Las Vegas, Nevada
July 17, 2024
The ugly stench from City Hall can be blamed on Victoria Seaman.
If you are unfamiliar with the Badlands saga, let me inform you. Back in 2017, when Steve Seroka was a city councilman, Victoria Seaman was trying to boot him from office during a recall.
Finally, after months of pressure, Seroka resigned, and Seaman was on the ballot in a special election. Her campaign theme was, “I’m going to fix Badlands, vote for me.” Seaman won the election, and at that point, the city of Las Vegas was not on the hook for any judgments.
Today, since Seaman was elected, the city is on the hook for nearly a quarter of a billion dollars and facing as much as half a billion dollars. Meanwhile, the city taxpayers foot the bill for over $20,000 a day in interest payments and pay outside attorneys daily.
The worst part is Seaman voted 22 times to fund these outside attorneys. When a settlement was ready to come before the city council for a vote, Victoria Seaman asked to have the item pulled from the agenda.
Right now, the city of Las Vegas is paying interest at $20,000 per day, and that’s just the interest on the cases that have already been adjudicated.
This doesn’t even account for the principal amount of $237 million. By the time the remaining cases are heard in the Nevada Supreme Court, we could be looking at nearly $500 million. This is insane. Seaman has had her chance to fix this problem but failed.
Seaman Failures:
1. Ineffectiveness in Badlands Resolution: Despite her claims, Victoria Seaman has failed to resolve the Badlands issue, voting 22 times to fund litigation that has cost taxpayers millions.
2. Combative Personal Conduct: Seaman’s physical altercation with fellow councilwoman Michele Fiore and subsequent lawsuit against the city she aims to lead highlight her inability to handle conflicts constructively.
3. Misleading Settlement Claims: Seaman’s assertion of trying to settle the Badlands dispute contradicts her actions, including removing a settlement deal from the agenda, further burdening taxpayers.
4. Political Grandstanding: Seaman’s approach to the Badlands litigation and her public feud with Fiore suggests a preference for political drama over practical solutions, raising doubts about her leadership capabilities.
5. Questionable Commitment to Public Safety: Seaman’s lawsuit against Fiore and the city, alleging a cover-up and destruction of evidence, casts doubt on her commitment to transparency and effective governance.
Seaman has had multiple opportunities to address the Badlands issue effectively, yet her actions have only exacerbated the problem.
The cost to the city and its taxpayers continues to climb with no resolution. Her combative nature and political maneuvering have failed to solve the crisis and created additional conflicts and distractions.
Voters must recognize that despite her promises, Seaman has not delivered the solutions she campaigned on.
Instead, her tenure has been marked by costly litigation, internal conflicts, and a lack of effective leadership. The ongoing financial burden on the city and its residents directly results from her actions and decisions.
As we continue to see the fallout from the Badlands saga, it becomes increasingly clear that Seaman’s approach has been detrimental to the city’s interests.
The need for competent, transparent, and effective leadership has never been more apparent.
The residents of Las Vegas deserve better than the costly and ineffective governance they have experienced under Victoria Seaman’s watch.
