If You Don't Count the Homeless, Maybe They Don't Exist.

Photograph from The Nevada Independent article about County Manager Eric Brown’s medical leave days before the 2024 General Election.

As Eric Brown's annual review is tomorrow, Washoe County has conveniently "revised" its evaluation criteria – presumably to mask another year of mismanagement behind a façade of independence. The only thing more remarkable than Brown's list of failures is the chorus of commissioners rushing to applaud them. Those commissioners being Alexis Hill, Jeanne Herman, Clara Andriola, and Mariluz Garcia. Mike Clark is no fan of County Manager Brown’s and can be vocal about it.

Commissioners and Washoe County Staff Invited to participate in Eric Brown’s Performance Survey 2024.

Under Brown's leadership, seniors have received empty promises instead of services. While claiming credit for election management, he was notably absent on medical leave (though local restaurants and watering holes might disagree about the "medical" part). His revolving door of election officials – four Registrars of Voters in as many years – speaks volumes about his administrative capabilities.

The CARES Campus stands as a monument to ineffective governance, where homelessness persists while Brown's hand-picked fundraising team continues passing the hat. Tellingly, the Community Homelessness Advisory Board hasn't met in months, perhaps because there's no good news to report, only an admission of failure.

Cares Campus Fundraising Committee, interesting list.

Brown's strategic acumen is best illustrated by his decision to postpone the Strategic Planning Meeting until next year – a clever way to avoid confronting the county's mounting challenges. His cancellation of this year's Point in Time Count follows the same playbook: if you don't count the homeless, maybe they don't exist.

County Manager Eric Brown moves the Strategic Planning meeting until 2025.

But fear not – Brown did manage one concrete achievement: installing a basketball hoop at a facility where most residents are senior citizens. Nothing says "effective leadership" quite like providing slam-dunk opportunities to those who can barely walk. We’d like to have a camera installed so we too could see the unused hoop at the Nevada CARES Campus.

The real question isn't whether Brown deserves another glowing review from his commission cheerleaders – it's whether Washoe County residents deserve better than this parade of incompetence masquerading as management.