(Lori Piotrowski) – The First Friday crowd drove north this month, from Stoney’s Rockin’ Country on the South Strip to Mundo’s in World Market Center, a move that seemed appropriate in which to meet and greet the city’s top elected officials.
So, on Friday, July 1, some two hundred Las Vegans of a conservative bent turned out to see outgoing Mayor Oscar Goodman. He regaled the crowd with a few anecdotes about his three-term tenure, and then turned the mic over to the city’s incoming mayor, his wife, Carolyn Goodman.
The crowd delighted in learning about the Goodman household schedule for the past 12 years, but even more in imagining with the new mayor what role her husband would play. “I had a martini ready and dinner on the table when he came home,” she explained. “I’d applaud him every morning. How else do you think he became the Happiest Mayor in the Universe?”
In attendance were many of Clark County’s Republicans: Eddie Facey and David Gibbs, both running for the county GOP chairmanship; Maureen Karas and Barbara Altman, president and first vice president, respectively, of Active Republican Women; Kay Butchko, vice chairwoman, Membership Committee, National Federation of Republican Women; and Lori Piotrowski and Priscilla Campbell, first vice president and treasurer, of the Republican Women of Las Vegas.
Mark Ciavola, president of UNLV College Republicans, brought along members of the “Show the World the Real Dina Titus” brigade to hobnob with the crowd. A few T-shirts were sold on the side to help fund their organization, which turned down university funding this year to help ease UNLV’s budget crunch and lead in demonstrating fiscal responsibility.
Maria and Mick Bailey, cohosts of SuccessCity.biz, an Internet radio program, were seen scoping out potential interview candidates, and Michael Chamberlain, executive director of Nevada Business Coalition made plenty of introductions throughout the evening’s happy hour.
Special thanks to George Harris and Irma Aguirre of Mundo’s for opening this chic restaurant for the crowd. In addition, they arranged for a shuttle bus to carry attendees over to the “other” First Friday in the Arts District.
Check out photo coverage in the Las Vegas Tribune by Steven Samson.
