Ousted commissioner hints he might again run for City Council seat
Byron Goynes doesn’t plan to miss a beat.
The longtime Las Vegas planning commissioner and former City Council candidate says he might jump right back into City Hall politics after his controversial Wednesday ouster from the planning panel, hinting at a possible run for term-limited Councilman Steve Ross’ seat in 2017.
“Whats fair is fair,” Goynes said of his Planning Commission exit. “It is what it is. I served my time; I worked to improve the neighborhoods.
“We aren’t done yet. I think the good lord has some more for me to do.”
Goynes’ sudden departure from the planning board came under circumstances critics say amounted to payback for his vote on a politically charged zoning code change linked to the city’s plans for a downtown soccer stadium. The move was made under a little-known term-limit ordinance that Mayor Carolyn Goodman said she didn’t know was on the books until last week.
After 14 years as a commissioner, you might expect Goynes to offer up some fire-breathing indignation over such an exit.
But Goynes is a Goynes — part of a political family that includes former North Las Vegas Mayor Pro Tem Theron Goynes and sitting North Las Vegas Councilwoman Pamela Goynes-Brown.
Which is to say, he took it in stride. In fact, he turned it into an opportunity to sketch the outlines of a campaign platform.
“I haven’t ruled out running for public office,” Goynes said. “I got a lot of neighbors, a lot of folks out here in Ward 6 who consistently call me.
“I go how the people speak. I work with folks that are less fortunate. … Getting people in the workforce is part of my platform.”
Goynes, who lost a bid for Ross’ seat in a 2012 recall election, said he doesn’t hold any ill will toward Ric Truesdell, the even longer-tenured planning commissioner who nearly avoided the term-limit edict last week.
Truesdell, a two-time City Council candidate, did not return requests for comment.
—James DeHaven
BILL FOR FALLEN SECURITY OFFICER
Nevada’s U.S. senators introduced a bill Tuesday to make the families of court security officers killed in the line of duty eligible for death and education benefits. The measure was prompted by the death of Stanley Cooper in the Jan. 4, 2010, attack on the federal courthouse in Las Vegas.
Cooper, 72, was killed by a shotgun blast while on duty as a court security officer at the Lloyd George U.S. Courthouse. The shooter, identified as Johnny Lee Wicks, was shot and killed outside the building by federal marshals returning fire.
Richard Gardner, 48, a deputy U.S. marshal, was shot in the arm, chest and head but survived.
After Cooper’s death, his two sons, two stepsons and a daughter applied for $311,000 in benefits through the Public Safety Officers’ Benefit Program, a U.S. Department of Justice fund. They were denied.
The fund was designed to provide payments to the families of law enforcement officers, firefighters and first responders. But the family was told Cooper, a retired Las Vegas police officer, did not qualify because he worked for a contractor, Akal Security.
The bill, which carries Cooper’s name and was sponsored by Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Dean Heller, R-Nev., would broaden the benefit program to qualify court security officers under contract with the U.S. Marshals Service. The bill would be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2010, days before the Las Vegas officer was killed.
It was not known how many other court security officers might be covered under the bill.
Besides death benefits, the Public Safety Officer Benefit Program also pays disability benefits for officers injured in the line of duty.
“The Cooper family rightfully deserves the benefits Stanley Cooper earned,” Heller said.
“When Stanley died, we all pledged that his sacrifice would not be forgotten,” Reid said. ‘Now we must not forget the needs of his family.”
— Steve Tetreault
ANOTHER REID HEAD-TURNER
U.S. Sen. Harry Reid turned heads again last week with another impromptu remark in the Senate. This one involved the pending Republican-written budget that Democrats charge would widen a gap between rich and poor.
“The budget is just wrong,” Reid said in a speech Wednesday. “It’s also dishonest. It claims to be balanced. There is no balance in this budget. That’s a word.
“The budget is no more balanced than the earthquakes they’ve had in Nepal. It claims to reach balance, but the claim is laughable.”
Reid’s comparison of the Republican budget with the natural disaster that killed more than 6,000 people appeared to be ad-libbed, as it was not in a copy of the speech as it was prepared for delivery.
Reid’s office did not comment afterward. The Senate minority leader has become known for delivering such head-scratchers from time to time that cause critics to pounce and allies to cringe.
— Steve Tetreault
DON’T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU …
A simple yet unmistakable message greets drivers passing through Henderson.
“Good Riddance, Harry!” announces a digital billboard on the southbound side of U.S. Highway 95, not far from the 215 Beltway.
Departing U.S. Sen. Harry Reid lives a few miles to the southwest, in the Anthem community. He announced in late March he won’t seek re-election next year, meaning he will leave office in January 2017.
The not-so-fond farewell, which alternates with others on the billboard, offers no clue as to who paid for it.
— Eric Hartley
COUNTY TO HONOR WILLIS
Clark County commissioners want to honor Betty Whitehead Willis, the designer of the iconic Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign.
Commissioners plan to declare Tuesday as “Betty Willis Day” at their meeting and give a proclamation to her family.
In the 1950s, Willis was a graphic designer for Western Neon. The commission in 1959 voted to pay for the design and construction of a welcome sign.
The job didn’t make anyone wealthy — Willis’ company landed the $4,000 contract. Adjusted for inflation, the $4,000 job would have been worth $32,264 today, according to the federal government’s inflation calculator.
Willis’ work elsewhere is well-known. She designed the Blue Angel Motel sign and the Moulin Rouge hotel-casino sign.
The Strip, including the famous Vegas sign, is in unincorporated Clark County, not the city limits of Las Vegas.
— Ben Botkin
Contact James DeHaven at jdehaven@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3839. Find him on Twitter: @JamesDeHaven. Contact Review-Journal Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@reviewjournal.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC. Contact Eric Hartley at ehartley@reviewjournal.com or 702-550-9229. Find him on Twitter: @ethartley. Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904. Find him on Twitter: @BenBotkin1.
