Mayor's Sunscreen Business Burns While City Hall Yearns
Picon was going to let this story go, yes, it is questionable, but hey everyone likes to make a buck. Was the sunscreen business intentionally named using an inflammatory word, seems like it. Did Schieve and her partner not know the meaning of the word, or have they suddenly become marketing geniuses, maybe? How many moms and dads are going to let their kids take a bottle of Spooge to the pool?
Spooge ownership information from 2025
Now the mayor has gone ahead and stepped over the line with the 2nd Annual Biggest Little Skin Check on May 7, 2025 at the Reno Aces/Greater Nevada Field which is sponsored by “Skin Cancer & Dermatology Institute, Nevada Cancer Coalition and Sun Smart Nevada, Reno Aces, Castle Biosciences, and Duncan Golf Management, with support from City of Reno.” What’s the support from the City of Reno? Where is Schieve’s disclosure that Dermatologist Dr. Whitney Hovenic is her Spooge business partner?
Picon enjoyed the caption that Mayor Hillary Schieve “inspired” a room full of physicians.
In the glittering entrepreneurial landscape of Reno, our part-time mayor and full-time businesswoman Hillary Schieve has discovered yet another venture to add to her portfolio—one that's raising eyebrows faster than SPF 50 blocks UV rays.
Nevada Secretary of State SilverFlume website showing the ownership of Spooge LLC.
Mayor Schieve, who commands a modest $100,000, or so, salary for supposedly steering our municipal ship, has apparently decided that her clothing stores weren't quite enough distraction from civic duties. Now she's slathering on a new layer of business: a sunscreen collaboration with a local dermatologist.
Picon missed all those delightful free samples at the Reno Pride Parade. Maybe after the article they will be willing to send us a care package.
The product's unfortunate name? "Spooge."
Yes, that "Spooge"—the one that urbandictionary.com would strongly advise against Googling at work. Someone in the mayor's extensive business empire apparently missed the memo that their catchy brand name has long served as crude slang for bodily emissions typically not associated with sun protection. Although for many moons individuals have claimed that sperm has skincare benefits, however, there's no scientific basis for these claims.
But perhaps the most burning question isn't about questionable product names, it's about the curious case of the disappearing mayor. Council meeting attendance suggests Schieve has developed an allergic reaction to City Hall itself. With 18 months-ish left in her term, Reno residents might reasonably wonder if their mayor could tear herself away from her expanding business kingdom long enough to fulfill the duties they elected her to perform.
Picon’s favorite NextDoor poster Shaun Mulliin questioned why the Reno Mayor was not physically at the 2025/2026 Budget Meeting.
Rather than exiting her political career with dignity intact, Schieve seems determined to cement her legacy as Reno's entrepreneur-in-chief—spreading herself thin across retail establishments and now questionably-named skincare products while her official responsibilities bake unattended under the Nevada sun.
The irony is almost too perfect: a mayor marketing protection from exposure while increasingly avoiding exposure to actual governance.
Perhaps in Schieve's Reno, sunscreen application takes priority over policy application. After all, why bother showing up to boring budget meetings when you could be formulating the next great innovation in personal care products with unintentionally explicit names?
How about we take a trip down ethics lane? Is this ethical without disclosure? City of Reno resources were used last year for the Biggest Little Skin Check, and now this year, and residents are still in the dark about Schieve’s involvement.
Seems like in 2024 Commissioner Mike Clark was called upon to hand out a proclamation at Greater Nevada Field. We hope Clark got a few free products since he battled skin cancer last yar.
Most municipalities have ethics codes that specifically prohibit this type of arrangement. At minimum, the mayor should:
Hey residents of Reno did you know in 2024 you were paying for Mayor Hillary Schieve to attend the U.S. Conference of Mayors to hawk her products under the guise of SunSafe Cities with her business partner.
Publicly disclose ownership stake in the business
Refrain from using any city resources to promote the product
Ensure clear separation between mayoral duties and business activities
Consider placing business interests in a blind trust while serving as mayor
While residents may be getting burned by her absence, Mayor Schieve has ensured they'll have plenty of Spooge to soothe the pain.
Mayor Hillary Schieve’s business partner Dr. Whitney Hovenic attended the U.S. Conference of Mayors with her. Conflict? Ethics violation, let’s file a complaint and find out.