The Mayoral Primary & The Race of The C.G.s

As I pretty much anticipated in last week's AOL/HuffPo piece, it's Carolyn Goodman versus Chris Giunchigliani in the June 7 general election for Las Vegas Mayor. And it'll be a bruiser, if the remarks found in my AOL/HuffPo piece this morning are any indication. With Chris' amazingly tight 15-vote win over Commissioner Larry Brown for second place, it's pretty fair to say that the controversy generated by Mrs. Goodman's remarks to me probably energized Giunchigliani's folks just that tad more that put her over the top.

As I did with Carolyn Goodman, I plan to sit down with Giunchigliani for an in-depth conversation about her life and background soon. And lest anyone in the Vegas press wonders, all indications are that this race is of great interest to the large audience of tourists who read this blog, our podcast and my Twitter stream. The Carolyn Goodman interview quite quickly became one of the top-downloaded discussions I've posted in The Strip feed in at least a year.

Speaking of which, a few folks now tell me that when they try to download the Goodman interview, they're only getting a three-minute file. I'm really not sure why that is, or why some people are having no trouble while others aren't. However, at the very bottom of this post is a nifty little widget on which you can play the show. I just discovered this page and it's not our actual show site -- trust me, we don't have 0 subscribers -- but it's another way to hear what we have to offer. As you can see to the right, the file is absolutely nearly two hours long.

So it was certainly interesting stopping in last night at the various campaign events. I hadn't had any contact with either Goodman since all of this hullabaloo broke out, and the first thing that happened was Mayor Goodman pointed at me and bellowed, "You! You're no good!" I took it in stride, but he made a few more derogatory snarks about "stupid blogs" and grabbed a few campaign volunteers to quiz them on their views of the DREAM Act. His point was that most people aren't versed in such political minutiae; I reminded him that most people aren't vying for major public office, either.

Anyhow, Goodman chilled -- or at least I was undeterred from quizzing him about the race -- although there were a few remarks about "whacking Friess." Later I sat down again with Carolyn and she gave me this remark:

"The political world is all about bits and pieces and people taking shots and taking things out of context. That's the name of the game. If you don't like the fire, get out of the kitchen. If you know what's inside, those things don't penetrate, and you know things are not true."

It was pretty clear what she was getting at, and both Goodmans made that charge in veiled or direct ways during my time over there. Then, a little later, we had this exchange:

Goodman: I have a 10 o'clock appointment, no I have an 8 o'clock appointment, I have a manicure, very important. Downtime for me. And then I have an appointment with the media group here to plan what kind of media we want to do going forward for the next couple of months.
Friess: You're not going to take any time off from campaigning?
Goodman: Oh, I love this.
Friess: You love what?
Goodman: Oh, I love campaigning. I have loved it.
Friess: Really?
Goodman: Yes, I've really loved it. I have met so many fabulous people that are working. They're so awesome, they're great. And I've loved it. And any time there's a jab or somebody takes something out of context...
Friess: I didn't take anything out of context.
Goodman: Oh, are YOU guilty!
Friess: No, I just know...
Goodman: Yeah? Hey, look at this! Oh my gosh, you look so guilty.

At that point, her attention was turned elsewhere and it was a lighthearted exchange. And while I'm not surprised by the standard-issue notion that she felt her words had been twisted, I want to remind everybody of two facts:

1. The exchange was published verbatim and in context online.
2. The audio of the conversation was posted in full for all to hear.

Nothing was taken out of context. But this is how politicians do it. Mrs. Goodman claimed she isn't a politician, but blaming the media is a hallmark that she's learning very, very quickly.

One more thing. I got a little accidental screen time on Fox5...


...while sending out this tweet.

Here's the audio widget for the Carolyn Goodman interview: