & Ruben Kihuen (D-North Las Vegas), Assembly Member Elliot Anderson (D-Paradise), and Clark County Commissioner (and Las Vegas Mayoral Candidate!) Chris Giunchigliani (D-Las Vegas) all showed up, and they all had their walking shoes ready to go the distance with us!





And of course, our favorite Congresswoman was also there! And now that she's also running for US Senate, I'll suspect we'll be seeing plenty more of Shelley Berkley throughout the state in the weeks and months to come.



We even enjoyed some live entertainment... In addition to all the politicians' speeches. ;-)

The Jersey Boys came to perform (even a capella!)...



And so did Jabbawockeez!



All in all, we had a great time yesterday. And even better, we made a difference. I have quite a few dear friends living with HIV/AIDS, so I know they don't have easy lives. Trying to stay alive certainly isn't cheap. And while we've come a long way in the last 30 years, we still have to fight the stigma, the discrimination, and now the state & federal budget cuts threatening the lives of many thousands here in Nevada and millions more throughout the country.

That's why I walked yesterday.





And that's why I was so delighted to see so many other folks throughout the community walk as well. Together, we really can make a difference.

Scenes from the Campaign Trail: Stonewall @ Arts Factory

On Wednesday, Stonewall had its monthly meeting at The Arts Factory in Downtown Las Vegas. And as expected, there were some interesting guests. Coming off last week's nail-biter of a primary, Chris Giunchigliani dropped by to chat with folks on the state of the race and why she's "in it to win it".

She explained her commitment to "building a community a neighborhood at a time", why she was concerned about AB 548, getting film production studios to make more movies and TV shows in Las Vegas, and much more. When she's on a roll talking good policy, one just doesn't want her to stop.











Las Vegas Council candidate Bob Coffin also stopped by, and he also went into detail on some local policy matters on his mind. In particular, he was discussing the need to keep The 18b Arts District on the front burner as Downtown rehabilitation and renovation continues. Even as Fremont East is becoming the city's new "urban hot spot", Coffin was reminding the crowd that there are people and small businesses there in 18b that still need some TLC from the city.

Another interesting guest at Wednesday's gathering was Henderson City Council candidate Sam Bateman. He stopped by to thank Henderson members for supporting him, and to remind everyone that Ward 4 will be on the ballot again in June. He also discussed inner city redevelopment in Henderson, non-discrimination policies, and local government transparency.

Heh. And you thought everyone would be asking them about marriage and "Glee". ;-)

See, we queer folk can think bigger and more broadly. And it was nice to hear all this fun local policy talk at the Stonewall meeting. My ears kept ringing for joy!

Alas, if only the rest of the campaign season could be like this...

#oscarswife? Or Something More?

It's tawdry. It's titillating. And yes, it can be scandalous at times.

Wait, you thought I was talking about "Gigolos"? (the new show about Vegas male "escorts) Oh, no! This is Las Vegas' mayoral election.



There's renewed buzz over Carolyn Goodman not really knowing what The Dream Act is... Or even what Teach for America does (link es en espanol)...



And of course, I'm still trying to figure out what exactly what happened when she couldn't recall what domestic partnerships are, couldn't form an opinion on marriage equality, and talked about gay and lesbian couples forming "50/50 contracts". So obviously, there's a perception that Goodman isn't really ready for the job. Is that true? Or are some Las Vegans overreacting?

Last month, Las Vegas Weekly profiled Carolyn Goodman. And in profiling her, they caught a glimpse of her vision of Las Vegas...

Carolyn has a definite vision for the city, including bringing in more retiree dollars. “There’s a huge retiree population in Buffalo and Chicago that could come here with no income tax, corporate tax, estate tax and enjoy this wonderful weather,” she says.
Carolyn admits the city would need “massive advertisement” from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, as well as the Nevada Development Authority, to accomplish her goal, “but that’s got to be sold to them, and I think I have a persuasive voice and somewhat of an intellect.”

In addition to “putting a lot of emphasis into medical care” and “making sure the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Brain Institute takes advantage of continual growth,” Goodman hopes to nurture the city’s cultural element, including “attracting more young professionals Downtown” and getting a supermarket built there to service their needs. With the cost of gasoline rising, Goodman has an idea for the Strip: “The hotels should say, ‘Come here and we’ll give you a tank of gas to get home.’”

And wondered if maybe hers actually is unique and separate from Oscar's.

