We’ve been hearing chatter from sources who used to work at Our Place that Dana Searcy, once the captain of the Nevada Cares Campus, may have slipped out of Washoe County without so much as a goodbye wave. No announcement, no update — just silence.

Well, folks, break out the campaign buttons — because yes, Devon Reese is officially running for Reno mayor. And if you feel like you’ve seen this movie before, you probably have. The script hasn’t changed much: big promises, bigger fundraising asks, and that ever-present question — who’s Reno really for? The residents… or Reese’s rolodex of developer friends?

We owe a thank-you to Commissioner Mike Clark for playing courier service with the video he mentioned at the last meeting - you know the thumb drive he had in his pocket. Since Washoe County’s public records process moves slower than molasses in January, Clark saved us the wait and handed over the footage.

And oh, what a gem it is.

Picture this: Commissioner

At the State of the County, the seating chart looked less like leadership and more like a middle school lunchroom. On one end: Clara Andriola, Alexis Hill, and Mariluz Garcia. On the other: Mke Clark and Jeanne Herman. The divide wasn’t just visible — it was practically screaming for a caption.

Mayor Hillary Schieve loves to lecture Reno residents about privacy. Question her, disagree with her, or — heaven forbid — wonder about her motives, and suddenly you’re guilty of “doxing,” accused of exposing the poor mayor’s delicate personal details.

But pour her a glass of wine at a Belleville Wine Bar, and suddenly the mayor transforms into Reno’s answer to the paparazzi. Forget city budgets and potholes — Hillary’s new hobby is flash photography.

Gosh, golly, gee wiz — who knew Commissioner Clara Andriola’s idea of “representing the people” meant doing exactly what the Washoe County Deputy District Attorney whispers in her ear? Forget listening to residents in Incline Village and Crystal Bay. Forget weighing community concerns. No, Clara’s job apparently boils down to one simple task: raise her hand when told.

Only in Reno do you cancel a hybrid meeting—yes, hybrid—25 minutes before it’s set to start because of “no quorum.” Think about that. Residents showed up in person, people were ready online, and yet somehow the City of Reno couldn’t round up enough board members to click a Zoom link or dial in by phone?

Ward 5 residents dutifully schlepped downtown, navigated parking headaches, and wove through City Hall’s sidewalk homeless scene just to be greeted by a notice of cancellation. The message? Your time is disposable.

Republicans in Washoe County have a problem they can’t just wave away with a slate card: two of their own are charging into the 2026 Reno mayor’s race.

On one side, you’ve got Reno Councilmember Kathleen Taylor — the same Taylor who just last year leaned heavily on Republican circles to squeak out her city council victory. Chair Bruce Parks and the Washoe County GOP rolled out the welcome mat for Taylor, putting her front and center at Republican events, think Parties in the Park. Some argue that support was the difference in her slim-margin win.

Back on January 19, 2024, then-candidate Clara Andriola saddled up as a self-proclaimed champion of small horse business owners. She penned an opinion piece, pledged her support, and even tossed some discretionary funds into a study. The Reno Gazette Journal gave it ink on March 16, 2024. And then… silence.

Months later, what do horse business owners have? Not reforms. Not relief. Not even clarity. What they have is a county still “studying” the problem while horses keep eating, owners keep paying, and bureaucrats keep dragging their hooves.

Oh, the great fire study fix …

Did anyone actually take the time to watch the Regional Fire Services Study Board make its debut on September 4 at 10 a.m.? Probably not. But for those who did, it was a show worth critiquing.

The board is stacked with two reps each from the City of Sparks, City of Reno, and Washoe County. Logical enough. But what’s not logical is who didn’t make the cut: Commissioners Mike Clark and Jeanne Herman — the only two commissioners with firsthand wildfire scars in their districts. Instead, we got Clara Andriola and Mariluz Garcia. Why? Don’t ask — just “call it good to go.”

If you’ve ever tuned into a Washoe County Commission meeting, you know the drill: Commissioners Clara Andriola, Alexis Hill, and Mariluz Garcia take turns singing the praises of county staff like they’re nominating them for sainthood. Not to say Commissioners Herman and Clark don’t heap on some compliments, but they avoid gushing.

The Nevada Independent reports Washoe County Commissioner and now gubernatorial candidate Alexis Hill is floating the idea of “temporary rent caps.” Sounds comforting, right? A band-aid solution wrapped in political ribbon just in time for campaign season. But here’s the question Reno and Nevada voters should be asking: once something gets enacted in government, is it ever truly temporary?

Sometimes beating a dead horse isn’t cruel—it’s journalism. Especially when taxpayers are still being forced to pay for the feed.

Earlier this year, we exposed how Mayor Ed Lawson’s pals—lobbyists Chris Barrett and Scott Bensing—scored an individual $80,000 annual contract to push a federal lands bill through Congress. That bill is deader than disco, yet Sparks continues to pay them monthly, as if the next paycheck will somehow resurrect it.

How sad is this? A recent opinion in This Is Reno reminded us of something that Councilmember Devon Reese never seems to understand: when you sign up for public office, you don’t get to pick and choose which residents you’ll interact with.

You wanted the appointment. Then you wanted the election. And yet here we are, watching Reese decide who’s “worthy” of his attention and who gets brushed off as a nuisance. Spoiler: that’s not how democracy works.

Commissioner Mariluz Garcia wants “rules of procedure” for the Washoe County Board of Fire Commissioners. Sounds harmless enough, right? Just a little housekeeping on decorum and best practices. But anyone watching closely saw what this really was: not about efficiency, not about process — but about publicly taking Commissioner Mike Clark to the woodshed.

The Reno mayoral race is starting to look crowded – or at least noisy – with three more hopefuls “exploring” the idea of running. But here’s the question: where have these would-be leaders been?

Not at the late-night City Council marathons.
Not at the Planning Commission showdowns.
Not at the Neighborhood Advisory Board meetings where real issues are hashed out.

So, Devon Reese accidentally let it slip – by listing the wrong office on an amended Nevada Secretary of State contribution and expense report – that he’s running for mayor. But while the ink is still wet on that paperwork, Reese is already using his platform to peddle feel-good talking points about “compromise,” “collaboration,” and “problem solving” in a Reno Gazette Journal op-ed on data centers.

Nevada’s state systems were down for a week. Data has been exfiltrated in a “sophisticated, ransomware-based attack.” And we thought it was a legitimate question to ask if Washoe County’s $240,000-a-year Chief Information Officer, Behzad Zamanian was in Reno when he wrote the Monday memo.

According to the Reno Gazette Journal, Zamanian works less than five days a month in Reno—spending the rest of his time in Southern California. So when Monday’s update went out detailing the crisis, it was fair to ask: Was Zamanian in Reno or phoning it in from a beachside café. Or we thought so, guess a county employee disagreed.

It’s Day 5 of Nevada’s state systems being down, and the picture just got darker. Cybersecurity officials now admit data has been exfiltrated—yes, moved outside Nevada’s network—during what they call a “sophisticated, ransomware-based attack.”

To everyone in the Save Lakeridge movement: time to take a hard look at who’s backing whom in Washoe County politics.

Turns out T.J. Duncan—the developer at the center of your fight to protect Lakeridge Golf Course—is a supporter of none other than District Attorney Chris Hicks, who is kicking off his re-election campaign on September 9, 2025.