2011 Las Vegas mayoral election

Incumbent Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman, a former attorney, had been elected to three terms between 1999 and 2007; he was term-limited from running again.^[1][2] His wife Carolyn Goodman, who also lacked political experience, said in 2009 that she would not consider a mayoral run unless she felt that the right candidate had not emerged. Carolyn Goodman founded the private Meadows school in 1984, and ran it for the next 25 years.^[1]

The 2011 mayoral election had the most crowded candidate field in decades, with 18 people entering the race.^[3][4] Among the candidates were Clark County Commissioners Chris Giunchigliani and Larry Brown, and Steve Ross, a Las Vegas City Councilman.^[5][6] Goodman and Giunchigliani filed their candidacies on February 2, 2011,^[7][6] two days before the filing deadline.^[8] Goodman was quickly seen as the frontrunner.^[1][4] Giunchigliani initially did not plan to run, but changed her mind following encouragement and after researching her odds of winning.^[9]

The top contenders were Brown, Giunchigliani, Goodman, Ross, and businessman Victor Chaltiel.^[3][10] Other candidates included retired car salesman Joe Falco, who previously ran in the 2003 mayoral election;^[11] and Ed Uehling, a real estate investor who previously made an unsuccessful run for Sheriff of Clark County in 1994.^[4]

The election was held on April 5, 2011. Goodman won 37 percent of the vote, with Giunchigliani in second place, the latter candidate beating Brown by 15 votes.^[12] Because no candidate won more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election was held between Goodman and Giunchigliani on June 7, 2011.^[9][12] Goodman easily prevailed, winning 60 percent of the vote. Although Giunchigliani had the advantage of political experience, Goodman was a popular candidate for her personality, which was seen as a contributing factor in her victory.^[13][2] She spent $600,000 in advertising, and her husband also campaigned for her.^[2]

Jobs and the economy were top issues in the election,^[9] and Goodman vowed to continue her husband's efforts to revitalize downtown Las Vegas.^[12] However, she dismissed suggestions that her candidacy was a way for her husband to continue serving through her: "I am very much my own person. I don't listen to him. He doesn't listen to me. We're very much individuals."^[14]

Goodman took office on July 6, 2011.^[15] She was re-elected in the 2015 and 2019 mayoral elections, and is set to leave office in 2024, marking a 25-year legacy for the Goodmans in Las Vegas.^[16][17]