LAS VEGAS -- Only three people alive today can say they have been elected to serve as the mayor of Las Vegas. And for the first time, those three got together this week for a meeting of the minds, and appetites.
Oscar Goodman, Jan Jones, and Ron Lurie talked about the ups and downs of the job, and why it is so hard to walk away from City Hall.
Of course, there were plenty of questions to be asked. Have the three ever sat down before? Is there an ex-mayors advisory board? Do they ever call each other?
"I think, given our personalities, that doesn't happen," said current Mayor Oscar Goodman.
Goodman, along with his predecessor Jan Jones and her predecessor Ron Lurie, say they're all friends, forever bound by the common experience of running America's most vibrant city. But their lunch at a restaurant named for Lurie inside Arizona Charlie's was the first time the three have ever sat down to talk shop and Knapp and Review-Journal columnist John L. Smith were invited.
The trio agreed that the mayor's job is one big bully pulpit, and that the person in the job becomes the spokesperson -- not just for the city -- but for the entire valley.
"When people talk about Las Vegas, they talk about the mayor. The mayor is the focal point and can have a press conference to talk about education, or whatever, and everyone will listen," said Ron Lurie, who was the mayor from 1987 to 1991.
"People outside Nevada would so much rather be with the mayor of Las Vegas than the governor. They don't even know who a Clark County commissioner is," said Jan Jones, who was mayor from 1991 to 1999.
No mayor has done more to elevate the profile of the job than Oscar Goodman, who became a colorful symbol of the valley and roving ambassador since taking over in 1999.
"I don't know if I became the character. I became the brand and I was encouraged to be the brand by the convention authority. It was synonymous -- when people saw me with showgirls, they thought of Las Vegas," he said.
Each of the three came to the job from the private sector, though Lurie had served as a city councilman. Each played a role in the development of Symphony Park. Lurie led the effort to get the railroad to move and clean up the site. Jones oversaw the development of a master plan for the area. Goodman cut the deals that led to ambitious projects that have already sprouted.
Because redevelopment can take decades, all three say term limits are not necessarily a good idea. None are impressed by renewed claims that low taxes will attract new businesses.
"I listen to officials talk about business diversification now. Give me a break. Twenty five years ago we were saying it: low taxes, no state income taxes, great place to live. If you've got a lousy education system, they're not coming. They're not coming," said Jones.
And they agreed the mayor gets too much credit and way too much blame. "Sometimes we get credit for things we had nothing to do with and we get blamed for earthquakes in Boulder City," said Goodman.
"It's kind of a downer, a little bit, because you don't have a schedule. When you're mayor, your time starts at 7 a.m.," said Lurie.
"The day you wake up and you're not mayor anymore is a sense of extreme melancholy because you've been in the eye of the hurricane, the go-to person, had the ability to change people's lives. The greatest thing about being mayor is the feeling that you can make a difference," said Jones.
"You're never ready, never ready to hang it up when you are the mayor of Las Vegas. It's the greatest job I've ever had. I've loved every single second. Every morning I can't wait to get to City Hall. It's like playing Monopoly with real money and Legos with real bricks and mortar. It's just been fun and you're trying to do something good every single day," said Goodman.
"I think Oscar is going to have a difficult time," said Jones.
And if he could run again, he says, "I'd run forever and ever and ever. I'd be like that little bunny. I would not stop running."
Goodman says he is in discussions with the LVCVA to continue serving as an ambassador for the city, even if his wife is elected as the new mayor.
Jan Jones, now a gaming executive, said she is considering a return to politics, perhaps as a candidate for Congress.
Ron Lurie says he is very happy in his job as an executive at Arizona Charlie's.
