Lee defeat eases northern woes

The defeat of conservative Clark County Sen. John Lee in the Democratic primary will remove a thorn from the sides of Northern Nevada legislators.

Lee, of North Las Vegas, has been a chronic presence in bills affecting the north.

At last year’s Legislature, Lee successfully sponsored legislation to pull Nevada out of the bi-state Tahoe Regional Planning Agency unless the state gets its way on some key policy points, including change in the TRPA board voting system.

At another Legislature, Lee used his prerogative as committee chair to kill a measure that would have changed Reno City Council elections so that councilmembers were elected by voters in their wards. Currently, the candidates must be elected city-wide, making running for the Council very expensive.