Poll about mayor’s race stresses jobs

Las Vegas mayoral candidates have been hammering the issue of jobs and job creation from the beginning of the campaign, and the subject is very much on voters' minds, according to a new poll.

More than half of respondents to a Las Vegas Review-Journal/8NewsNow poll said job creation should be the City Council's No. 1 priority.

Candidates are aggressively pursuing this issue because voters are "living it," said Marvin Longabaugh, president of Las Vegas-based Magellan Research, which conducted the poll.

"The one number that everybody in town knows is 15 percent," he said, referring to the high unemployment rate.

There are 18 candidates for mayor, and all of the most visible ones -- Carolyn Goodman, the wife of current mayor Oscar Goodman, County Commissioners Larry Brown and Chris Giunchigliani, Las Vegas Councilman Steve Ross, businessman Victor Chaltiel and restaurateur George Harris -- are trying to be the "jobs" candidate.

They might emphasize different approaches, but there's not a lot of disagreement.

Chaltiel, Giunchigliani and Goodman have all endorsed boosting film and television production in the area, and all six have vowed to streamline the permitting and licensing process to make it easier for businesses. Ross has talked the most about recruiting technology firms, Brown sees jobs potential in high-speed rail, and Harris promised to suspend business license fees and eliminate downtown parking meters to encourage businesses to move in.

"What everybody except Carolyn Goodman is looking for is something to set them apart. That's going to be tough," said Longabaugh, referring to a televised debate Sunday night.

"They've all got the same idea on everything, the ones that can articulate an idea. I can't remember a single question where the candidates differed significantly on something."

The same poll found Carolyn Goodman leading in the race with 36 percent support, more than twice as much as her nearest competitor, Brown, who was at 17.5 percent. Giunchigliani was third at 11.7 percent, and about 20 percent of respondents were undecided.

Controlling costs was next on the list of priorities, cited by the 23 percent of responses for reducing city expenses and 5 percent for cutting employee pay and benefits. Next was home foreclosure assistance, 8.7 percent, and downtown redevelopment measured 4.8 percent.

Some significant differences in priorities, though, were found when breaking down responses by party.

Among Democrats, 58.5 percent said job creation should come first, while among Republicans that figure was 43.5 percent. More than 41 percent of Republicans said cutting city expenses or employee compensation should be the top priority, compared to just 17.6 percent of Democrats.

"It's not that Republicans are anti-job. It's just that Republicans are much more serious about believing that there is government waste," Longabaugh said. "Republicans, at least it appears to me, believe there's a lot of wasteful spending that's not related to salaries going on with city government, whether it's true or not."

The telephone survey of 600 likely municipal election voters was conducted late last week. Results have a margin of error of plus of minus 4 percentage points.

Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.