A coalition of the competent

We shocked the skittish with our early endorsements in local races, and so as not to allow a return to easy comfort and apathetic feelings toward our elected government, we thought we’d throw in a couple more.

First, we wholeheartedly endorse Kitty Jung for Reno City Council, Ward 5. Now, a good many people would question this decision, since a bunch of cowardly blackguards calling themselves the Washoe County Republican Party, fearing her vote-getting prowess, attacked her in a very public advertisement in the Reno Gazette-Journal in an effort to knock her out before the primary. But hey, that’s politics. They brought up some legitimate questions about the Washoe County commissioner’s banal brushes with law enforcement. We read all the hysteria on their scandalous website. One thing becomes clear: Jung is not one who’s afraid to speak truth to power, which is probably not the message the WCRP intended.

Salaciousness aside, Jung is an effective commissioner. And when times came for cooperation with the other jurisdictions—Reno and Sparks—Jung was able to keep things lofty in ways that other members of the commission and the Reno City Council were not. She’s smart, informed, educated, experienced and not afraid of confrontation. And she packs heat. Who better deserves our endorsement?

We don’t really have anything negative to say about her opponent, Neoma Jardon. Seems nice enough, but all one has to do is look at her supporters and donors to understand she’s just a mouthpiece for the status quo—the developers, electeds and gamers—that put the city of Reno staring down the barrel of state financial control.

More than anything, we need to see a new power structure on the Reno City Council. That’s going to require four people who are going to tend to see things the way the average citizen see things. So far, we’ve endorsed Jenny Brekhus and Jung (and by the way, we were wholly serious about Bernie Carter running for mayor in two years, for the reasons we stated).

There are two other seats at play in the City Council election. In Ward 3, Oscar Delgado and Cliff Young. Frankly, while we like Young, personally, Delgado has received huge support from the Hispanic community and from many other people who look at things in the ways this newspaper does. We’re going to throw our support behind him. The Reno City Council has represented a homogenized point of view for too much of the time.

The at-large race is frankly the toughest for us to endorse in. Both David Ward and Hillary Schieve are successful business people with deep roots in the community and this newspaper and would be capable councilmembers. Both have shown deep commitment to personal volunteerism. But if we stick with that overarching idea of a coalition of people who can work together to enact forward-looking ideas, we think Schieve is the way to go. She’s created two successful retail businesses in a down economy, has been integral to the success of the Midtown District, has worked tirelessly and personally to bring dozens upon dozens of young people into the workforce. She may not have David Ward’s gravitas, but she’s got a backbone of steel and a heart of gold. She’ll be a great member of the Reno City Council.