LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Former Congresswoman Shelley Berkley was sworn in as Las Vegas mayor on Wednesday, marking the first person not named "Goodman" to hold the post in 25 years.
Berkley, who won the Nov. 5 election over incumbent Ward 2 Councilwoman Victoria Seaman, pledged to serve the residents of the city she represented for more than a decade in Washington, D.C.
"It's both an honor and a privilege for me to be here today as your new mayor," Berkley told a packed City Council chambers after taking the oath of office. "I'm very aware of the responsibility that you have entrusted me with, and I pledge to devote my life to working on behalf of the city of Las Vegas and the people who have chosen to make this remarkable city their home."
Berkley told her own Las Vegas origin story: her family on a cross-country trip that stopped in Las Vegas for a night and ended up staying for good, her father working a Culinary Union job at the Sands hotel-casino. "Half the people in Las Vegas got here almost the same way, or they ran out of gas, or they ran out of money, and now they're mayors and governors," she said.
"Las Vegas is a city of dreams," she added. "People dream big in our town, whether it's hitting Megabucks or landing a job to support your family, buying a home, opening a business, getting a second chance in a new town. We all have dreams. I believe it's my responsibility, it's my job, along with the members of the City Council, city staff and employees to create an environment that is conducive to helping our fellow citizens realize their dreams."
Along with Berkley, former Assemblywoman Shondra Summers-Armstrong took the oath of office to represent Ward 5, the seat left open when Councilman Cedric Crear filed to run for mayor. He lost the race in the primary.
"This community is my community," Summers-Armstrong said. "It has entrusted me with their hopes and their dreams for growth and jobs and redevelopment and advancement, and I will do my very best to work diligently with you to make these hopes and dreams come true."
Summers-Armstrong gave up a seat in the Nevada Assembly to run for council, a race that pitted her against former fellow Assemblyman Cameron C.H. Miller.
With her election, the Las Vegas City Council is nearly exclusively comprised of women: Berkley, Summers-Armstrong, Seaman, and Councilwomen Francis Allen-Palenske, Olivia Diaz, and Nancy Brune. The only man on the dais is Ward 1 Councilman Brian Knudsen.
Berkley and her new council have a long list of issues to address in the coming months. They include:
- A resolution to the long-running Badlands lawsuit filed after a developer was denied permission to build homes on a defunct golf course. Judgments against the city have climbed into the millions, and interest in those judgments is increasing daily.
- A solution to the problem of homeless people in the city, which is home to many of the valley's homeless services agencies and facilities.
- Creation of more affordable and workforce housing in the city.
- Selling the Cashman Field Center, the former home of the minor-league baseball team known today as the Las Vegas Aviators.
- Continued development in East Las Vegas and the Historic Westside.
In 1999, former criminal defense attorney Oscar Goodman won his first of three terms, primarily on a platform of reviving what was then a moribund downtown. During his term, development surged on the former Union Pacific property west of downtown, high-rise apartments were built, and a lively dining and drinking scene started on East Fremont Street. In 2011, Carolyn Goodman took over, and thanks to a switch in the timing of municipal elections to even-numbered years, she got to serve an additional year, giving her 13 years in office.
On Wednesday, Goodman gaveled her final meeting to order and presided over the ceremonies until Berkley took the oath of office. "I've never known you to be silent, so the microphone and City Hall are yours," Goodman said to Berkley before the mayors embraced.
Former Nevada Supreme Court Justice Michael Cherry — a longtime Berkley family friend — administered the oath of office to the new mayor and made a nod to the legacy. Said Cherry: "So we're not going to have a Goodman anymore, but we're going to have a good woman."
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