Goodman notes that, technically, the mayor’s office requires little beyond holding city council meetings and declaring emergencies, but adds, “Look at all Oscar was able to accomplish.” She says she’ll aggressively pursue bringing new businesses to Nevada that will create new jobs and that she’s ready to be a voice for the city. Like Oscar … minus the showgirls and martini glasses. “Oscar can get away with things, like Don Rickles, that I can’t imagine getting away with,” she says. “I don’t need publicity, I don’t like publicity. In fact, this is very disturbing for me because it’s not me. Oscar loves the flamboyance, but I’m an under-the-radar type person.”

So why run? Carolyn says it’s a direct result of the Goodmans’ strong bond. “You cannot love someone if you don’t trust and respect them.” She believed in his vision when he first ran in 1999, and she wants that vision—particularly Downtown redevelopment—to continue. “What he accomplished is amazing to me. That’s the only reason I filed, to see [the city] continue in that direction.”

But Carolyn is careful to point out that she hasn’t supported her husband on everything. The two have had differences, like the F Street closure. “It wasn’t that it was so terrible a thing. It was the symbolism of what it meant,” Carolyn says, referring to the perceived disenfranchisement of a historically black community. And she had words for Oscar after his scathing response to President Obama’s two slights of Las Vegas: “I said, ‘No matter what, he is the President, and in my opinion, you respect him.’”

So Carolyn Goodman is her own person?

And does she have the knowledge and experience needed for the job she's seeking? I really did catch interesting moments last month when I saw her first-hand at "The People's Debate". However Laura Martin went to even more debates and campaign forums, and she tried to poke deeper into the mystique of #oscarswife.

I attended almost all of the mayoral debates during the primary, and I noticed whenever Chris Giunchigliani talked about legislation or ordinances she worked on, #OscarsWife would roll her eyes or pass a look to her staff as if to say[,] "Now here she goes with all those facts and shit[.]"

Why the hate from OscarsWife?

Every time Chris G talks about her experience, OscarsWife [is] forced to admit that she has none. Every time Chris G describes in detail a bill, proposed legislation or policy, OscarsWife is exposed as not just a political neophyte, but a Sarah Palineqsue character who has no knowledge of current events and no ability to articulate any of the little knowledge she does have.

There's certainly no question of Chris Giunchigliani's sharp intellect, or of her strong work ethic. She will certainly prove to be a formidable challenger. So is Carolyn Goodman up to the challenge that may be far greater than initial poll numbers suggest?

The first debate next week may prove to be quite pivotal. It may be Carolyn's chance to prove she's more than just #oscarswife. Can she rise to this occasion?

The Morning After: Let's See What Happened!

Here are the municipal primary results. And here is how election night was spent throughout the valley.



We started in Henderson, where both Gerri Schroder and Debra March surprisingly coasted to outright wins with 54% each! I first stopped at Debra's party, and we were eagerly awaiting those first early vote numbers. And as soon as we heard them, I had a good feeling.

Debra was quite upbeat, and the local Henderson crowd was getting pumped up. Ah, the scent of victory!



Gerri's party was next. I must say she had the best food of the bunch, as well as the snazziest room at The Henderson Convention Center. And the mood here was quite upbeat as the numbers kept pouring in and Gerri stayed well above 50%. Despite the powerful opposition and last minute attacks on her personal finances and her marriage, Gerri prevailed.

Score another one for Team NVP! ;-)





From there, it was onto Las Vegas, where the campaigning was hot and the results were tight! In Ward 3, Bob Coffin and Adriana Martinez were neck and neck all night, with Martinez starting narrowly ahead in the early vote but Coffin finishing just 49 votes ahead.

Adriana's party was full of energy, and full of people young and old, black and white and brown, men and women, and so much more. The music was blasting and people were dancing. Oh yes, and Nevada's top cop, Catherine Cortez Masto, even made a guest appearance!





At Larry Brown's party last night, tension and nerves were in the air. The dancers may have been juggling fire outside, but inside The Arts Factory Brown's team was busy analyzing the results and juggling its own fire. They were most definitely in for the ride of their lives!

I had a chance to talk with Larry last night, and he really sounded frustrated over the mess he fell into last week. He said he SUPPORTS SB 283 domestic partnerships, and that he does not favor any sort of anti-LGBT discrimination. I still don't understand why he would even bother answering Richard Ziser's insanely stupid questionnaire, but hopefully he's learned his lesson with this. I just find it sad that such a smart guy would get caught in such a silly and stupid clusterf*ck like that.





And oh my, did we save the best for last, or what! After all the drama, all the highs and lows, and all the insanity of Las Vegas' first round of mayoral campaigning, Chris Giunchigliani scored the #2 slot to face Carolyn Goodman in the June runoff.

And oh yes, this race is far from over! Chris G made sure her crowd of supporters knew that last night. She even took to Twitter to reiterate the point! Indeed, "This is when the fun begins."

