LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The top three candidates for Las Vegas mayor sharply disagreed about what to do about the Badlands development lawsuit during a mayoral debate Wednesday.
Former Congresswoman Shelley Berkley and incumbent Las Vegas council members Cedric Crear and Victoria Seaman shared their differing views during the 90-minute debate at the Fontainebleau hotel-casino, in a forum sponsored by the Nevada Independent newspaper.
Berkley is a former Assembly member, university regent and seven-term member of the House of Representatives. Crear is an ex-university regent elected to the council in a special election in 2018. Seaman served in the Assembly and was elected to city council in 2019.
Asked by Nevada Independent CEO and editor Jon Ralston about what she would have done differently than outgoing Mayor Carolyn Goodman, Seaman didn't hesitate to say the Badlands case.
"Well, in the beginning, I would have made sure that the council members were educated on what could happen with what was going on," Seaman said. "I believe it was very political."
Developer Yohan Lowie sought to develop the golf course property into homes, but met bitter opposition from neighbors who didn't want to lose their golf-course views. Former Councilman Steve Seroka ran for office pledging to stop the development, which in part led to a yearslong fight that sparked four different legal cases.
The city has lost each one, including a Nevada Supreme Court ruling last month in which justices said the city has illegally taken the land from Lowie by restricting its use.
"I was elected five years ago," Seaman added.
"And this was in the courts before I was elected. And during those five years, put your foot down and finally get to the table more than we did and make sure that everybody understands what could happen. This is shameful for the taxpayers."
Judgments in the cases thus far amount to more than $230 million.
Crear defended the city's actions, even though he wasn't on the council when the saga began, either.
"I stand with the neighbors," he said. "And when you have a bully developer that's going to come in and basically tell you 'this is what I'm going to do and if you don't like it, too bad because it's what I'm going to do.'"
Crear also said that capitulating to Lowie could lead to other developers trying to run roughshod over neighbors elsewhere in the city.
"And so I stand with the neighbors. And if I didn't, then that could happen [in] any other place in the city of Las Vegas," he said.
"Your neighborhood, you want someone to just come in and tell you exactly what you're going to do? You don't have any say-so? No. I'm fighting for you and standing up for you."
Berkley, for her part, criticized both of her rivals, saying neither could settle the issue.
"The City of Las Vegas has now lost five consecutive lawsuits to the tune of over $248 million," she said.
"This is the very definition of insanity when you keep making the same mistake, or keep doing the same thing thinking it's going to be a different result."
"And candidly, and with all due respect to my fellow candidates, how is Cedric going to sit down and negotiate with the developer when he's still calling him a bully?" Berkley asked. "And as far as the councilwoman [Seaman] is concerned, she has been there five years; she doesn't have more than one vote, and being a lone voice in the wilderness isn't leadership, it's immaturity."
Seaman took issue with Berkley, however, saying she showed no interest in the Badlands issue until Berkley started her campaign for mayor.
"I've been on the City Council for five years, and my neighbor here [Berkley], whom I'm her city councilwoman, was crickets for five years, never bothered to call me and say 'hey, I can negotiate this. I can help you.' No," Seaman said.
Retorted Berkley, a former top official at Touro medical school in Henderson: "Because I was the CEO and senior provost of the largest, most successful medical school in the state of Nevada, and it wasn't my job to do your job."
Areas of agreement
The candidates didn't disagree about everything, however. All three concurred the city should have a role in education, although mostly focused on services for schoolkids who attend Clark County schools.
Seaman, however, touted a charter school sponsored by the city as an alternative to public schools, saying that system has failed children. Crear and Berkley — both products of Clark County schools — declined to say they had failed.
All three also seemed to agree that the careworn Cashman Field could be repurposed, perhaps for a children's hospital. Crear said there were discussions with a developer over the prospect, and Seaman said she was hoping a developer could find an operator for the facility. Berkley said she was aware of a potential hospital interested in the site but said she couldn't name the hospital without permission.
And when Ralston asked about potentially consolidating the city's government with Clark County or others in the county, none of the candidates openly embraced it. Berkley said the issue has been discussed for decades with no progress.
"Whether it will work or not, it's obviously been rejected," Berkley said.
All three candidates also said they opposed Question 3, the open primary/ranked choice voting measure that will appear on the general election ballot.
Asked by Ralston if the had any regrets over their political careers, Seaman and Crear demurred, but Berkley said she regretted her 2003 vote in Congress to authorize the Iraq War. She said she listened to members of then-President George W. Bush's cabinet and to the president himself before voting yes.
After the invasion, however, American forces didn't discover any of the alleged threats used to justify the war, including a nuclear or chemical weapons program.
The primary election is June 11. If no candidate gets more than 50 percent — which seems unlikely given there are 14 candidates running — the top two vote-getters will advance to the Nov. 5 general election.
Crear has more riding on the primary than Seaman, however, because she's in the middle of her four-year council term and will return to the council no matter how she does in the race. Crear's Ward 5 seat is up for election this year, and if he loses the primary, he'll leave the council.
If you have questions about the race for mayor — or anything related to campaigns, elections, the Legislature or government in Nevada, ask them using the Ask Steve link on our website. I will try to answer them, either on air or online.
