Politics in 2025? Reese is Chumming for Support.
Reese speaking at a Democratic Event in 2024.
Oh, you Renoites crying "no politics, it's only 2025!" Bless your hearts. While you're trying to recover from your holiday food coma, Councilmember Devon Reese is already playing political musical chairs for the 2026 mayor's race. Because nothing says "I'm totally confident about my future" quite like scrambling for support a year early. Picon calls it “political chumming ,” throwing bait in the water to see what support you can catch.
Speaking of confidence... let's talk about that stunning Ward 5 victory. And by stunning, we mean Reese scraped by with 1,412 votes against checks notes ...who exactly is Brian Cassidy? Despite having a war chest that would make a Vegas casino blush and every developer, builder, and power broker in his pocket, Reese barely outperformed a guy whose biggest claim to fame was some local TV commercials for his small business. Talk about a profile in courage.
Washoe County Government website 2024.
But wait, there's more. This political soap opera gets juicier. Our soon-to-be-departed Mayor Hillary Schieve (who apparently needed a remedial math class to understand she was suppose to serve twelve years, not fourteen) is finally preparing her long goodbye. Meanwhile, Reese is doing the political equivalent of sliding into donors' DMs, all while playing coy about his mayoral ambitions. Could those three pesky ethics violations have anything to do with this hesitation dance?
Nevada Commission on Ethics, September 2024 - Page 1
When will we all be hearing from the Nevada Commission on Ethics that kindly pushed off Reese’s ethic complaints until the general election was over. Why let voters know if a candidate has committed ethic violations prior to an election.
Nevada Commission on Ethics, September 2024 - Page 2
And let's not forget that plot twist with the PAC-sponsored attack postcard against Reese. Plot twist: it might have actually helped Reese win. Nothing says "political irony" quite like your enemies accidentally doing you a favor.
So here we are, watching this political theater unfold like a bad reality show. Reese is "trolling for support" while pretending he hasn't already picked out the mayor's office wallpaper, and we're all supposed to pretend this isn't happening because... it's "only 2025"?
In politics, timing is everything. And right now, the timing is absolutely delicious for watching this whole spectacle unfold. Pass the popcorn, oh, the joys of this 2025 non-political season.
Devon Reese Facebook post in 2025. If this is the short version we’d hate to have to read a long one.