LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley says she's been working 14-hour days, seven days a week, since she was elected in November, but that she loves the work.
In her first state of the city speech at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, Berkley laid out several challenges facing the city, from affordable housing to homelessness to quality of life.
WATCH: Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley lays out challenges facing the city, highlights positives
But first, she took credit for one big success.
"The Badlands is settled. A nine-and-a-half year nightmare is over, and the city can now move forward," she said. "As a result, the city will have to tighten our belt for awhile, and some projects have been put on hold for awhile, but we are moving forward."
The Badlands was a long-running legal fight over development of a defunct golf course. Courts repeatedly ruled against the city, which was accused of unlawfully taking the land from developer Yohan Lowie by refusing his applications to build homes on the property.
Berkley pledged to settle the case while campaigning, and the lawsuit was settled shortly after she was sworn in with a $286 million payment.
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Although she said that some city jobs have been frozen, she pledged that public safety — including the fire department, the city's share of the Metro Police budget and city marshals — would not be cut as a result of the settlement.
The problem of homelessness is growing in Las Vegas — Berkley said the number of people without homes increased by 20% last year.
"I am committed to finding solutions to this crisis. Human beings should not be living on the streets," she said. "It is not my goal to sustain people on the streets. It is my goal to get people off the streets by providing mental health, alcohol and addiction therapy, and job training so the homeless are able to get off the streets permanently, be self-sustaining and be able to care for themselves and their loved ones."
Berkley touted growth in the city, from new hotels to new apartments to a new art museum to new buildings in the city's medical district. She also talked about individual projects in city wards, some of which were highlighted in a video before the speech that featured each of the six city council members.
The mayor was especially enthusiastic about development in the historic West Las Vegas area. "I've lived in Las Vegas for over 60 years," she said. "People have been talking about the revitalization of Jackson Street and the restoration of the west side for the last 60 years. I'm tired of talking, I am committed to delivering on that promise."
Berkley also told the crowd she'd gone on a pub crawl and made a visit to the Mob Museum's speakeasy, where she drank four glasses of moonshine. She said she was still recovering, setting her apart from former Mayor Oscar Goodman, who is rarely seen without his trademark martini.
At a time when President Trump and some of his supporters are attacking diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Berkley said the city of Las Vegas was welcoming to everyone.
"A city is judged by its heart and how we treat each other," she said. "The city of Las Vegas is a melting place of diversity. All people who wish to contribute to the success of our community are welcome here. We will not tolerate racism, anti-semitism, discrimination or hate against any individual or group of people. We want to create an environment where people can thrive and succeed and feel that they matter, because everybody does matter."
