Mayor Lawson's "Toolbox Talk": Long on Gorillas, Short on Facts
Mayor Ed Lawson presenting to the Nevada Legislature Assembly Committee on Growth and Infrastructure on Tuesday, February 25, 2025.
Mayor Ed Lawson graced the 83rd Nevada Legislature Assembly Committee on Growth and Infrastructure last week with his presence, delivering a masterclass in vague claims and suspiciously precise statistics regarding Assembly Bill 61 – you know, the one about letting RTC Washoe County or any local government in Washoe County establish a toll road.
After what observers described as a dramatic pause worthy of community theater, Lawson began: "Ed Lawson for the record, E-D L-A-W-S-O-N, Mayor of Sparks," apparently concerned legislators might confuse him with all the other Ed Lawsons roaming Carson City.
Our esteemed mayor then proceeded to enlighten the committee about the Tri-Center and this absolutely essential road that... doesn't actually exist yet. Revolutionary concept, right? "This road does not exist today is a new way to get out of the valley." Brilliant observation, Mr. Mayor.
Then came the animal kingdom portion of his testimony, featuring what he called "the 800-pound gorilla" – the Tri-Center – which supposedly houses "somewhere around 30,000 jobs in a county with 4,200 residents." According to Lawson's mathematical gymnastics, "80% of the people who work at the Tri-Center live with us in Reno and Sparks and 80% of that 80% live North of I-80."
Lawson’s testimony: “Ed Lawson for the record, E D L A W S O N, Mayor of Sparks, just to give you a few highlights about the Tri-Center and why this road is greatly needed. Number one, this road does not exist today is a new way to get out of the valley.
Number two, the 800-pound gorilla, that is the Tri-Center where currently somewhere around 30,000 jobs in a county with 4,200 residents, so 80% of the people who work at the Tri-Center live with us in Reno and Sparks and 80% of that 80% live North of I-80 so in the drawing, you’ll see that line along the river (referring to his presentation).
We'll be asking the City of Sparks to verify these specific figures and where exactly they "hail from." After all, we recently witnessed a Washoe County Commissioner feeding a committee false homelessness reduction numbers – who's to say our mayor isn't following the same creative statistics handbook?
Lawson, ever the handyman, continued by explaining they're "looking for another tool to put into our tool box." Yes, apparently this multi-million-dollar infrastructure project is just another "tool." Perhaps we could all chip in for a Harbor Freight gift card for Ed and save taxpayers the expense of his toll road "tool"?
The mayor then treated the committee to a history lesson with a modern twist: "It's a big deal. Our new Comstock Lode today is the tech industry that exists in Storey County, they are the 800-pound gorilla." (That's the second gorilla reference, for those keeping count.) He added they "could have with the Lithium Loop another 20,000 employees out there." We're assuming "out there" means Storey County, though it could just as easily mean outer space given the context.
When pressed about minor details – like, oh, how much this toll road might actually cost – Lawson offered this reassuring response: "We don't know how much the road costs right now." Nothing inspires confidence in a major infrastructure project quite like complete financial uncertainty.
The cherry on top? Lawson claimed three companies have approached his office about this road – which isn't even legal yet. Mysteriously, he couldn't share who these eager companies might be. This sounds suspiciously familiar to Councilmember Donald Abbott's March 2024 claim about having "some buyers interested" in the Union Pacific Machine Shop land. We all know how that turned out.
A little transparency about these mystery buyers and now mystery toll road companies would be nice. How about naming a name, Mr. Mayor? Or is that tool not in your toolbox?
Oh, and Lawson told the committee he is not an “eloquent speaker” which was clearly factual.