LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The top two candidates for Las Vegas mayor disagreed sharply on the Badlands controversy in their first big head-to-head debate on Wednesday.
Former Congresswoman Shelley Berkley and Las Vegas Councilwoman Victoria Seaman both said the Badlands litigation should be settled, but Berkley blamed Seaman for failing to resolve the issue.
The owner of the now-defunct Badlands golf course sued the city after officials — at the urging of neighbors in the Queensridge development — rejected development plans for the land. Courts have ruled the rejections constitute a taking under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits government from acquiring land without compensation for its owners.
Seaman campaigned on ending the litigation after she was elected to the council in a special election in 2019. She said she warned her fellow council members and Mayor Carolyn Goodman that the city faced steep liability if it didn't settle the lawsuit quickly, but that council members didn't want to settle the multiple lawsuits.
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"I hate to say I told you so but I told you so," Seaman said. "Elections have consequences and we are going to settle this, whether it's in the courts or without. But we are going to make sure, for the taxpayers, that we come out, mitigate with as little damage as we can."
Already, Seaman said, the city has frozen some positions on its payroll in anticipation of having to pay a large settlement.
However, Berkley, who is a lawyer, blamed Seaman for being unable to persuade other members of the council despite years of effort.
"With all due respect, councilwoman, you have been there for five years," Berkley said. "You have not been able to successfully conclude a negotiation. You can't get one other member of the city council to go along with you and agree to settle this.
"Now, I don't have a messiah complex but I do believe, in this instance, that I am the only person that can sit down with not only my city, but with the developer, negotiate a deal that will protect the taxpayers of the city of Las Vegas, and be satisfactory enough to the developer to help to make him whole."
Seaman replied that Berkley only took an interest in the case when she began running for mayor, despite being a resident of Queensridge. She noted that Berkley had been endorsed by members of the council who had refused to settle the lawsuits and called Berkley's criticism of her efforts "ignorant."
Retorted Berkely: "As I said in a prior debate, it was not my job to do your job, Victoria."
CHANNEL 13 ON THE SCENE: Steve Sebelius and Abel Garcia speak to constituents before the debate about issues they want to hear candidates address
On the issue of health care, Berkley touted her experience as CEO and provost of Touro University, a medical school with campuses in Henderson and Northern California. She said the state needs about 2,000 more doctors and that she's been working on that issue.
"We need residency programs and I spoke to the last three governors to get funding for graduate medical education," Berkley said.
(Those residency positions allow physicians to complete their training and become practicing doctors.)
For her part, Seaman recalled how her daughter was born with an illness and spent time in the hospital, a fact that she said motivates her to push for a dedicated children's hospital in Las Vegas.
"A standalone children's hospital, I've been advocating for for almost five years," she said. "So it's really important for those folks who come to my office and tell me their stories of how they have to take their children out of state."
Berkley and Seaman also had time during the debate — sponsored by the Vegas Chamber and moderated by former Las Vegas City Manager Betsy Fretwell — to introduce themselves and discuss their leadership styles.
Seaman, who served one term in the Nevada Assembly, said she took about two years to persuade her council colleagues to deal with issues at the city's animal shelter but that progress was now being made. She listed public safety as one of her top issues, along with the children's hospital.
CHANNEL 13 ON THE SCENE: Steve Sebelius and Abel Garcia speak to constituents after the debate to see if candidates addressed the topics that matter to them
Berkley, a former seven-term member of Congress representing Las Vegas, also served in the Assembly and on what is now called the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents. She also worked for the state, as in-house counsel for Southwest Gas and vice president and general counsel for the Las Vegas Sands Corp.
She said she wants to make Southern Nevada an art hub, the way it's currently known for gaming and sports.
While Seaman touted the city's current efforts to fight homelessness, including the Campus of Hope and expanded efforts to find housing for people, Berkley said current efforts aren't always effective because they don't aim to get people back on their feet. For people suffering from addiction, just finding shelter is not enough, since they can't take care of themselves, she said.
The general election is November 5. Seaman is in the middle of her term on the council representing Ward 2, so even if she loses the election, she will keep her council seat for at least another two years.
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