Days before swearing in, Las Vegas’ next mayor says she’s ready to get to work

Days before being sworn in to office to lead her first City Council meeting, Las Vegas Mayor-elect Shelley Berkley said she’s ready to usher in a new era.

“My experience over the last 40 years has prepared me well for this position,” the former U.S. congresswoman told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Berkley added during a Friday interview: “I never ask anybody to do more than I’m willing to myself. I work hard, I like the members of the City Council. They do work hard and they do represent their wards well.”

Mayor Carolyn Goodman will pass the gavel to Berkley at the start of Wednesday’s meeting, ending a quarter-century rule by Oscar and Carolyn Goodman.

“I admire any family that devotes 25 years of their collective life to public service, and they did exactly that,” Berkley said about the couple. “Even if you could disagree with an issue or a position that they took, the fact of the matter is they worked hard, they took their jobs very very seriously.”

Ward 5 Councilwoman-elect Shondra Summers-Armstrong will also take an oath of office Wednesday.

Berkley defeated Councilwoman Victoria Seaman in November’s runoff election. The veteran lawmakers spoke by phone a couple of days later and the mayor-elect said she’s looking forward to working within the seven-member council, on which Seaman will remain.

“As long as all of my fellow City council members work collaboratively for the good of the people of the city of Las Vegas, then I’m very satisfied,” Berkley said.

Badlands resolution?

Berkley’s campaign platform prioritized the legal battle with the would-be developer of the defunct Badlands golf course, public safety and homelessness.

“I believe we have to settle the Badlands (cases) as quickly as possible,” said Berkley, adding that she thought a resolution was close. “I’m not expecting divine intervention. I can see the handwriting on the wall. The sooner we can get this off the table, the better off the city will be.”

The city faces potential losses up to $650 million if Las Vegas continues to lose lawsuits filed by EHB Cos., which is led by CEO Yohan Lowie, who had planned an expansive housing project.

The council is expected to consider setting a parameter for a possible out-of-court settlement between $250 million and $286 million.

Berkley, who recently met with Lowie, said that he and the city were still negotiating a number but that she would “in a minute” vote for any amount between that parameter.

“Nobody wants to vote for this extravagant amount of money for the developer, but I think it’s inevitable,” Berkley said. “And the sooner we do it, the sooner we can stop paying interest at $130,000 a day.”

She added: “I believe that we have to come to a conclusion. None of us want that conclusion but the courts have ruled. We can continue this forever, but I am not willing to keep dragging this on for another nine years.”

Berkley thinks the 250 acres will end up being sold to a third-party developer who ultimately will construct on the land.

On the other issues

Berkley wants to see regional collaboration to address the homelessness crisis, weighing the rights of business owners and the humanity of the afflicted population.

“We need to identify the core reasons why people are out in the streets,” she said. “It doesn’t make any sense to me to provide housing for people who are unable to care for themselves.”

Berkley, who said she didn’t want to criminalize homelessness, envisions a treatment facility and continuing to work with the nonprofit sector.

“How do we help the homeless, not with a Band-Aid, not just with a meal,” she said. “How do we get them off the street; how do we get them self-sustaining?”

With $100 million approved by the 2023 Legislature — with a $100 million pledged match by the resort corridor — to combat homeless, local governments will be figuring out how to use that money.

In Las Vegas, the city has taken steps to address the shortage of affordable housing, which Berkley described as a supply-and-demand issue.

Berkley supports a federal-state proposal that calls for the release of Bureau of Land Management land for development.

“There are other areas in the city that are screaming out — not even crying out — screaming out for development,” she said about the Historic Westside and east Las Vegas.

Las Vegas’ contract with the embattled Animal Foundation shelter is also due for renewal in the coming months.

Berkley acknowledged that the nonprofit had taken steps to address and improve its overpopulation issues and allegations of mismanagement.

“I want to see that for myself,” she said. “When I vote on that contract, I want to make sure that I’m doing the best I can for our four-legged friends.”

While not within her official role, Berkley said she also would advocate to improve K-12 education and expand affordable health care by keeping physicians who graduate from local medical schools in the Las Vegas Valley.

At least one term

Berkley, who is 73, has said she intends to retire from elected office once her tenure as mayor ends.

She feels healthy and energetic enough to finish her first four-year term and will determine if she will run for a second and final term around 2027.

“If I feel that I would not be doing justice to the people who call Las Vegas home, then I would gladly step aside and give other people an opportunity to serve,” Berkley said.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.