1999 Las Vegas mayoral election
The 1999 Las Vegas mayoral election took place on May 4 and June 8, 1999 to elect the mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada. The election was held concurrently with various other local elections, and was officially nonpartisan. It saw the election of criminal defense attorney Oscar Goodman, succeeding mayor Jan Jones, who decided against running for a third term. Goodman's main rivals in the race were Arnie Adamsen, a Las Vegas City Councilman; and Mark Fine, a local developer. With no candidate winning a majority in the initial round of the election, a runoff was held between the top-two finishers: Goodman and Adamsen. Goodman would go on to win with more than 63 percent of the vote. He took office on June 28, 1999, and was re-elected in 2003 and 2007. His wife, Carolyn Goodman, succeeded him as mayor in 2011, and is set to serve until 2024, having won three terms herself. Candidates Background Incumbent Democrat mayor Jan Jones had been elected in the 1991 Las Vegas mayoral election, and was re-elected four years later. She received praise and criticism during her time as mayor, which was sidelined by two failed gubernatorial bids in the 1994 and 1998 elections. Following the latter loss, Jones planned to seek a third term as Las Vegas mayor. Jay Bingham, a former Clark County Commissioner, announced on January 8, 1999 that he would run against Jones in the upcoming mayoral election. Jones announced on February 11 that she would no longer seek a third term, in order to spend more time with her family. Candidate filing for the mayoral race began on February 23, 1999. The first major candidacies to be declared were Bingham and Arnie Adamsen, the latter a Democrat Las Vegas City Councilman. Another major candidate, developer Mark Fine, had previously been involved in the development of two local communities: Summerlin and Green Valley. Also entering the race was criminal defense attorney Oscar Goodman, who had represented alleged mob members for 30 years. Goodman had considered a mayoral run in 1995, but decided against it, saying at the time, "I would have been the world's worst mayor. If I would have won the race, I would have hated the job. I just can't kiss people's rear ends." Fine and Goodman, both longtime friends and Democrat millionaires, declared their candidacies on March 5, 1999, the last day of filing. A total of 10 candidates had entered the mayoral race, although Bingham dropped out soon thereafter, citing a heart problem. Adamsen had a number of endorsements, including the Culinary Workers Union, the Howard Hughes Corporation, and the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. Fine described himself as the "closest thing" to a Republican, and had support from several prominent locals belonging to the party, including Tom Wiesner. Goodman's chances of winning the election were seen as unlikely. According to political commentator Jon Ralston, conventional wisdom said that Goodman could not win but would at least run an entertaining campaign. He compared Goodman with Bob