The Good Stuff is at the Bottom…
The Nevada Globe reported on November 2, 2023, the recall of two elected Trustees from the IVGID/Incline Village General Improvement District both failed to get the numbers of signatures needed for a special election. It was close, but there is no cigars in recall attempts. The petition lacked 75 signatures for Trustee Matthew Dent and 114 signatures for Trustee Sara Schmitz.
The Committee to Recall the IVGID Trustees decided to file a complaint with the Nevada Secretary of State and hired an attorney who’s no stranger to the drama of lawsuits at the lake, Hutchison & Steffen’s Jason Guinasso. Right, that’s the same Guinasso who is the former general counsel for IVGID, which just reeks of conflict to us.
Guinasso has a classic case of public relation overload and has the team at Hutchison & Steffen on a press release frenzy. Let’s face it Guinasso never shies away from a high-profile case, just think about all that press. Let’s remember in 2023 Guinasso represented Tirzah Mathews in the lawsuit against Marilyn York and her father Ray York. On May 4, 2023, the Reno Gazette Journal reported, “The 384-page civil lawsuit includes a transcript of an amorous phone call, discussion of sex toys and almost 200 pages of insulting website screenshots. “These are things not normally included in such a filing and they seem to be aimed at the media and general public rather than the court,” Walker said. “This is not Jerry Springer show,” the judge said, referring to the late tabloid television host.
Judge Walker went onto say, “In my view, the most efficacious, cautious, deliberate way to proceed would be to hit the pause button until that complaint is resubmitted.” Walker urged Guinasso, ”Don’t try this case to the press, don’t try it to popular opinion, don’t try it to the audience – try it to me and the jury. Craft the complaint with that goal in mind.”
The case was quietly mediated in early February and reached a confidential settlement. This Is Reno reported on February 8, 2024, because the matter is now settled, the parties will not speak about the case. The settlement indicates each party will cover their own attorney fees. It also notes that Mathews and Ray York agree not to contact one another. “My client is grateful to have closure and to be able to move on with her fear or shame,” Guinasso told This Is Reno.”
It’s been a busy 2024 for Guinasso on the heels of the York-Matthews settlement, the City of Sparks City Council voted to settle with fired former Sparks Fire Chief Mark Lawson to the tune of $381,000. Lawson commented, “I think everybody lost – I lost the best job I ever had in my life.” Lawson, who was born and raised in Sparks and went to Reed High followed with, “My parents lost a lot of valuable time and stress. And, ultimately, really the worst part is the taxpayer. The taxpayer lost $381,000 that could have been spent on other more important programs.”
Picon was amused that Lawson took speaking to the press over and aced Guinasso out for his settlement ‘press spotlight’. Lawson had announced in January he is a candidate for Washoe County Commissioner District 4. The settlement check hasn’t even been cut for Lawson, and Guinasso, his attorney, is already endorsing Lawson’s opponent Washoe County Commissioner Clara Andriola via paid promoted videos on Facebook.
Let Picon understand this, Andriola a staunch supporter of County Manager Eric Brown, former Registrar of Voters Jamie Rodriguez, and current Interim Register of Voters Cari-Ann Burgess is being endorsed by the same lawyer, Guinasso, who has filed a complaint via the Nevada Secretary of State against the Washoe County Registrar of Voters regarding the recall signature verification?
That is a typical Commissioner Andriola move; she is only capable of smiling for a photo opt or asking a pre-planned question on the dais. Running campaign ads spotlighting Jason Guinasso’s supporting her while he is questioning the capabilities of the Washoe County Registrar of Voters might be questionable.
The Nevada Globe, November 2, 2024, reported, “The recall committee has “several questions surrounding the signature verification performed by Washoe County, the inconsistencies or various codes that were used to reject the signatures, and the opportunity for voters to cure their signatures to ensure they would be counted.”
How many of you skipped to the bottom of the story based on our title? Way to go, just get to the meat of it.
It would seem Guinasso has better legal luck away from the Tahoe Basin with the rejection by the Nevada Secretary of State of the Schmitz & Dent Appeal. We had a reader send us the response letters yesterday and thought it the perfect way to kick off Washoe County Candidate filing that starts today.
The Secretary of State investigated and found that both petitions failed to provide the required number of valid signatures.
