By Jeff German Las Vegas Review-Journal May 12, 2020 – 7:03 pm

Stephen J. Cloobeck, one of the biggest Democratic donors in the state, is lending support to recall Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman.

That support is expected to include cash to pay workers to gather signatures, a source said.

Cloobeck, a resort industry entrepreneur and philanthropist, would not specifically discuss his efforts.

But in a statement to the Review-Journal on Tuesday, he said: “Clearly Mayor Goodman has not acted in the best interest of Nevadans in this time of crisis. I am seriously weighing the options of a legislative move to amending the city charter, as well as a recall effort because the citizens of Las Vegas deserve better.”

Goodman, a former Democrat who is registered as a nonpartisan, has come under fire over interviews she gave last month pushing hard to reopen casinos and other businesses as the coronavirus remains a serious health threat.

In the interviews, Goodman said the city should be used as a control group to test whether social distancing measures were working and suggested that businesses that reopen and are hit hard by virus outbreaks would simply be swallowed by competition.

Goodman could not be reached for comment.