LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – FOX5 sat down with Las Vegas’s Mayor-elect Shelley Berkley ahead of a new era of leadership.
Las Vegas mayor-elect Berkley takes office next month.
She sat down for a 1 on 1 with John Huck Monday afternoon, where she said homelessness, The Animal Foundation, and public safety are her top priorities.
But at the top of the list is putting the Badlands lawsuit to bed. The City of Las Vegas may have to settle a quarter-billion dollars with the owner of that land and the mayor-elect says they can’t move forward with budgets until that bit of business is settled.
Shelley: There are certain issues that must be addressed, some of them more quickly than others. Number one is the Badlands. We have got to get that off the table. It has such incredibly dire implications for the city, so I think we need to wrap that up as quickly as possible.
John: How’d that become such a mess?
Shelley: You know, the irony of this, and I live in Queens Ridge, so I’ve been directly impacted by this. For the last nine years, there was a golf course. It was zoned residential. A developer purchased the golf course on the, not the assumption, but on the reality that it was zoned residential.
John: It’s going to be costly. How much?
Shelley: I heard, upward of 250 million.
John: That’s a lot of money.
Shelley: If they continue this. It could go up to 600 because he gains interest right now, from what I understand, and I might be mistaken, interest payments are about $20,000 a day. Wow. I think the city has better use of $20,000 a day than paying interest on judgments that the courts have already rendered.
John: Who do we blame for this?
Shelley: You know, there’s so much blame to go around. I think you pass the blame. Get it done. Let’s move forward to a brighter future.
John: When you take office, you’re going to be following 25 years of Goodman’s. You’ve built a political career in your own right. But is there any kind of, I don’t know, apprehension, or kind of, like, look, I do it my way. This isn’t the Goodman way anymore.
Shelley: I mean, look, they have and I, you know, I’ve known the Goodman for 50 years. Oscar was president of my temple when I was, I think, in my early 20s. So we’ve known each other for decades. Look, you have to give credit to where credit is due. Devoting 25 years of your family’s life to public service is extraordinary, and I think that they will leave a lasting legacy. But let’s face it, I’m not going to be walking around with two show girls on my arms and a martini glass. I mean, that was his stick, and it was perfect for Oscar.
John: And you’ve talked to Mayor Carolyn Goodman since your win, yes, has she given you any advice?
Shelley: Actually, the greatest woman that she is, she said she has no advice. She’s if I need her, she’s there for me, 24/7, but she says, I promise I will not bug you. I will not interfere. It’s your city now.
FULL INTERVIEW:
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