Braun: Thank you for coming into the studio today.
Ginsburg: Thanks for having me.
Braun: You are running for Senate District 15, which [encompasses] most of Western Reno, including Sun Valley and Cold Springs. What are the most pressing issues to you and to voters in this area?
Ginsburg: I think, really, education is a big thing. It's making sure that kids have school choice. I think that a kid's education shouldn't be driven by their zip code. A lot of families currently drive their kids four or five to 10 miles away from a school that could very well be across [the] street, because they want to get their kids a great education. I don't think they should have to do this. And we need to make sure we're attracting teachers with higher pay and bringing teachers and making sure they retain [them].
Braun: Another highly contested issue in northern Nevada right now is the housing crisis, whether that applies to renting or lack of affordable options at all. If elected, how would you address these issues?
Ginsburg: So affordable housing, in my vision, is an onion. It's got a lot of layers to this and it's basically the developer, I believe, needs to make a profit. You have [a] lack of land. I mean, the federal government needs to turn over some land. State agencies need to turn over land so we can actually start building stuff that'll lower the price. And it has to do a lot with labor. Labor price is up since the pandemic, which I think is a good thing. To solve this problem, it's going to be conversations with [the] development community. You're going to have a lot of conversation[s] with people that have a lot of great ideas. And my job is to listen. You know, some ideas come with collateral damage, so you gotta make sure you limit that.
Braun: The seat that you are running for is currently held by a Republican, and if you were elected, you could help prevent the creation of a supermajority in the senate. So what would this mean for your term, and how would this affect voters?
Ginsburg: So, I am currently chairman of the Parks and Rec Commission, [part of the] Colin ranch homeowners association, [and] neighborhood advisory boards. That's really what we're here for, is to make sure the governor has a job to do after November. The supermajority does no good for anybody. That's one party rule. What will happen is the governor will sit there with no ability to veto anything. So any bills the Democrats would like to pass, they'll be able to pass. I think a lot of people don't understand politics. I didn't understand politics. One party rule does absolutely no good for anybody, whether it's Democrat or whether it's Republican. If it were Republican[s] that had the supermajority, I still wouldn't think it would be right. You have to have that two sided conversations. When one side has all the conversation, it's going to be a disaster.
Braun: For some voters, bipartisanship is a very important issue. Can voters count on you to be bipartisan in office?
Ginsburg: Absolutely. So, I'll give a little example. In my house, two of my daughters are Democrats. Three of us are Republicans. I went knocking on doors one day and brought some friends with me and realized that two were independents, two were Democrats and two [were] Republicans. So, I am not solid like I'm only going to stick with the Republican side. I will absolutely, like I said before, if there's a good idea, why does it always have to come from one side, right?
Braun: What are your education funding goals for this term?
Ginsburg: Funding goals, I really don't have any funding goals. I come into this office, 39 year employee of NV Energy, right? So, I really don't know the inner workings. I'm not going to come in and say that this is how we should fund everything, because there's nuances to everything, and just coming in guns-a-blazing is not the right way to do anything.
Braun: So, we’ve kind of talked a lot about kind of a lot of things. Covered the housing crisis, some education funding and the most pressing issues to you for this election season. So personally, why are you running for State Senate District 15?
Ginsburg: I love Senate District 15. I love Truckee Meadows, the Reno area. I will live nowhere else. Everything I've done is to better the community. So, the reason I'm running in its purest sense is, how can I help the community? That's really the only reason. That's why I'm here.
Braun: Okay, thank you for speaking with me today.
Ginsburg: Thanks for having me, I really do appreciate it.
This interview is a part of a series with State Senate District candidates. An interview with Democratic candidate Assemblywoman Angie Taylor will follow tomorrow.
KUNR’s Ember Braun is a student at the Reynolds School of Journalism.
