We Thought She was Too Inside to Be Selected
We thought, since she was already the city’s Planning Commissioner, it would look too much like an inside pick, given the wide opposition to not having an actual election to replace Ward 5’s previous councilwoman, the departed Neoma Jardon, gone to head the Downtown Reno Partnership.
She was the most “development” of all the candidates, in a climate with growing frustration over a lack of follow through by Jacobs Entertainment and other campaign contributing developers catering to the high end market or just demolishing and in it for the profits.
Well, we were wrong. The only candidate we remember getting a negative public comment during this process, for being too cozy with developers, gets to serve on our City Council until the next election in 2024, guaranteeing a continuation of rubber stamping business as usual, with Jenny Brekhus, who boycotted this process, the lone opposition for now.
Three of the seats are up for actual electoral grab in November, including the mayor’s, so we shall see what the voters have to say in just a few months.
Our Reporting Highlights This Week
Our main feature this week was about the candidate Ward 5 missed. With a selection process, where fundraising or deep pockets aren’t needed, why not choose a woman who was unhoused herself as a teenager, with lived experiences and a stirring testimony to become a voice for those struggling during this affordability crisis we are all going through?
Our podcast is also with Jackeline Duron. We also had a series of workers of Reno photos on our Biggest Little Streets Instagram to celebrate Labor Day.
“The first couple times a lot of people were like, is this for anybody? Or is this for staff? And I was like, no, this is for you guys,” Castro remembers. “And it just reminds them that they're human.”