Las Vegas' mayor has been talking more and more about a gubernatorial bid and some polls show him to be a very serious contender for the job. But the big question is whether the Vegas-loving politician would be willing to forego Sin City for the relative isolation and quietude of Carson City, where horses literally walk the streets?
We put the question to an expert on the Nevada constitution, Las Vegas CityLife Editor Steve Sebelius. "State law says the governor must make Carson City his primary residence," he replied. "It's been ignored in the past, as [then-Gov. Kenny] Guinn had a home in Las Vegas."
Sebelius notes that current Gov. Jim Gibbons' divorce proceedings "really brought this to the fore." A brief storm of controversy broke out when it was discovered that Gibbons had evacuated the governor's mansion in favor of a bachelor pad in Reno. Gibbons, whose lawyer likened First Lady Dawn Gibbons to an "enraged ferret" in divorce papers, evidently wanted to give the missus a wide berth. A compromise was effect whereby Mr. Gibbons returned to the mansion and Mrs. Gibbons was exiled to an apartment above the gubernatorial garage.
"I think Goodman would have a hard time living in Carson, but the governor's mansion certainly would not be alcohol-free," Sebelius adds, making a waggish reference to the current First Lady's abortive and ill-received attempt to make chez Gibbons a booze-free zone.
