Poring Over New Money In and Out of Our City Council Races
Looking at contributions and expenses reports for our City Council candidates for the second filing period ending July 15th, there’s a combination of the predictable and bizarre. Who comes out on top? Who gets the casino money? Who gets Operation Sunlight contributions? Who gets Nevada Housing Alliance support? Who buys “Christian clothing”? With which promotional firms do local candidates spend most of their funds?
Incumbent Mayor Hillary Schieve received the most in terms of monetary contributions, nearly $150,000, with money coming in from casinos ($10,000 from the GSR), out of towners ($10,000 from Robert Klein, a mixed-used developer with an address in Los Altos Hills, CA), faraway consulting firms ($10,000 from LSN Partners in Miami), developers with business before the council such as $5,000 from Las Vegas-based CAI Investments (working on converting the Harrah’s and building a Kimpton hotel), and thousands more from a mix of construction, engineering and financial companies as well as local unions.
Schieve’s campaign spent a big chunk of her money with Research Plus Consulting (about $48,000) which shares an address with The Ferraro Group and a little over $7,000 with Three Sticks Productions, which recently made an opioid documentary showcasing the recovered Grant Denton, who now runs the ModPod camp at the Cares Campus.
Schieve’s repeat 2022 opponent in the mayor’s race, Eddie Lorton, who mostly self funds, received a much lower $17,660. That total included $5,000 from Coral Bay which has the same address as the Beadles Investment Group, of Operation Sunlight. That’s the organization behind anti “critical race theory” school board candidates with self proclaimed crypto guru Robert Beadles at the helm. Lorton received $4,799 from local real estate agent Jerry Hawkins. His biggest checks have gone to Facebook (nearly $10,000) and JB Marketing in Reno (nearly $14,000).
For the Ward 2 position, incumbent Naomi Duerr received about $25,000, including over $5,000 from retired geologist David Browning, as well as sizable union money. Duerr spent most of her available money with Tallac Strategies, whose managing partner is local political operative Adam Czajkowski.
Her opponent Jay Kenny, the owner of DoughBoys Donuts, got a noteworthy and much bigger sum of $82,000, with lots of individual donors, including $5,000 from the Grace family, $5,000 from the Eldorado, $5,000 from the GSR, $2,500 from the Bonanza, $1,000 from the Nevada Housing Alliance and $2,000 from the Reno Sparks Association of Realtors. Kenny spent about $95,000 with Reach Plus Consulting, with the Ferraro Group address also working for Schieve .
For the Ward 4 position, Bonnie Weber collected just over $36,000, from a collection of individuals, constructions companies, realtors and casinos, including $5,000 from the GSR, $2,500 from the Peppermill and $1,000 from the Nevada Housing Alliance. She gave thousands to different advertising, branding, printing and consulting companies. She also had a $192 tab to Kerusso Activewear which makes “Christian clothing to help share the Good News Of Jesus Christ,” out of Berryville, Arkansas.
Her opponent Meghan Ebert, a health care benefits analyst, received about $13,000, including $5,000 from Erika White, $2,500 from the Reno firefighters and $1,500 from an engineering union. Ebert spent $5,500 on the Eddy Westin and Company storytelling content providers.
Our Reporting Highlights This Week
Our most appreciated social media content was a photo (above) and appreciation for our downtown Washoe County library, a refuge on hot days, and a model of a public service, which prompted anecdotes from the past and present across our channels.
Our TikTok about hostile rocks is nearly reaching 100K views on our channel there and thousands of comments.
Our podcast is about 88 Strait as part of a summer music series showcasing local rising musicians.
Other Our Town Reno reporting this week showcased the Northern Nevada Literacy Council, a couple living rough but together in Reno, and a workshop on garlic braiding.