How would Seaman, Berkley approach the Badlands controversy as mayor?

Whoever wins on Nov. 5, the next Las Vegas mayor will inherit yearslong litigation with the would-be developer of the defunct Badlands golf course and the potential bill of more than $500 million in taxpayer dollars.

Councilwoman Victoria Seaman and former U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley have both advocated for a settlement with EHB Cos., and both candidates have vowed to protect taxpayers’ pockets to the best of their ability.

Berkley has said that Seaman didn’t do enough as a council member to resolve the issue. Seaman has countered that Berkley only became interested in the issue when she decided to run for mayor.

The mayor is only one of seven votes in any City Council matter, but both candidates in interviews with the Las Vegas Review-Journal touted their leadership skills they say are needed to resolve the litigation.

The cases involve the shuttered 250-acre golf course that EHB — led by CEO Yohan Lowie — bought in 2015 with plans to build an expansive housing development until it was blocked by the City Council after residents of the adjacent Queensridge community protested the plan.

Lowie filed several lawsuits alleging that the city’s action effectively “took” his property. Multiple judges have agreed, awarding EHB $285 million for three of four cases.

The City Council resolved one of the cases by paying $64 million to EHB this year but voted 5 to 2 to appeal a separate $80 million judgement. Seaman and Councilwoman Nancy Brune voted against the appeal.

The vote upset Lowie, who told the City Council: “If you want to fight the rest of it in court, we’ll fight in court — “(Even) if we have to go to the United States Supreme Court.”

If the city is unsuccessful in the three other cases, including appeals, City Attorney Jeff Dorocak warned the city risks losses of taxpayer money between $450 million and $650 million.

The city’s strategy, he said in September, involved defending Las Vegas in court while attempting to reach a settlement.

“This total amount of risk is something that must be reduced or eliminated the best we can,” said Dorocak, defending the appeal.

The Review-Journal asked Seaman and Berkley how they would approach the Badlands cases as mayor.

Seaman

The Badlands-related decisions that got the city sued preceded Seaman’s tenure at City Hall.

“Just like I inherited it as a council member, I will inherit it as a mayor — or my opponent,” Seaman said. “As I’ve been advocating since my election, it is time to come together and settle it.”

Until recently, Seaman had been the lone dissenting voice at City Council publicly calling for a settlement.

“I can’t force people to take responsibility for getting us into Badlands,” she said.

As mayor, Seaman said she would be a “bold leader” with the ability to get people in a room to negotiate.

“I wasn’t the mayor, I was a council member; and with Badlands, I have been the lone voice. I’ve been in those private rooms telling them we need to settle,” she said.

Seaman said she’s opposed the city paying outside attorney to fight the legal battle when the city has its own lawyers on payroll.

She previously called the prospect of the city taking ownership of the golf course and selling it to recoup some of the costs a “good option.”

Even so, she said, “there is no guarantee that it would be an even transaction.”

Seaman said that most recently she’s been pushing for mediation.

She said she suggested to city officials on Tuesday that “we mediate with the developers — with the plaintiffs — and we have council members there, as well, because we need to come together for a settlement as soon as possible.”

Berkley

Berkley, a Queensridge resident and former congresswoman, said she hasn’t been involved on either side of the Badlands controversy, and has not spoken with Lowie.

“I have not contacted the city attorney,” Berkley said. “I think it would be inappropriate to do that. There’s only one mayor at the time in office.”

She described the litigation as “devastating” and “embarrassing” for the city.

“It was zoned residential, and the planning department had unanimously approved it,” she said citing a court decision. “The only thing stopping it — and that stopped it — was political involvement.”

If elected, Berkley said she would first sit down with the city attorney.

“I want to know what’s going on — the city perspective — and then I’m going to sit down with Yohan and have a conversation and see what he’s willing to accept and whether we can put this behind us,” she said.

Berkley acknowledged that it won’t be an “easy” feat.

“When I was young and politically immature, I thought that staking out a claim and making a big fuss about it and getting the newspapers to print my position … made me an effective elected official,” she said.

Berkley said she now knows better and expressed confidence she could convince the council on a settlement because the remaining members after the election weren’t there for the initial litigation.

“They don’t have the ownership interest in the decision,” she said.

Berkley said she knows Lowie is aggrieved.

My goal is to protect the taxpayers to the best of my ability and help make the developer whole in a way that he will accept it,” she said.

If they arrive at a number, Berkley said she would advocate to pay it over an “X number of years.”

“Is he willing to take $60 million and take the land back and develop it,” Berkley wondered. “He wanted to do that, maybe he’ll do it now. I won’t know until I sit down and negotiate with him.”

Through it all, Berkley said she would like to see reach a consensus.

“I know I need four votes, and I am one,” she said. “You roll up your sleeves and you start sitting down with each of the City Council people who has a vote and ask them what their issues are and what they are willing to accept.”