Of course, there are even more local results to talk about and even more to discuss as the June runoff campaign starts today. The fun will really be underway throughout Southern Nevada this spring!

April Fools? Las Vegas' Mayoral Race Devolves to Silly Season (& My Last Minute Endorsement)

Face, meet palm...

Several of the leading candidates for Las Vegas mayor have come under fire this week for their surprising lack of knowledge about basic current events.

First, at a debate Wednesday night hosted by Si Se Puede, a Democratic Hispanic group, City Councilman Steve Ross was left speechless by a question asking whether he supports the DREAM Act, which would create a path to citizenship for qualifying undocumented young people who were brought to this country as children.

"I don't know enough about that to answer one way or the other," Ross said.

The DREAM Act has dominated headlines for years and is of particular interest in Nevada because of its support and advocacy by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Las Vegas students have protested to advance the measure, and supporters and opponents have written dozens of editorials on the topic.

And if that wasn't bad enough, try to follow the (lack of) logic of Carolyn Goodman's stance on domestic partnerships and marriage equality as Steve Friess tried to get a coherent answer out of her this week.

A crystallized commentary on that for me is difficult because you know I am about the rights of the human being but I’m also about legal rights. I’m certainly accepting of anybody and anybody’s rights to determine for themselves their own lifestyle as long as it’s not causing problems for anybody else and it’s legal. One of the things I remember asking years ago of my uncle who is a very astute lawyer because I didn’t understand, I had many friends and I’ve had friends all my life who are gay. I said I don’t understand why a legal contract wuldn’t suffice to bind two people together. You and I would have a legal contract, same sex let’s say, and I would agree that everything that’s mine it’s 50-50. If I die you would get everything, split down the middle. All I would say is why a legal binding contract wouldn’t work for a couple.

To be fair, Goodman's campaign manager, Bradley Mayer, later texted Friess to clarify that she SUPPORTS SB 283 and would not favor any effort to repeal domestic partnerships. Still, I'm baffled as to why she couldn't just spit that out to Friess when she had a chance to.

And what's with none of these candidates (save for Chris Giunchigliani, clearly the ONLY serious and qualified candidate running!) knowing anything on The DREAM Act? Don't any of them remember anything from last year's campaign?



Or are Larry Brown and Steve Ross joining Victor Chaltiel in courting the Sharrontology vote?



Carolyn Goodman really needs to brush up on her facts if she's serious about being Las Vegas' next Mayor, and both Steve Ross and Larry Brown should be ashamed of themselves for stooping down to such base homophobia and xenophobia just to court the "Christian Taliban" teabaggers who will never vote for either of them anyway. It's embarrassing that Las Vegas' mayoral candidates are mostly rich with embarrassments, and it's frustrating that all the rest of us who live outside the city have to see our issues get eclipsed by media frenzy over "teh stupid, it hurts".



Apparently, Chris Giunchigliani is the only candidate willing to take this job seriously and do her homework. Oh, and it also helps that she's always been pro-equality and she doesn't change her answers just to pander to xenophobes.

Scenes from the Campaign Trail: Chris G House Party in Las Vegas

(As campaign season heats up in the final days before early voting begins, I'll be going around the valley and looking at who's doing what.)







Last night, Chris Giunchigliani's campaign hosted a house party, debate watch party, and birthday party (for some special supporters) last night. Above and below are the sights and sounds of what happened at The Arts Factory.

My Take on "The People's Debate"

The bumper car ride came to Santa Fe Station last night, and I'm still a little shaken from it. Last night was "The People's Debate". And while some great questions were offered, not all the answers matched that caliber.

- Gadfly extraordinaire Larry Jeppesen talked on and on about his mini electric car and how horrible (he thinks) local government is. At one point, he wore a plastic firefighter hat with fake money attached to it. Need I say more?

- George Harris took this forum as an opportunity to just plain bash government. He demanded that "government get out of the way" of private investment, even though this may be the time when Las Vegas needs investment in public infrastructure the most.

- Ed Uehling also jumped on the "I Hate Guv'mint!!!" bandwagon, and kept obsessing over foreign tourists. Seriously, he's stuck in a time warp.



Hint: Our problem has been overdependence on casinos. And grandstanding on "big guv'mint" is just stupid.

- Marlene Rogoff was the only "minor candidate" with actual, serious answers on development, environmental preservation, and job creation. It's a shame a couple of the "major candidates" get more attention with their blathering nonsense.

- Victor Chaltiel basically proved that he has no clue how to do the job he's running for, as he contradicted himself on public employee contracts, refused to answer questions he didn't want, and sometimes threw out totally nonsensical statements that I would have expected from the more unhinged gadflies. I guess Sheldon Adelson didn't give him the crib notes beforehand?

- And then there was Steve Ross. Where do I start? He contradicted himself on development, kept throwing out talk of "JOBS!!!" without much of any specifics, couldn't think of a single thing he's done to advance LGBTQ equality in Las Vegas, then bolted early. And this is "Working Man Steve Ross"? Give me a break.

- Carolyn Goodman had her good moments. She made a good point on "bigger not always better" when it comes to local government consolidation, and she had the best answer of the night on why Vegas isn't better at job creation. However on green collar jobs and local zoning, she punted with canned lines on "staying out of the private sector's way". Hey, isn't local government there for a reason? So she wasn't perfect, but she was also far from bad.

- Chris Giunchigliani clearly did her homework before last night, and it showed well. She handled questions on ecotourism, neighborhood redevelopment and reinvestment, streamlining business fees, and green collar jobs incredibly well. She was one of the only people on the stage last night who had me on the edge of my seat.

- Larry Brown was the other one. When he explained the intricacies of privileged gaming licenses, I knew he knew what he's supposed to do in local government. He also handled a question on keeping master-planned communities as planned quite well. He also talked about public-private partnerships on green-collar jobs, and getting public works projects on line soon.

And the verdict? I already gave mine. What's yours?

Who's Listening to Us?

We see money scandals. We see discussions behind closed doors. And we see outrageous talk on some awfully funny issues.



Oh, and we hear about conflicting poll data.

But wait, what about us?











Yesterday, I was out walking in Sun City Anthem with Sam Bateman, one of the candidates for Henderson City Council. What I heard up the hill yesterday was quite interesting. Despite who held which title and who's on whose team, people are still making up their minds.

This seemed to confirm what I've heard from friends and family around these parts. They're looking at failed development projects and wondering how to clean up the mess. They're looking at the challenge ahead of balancing redevelopment needs Downtown with ensuring other parts of town continue to age gracefully. They're looking at the city budget and want to make sure their tax dollars are being spent wisely.

And despite how some might interpret recent name recognition polls, a number of voters have yet to make up their minds.

And I suspect we're seeing similar dynamics at play in Las Vegas.



So who's listening to us? This may be the critical question going into the primary, which actually starts with early voting this month.

Who's listening to us? Who's doing the most voter outreach? Who's paying attention to what potential constituents are saying? Even in this age of digital everything, those regular one-on-one conversations with real people will likely make the difference, more so than any TV ad, mailer, or flashy event.

What Are We Really Seeing on TV?

What do you think when you see this?



And this?



(Yay! Brown's campaign now has it on YouTube!)

And what do you think when you see this?



And this?



So what did you get out of those? That Larry Brown and Chris Giunchigliani are serious about getting Las Vegas out of the economic doldrums and into a brighter future? That Brown and/or Chris G care about regular Las Vegans? That they're "just like us"?

Now take a look at this.



What do you see here? "V for Victory"? "V for Vendetta"? Apparently, Victor Chaltiel for Las Vegas. So I guess that's what Sheldon Adelson's billions buy you these days?

Now take a look at this.



What did you get out of this? That we love Oscar? That Oscar has to "say goodbye"? Who's "good enough" to follow up his great act? It seems like Carolyn Goodman is taking a different approach in her ads, engaging with some playful nostalgia instead of the typical promises to do this or that.

Sadly, many voters' first impressions of the candidates will likely come from these TV ads. Do they convey the messages these candidates want to send? Or might voters eventually hear a different tune from what everyone else is saying away from commercial time?

I can definitely see different strategies at play with these various ads. Larry Brown and Chris G want to be taken seriously as practical problem solvers, and that's why they play up the general policy outlines and mix them up with "feel good" promises. Victor Chaltiel is trying to play the "businessman outsider" card a la Arnold Schwarzenegger v.2003, and it seems he's just trying to take advantage of whatever "tea party" fervor Sharron Angle left over with a vague "elect him, not a 'politician'" message.

And Carolyn Goodman? Well, what else can I say about that ad? It's original! ;-)

Las Vegas Mayoral Candidate Chris Giunchigliani Comes to Stonewall

Chris Giunchigliani, aka "Chris G", recently made an announcement that surprised many... And perhaps an announcement that some didn't want to hear.



But she's in, and she may really shake things up as Mayor.

Last night, Chris G came to Stonewall and discussed her plans for Downtown, her efforts to build more community in Vegas, and why she pushes to ensure all communities in Las Vegas, including our local LGBTQ community, are heard.

Here's the video.