With the election just a few weeks away, we sat down with our Reno mayoral candidates to talk about policy and answer Renoites' most pressing concerns. Hear from KUNR’s James Wolfgang Perez, who spoke with Kathleen Taylor.
Reno’s moratorium on new data center applications runs until August 2027. What should Reno’s policy toward new data centers be when the moratorium ends?
“Well, I think that we are doing the work right now at the regional governing board, the Truckee Meadows Regional Governing Board, and we heard a couple of things through that process. And the regulations should be strict water usage guidelines. I oppose any sort of waste on our water resources or other resources, energy policy that puts the rate payers paying more. I'm against that, and then also we don't want data centers in our neighborhoods. And I think the city can't really control the tax abatements, but it's something that I think the state legislature is looking at. We're not in favor of tax abatements. I'm not in favor of tax abatements.”
You were the only City Council member to vote against the moratorium. Has your position changed, and if so, what changed it?
“So I voted for more regulations and I voted against a moratorium, and the two are not the same. The moratorium and the vote I believe was politically motivated, and I'm not going to vote politically. I'm going to vote for what is best for the City of Reno, and I could have easily voted. Obviously, my vote didn't make much of a difference, and I probably could have saved myself some hard conversations. But the work was being done at the regional governing board. We did not have any applications in place at the city of Reno, and in my own words, the moratorium is lazy work in my mind.”
Could you elaborate on that?
“So to say that we're not going to dig in and get the regulations done right away, it felt like an out to me, and it really didn't get us where we wanted to be. Especially when we voted for more regulations the meeting prior to, so the work was being done. We were working with our regional partners, and I didn't think that the moratorium was something that added to the policy of getting more regulations. Also, considering we didn't have any data center applications in the queue.”
There are at least 130 Flock Cameras in Reno. As police technology moves beyond automated license plate readers and more toward AI-based surveillance. What limits should be put on how this technology is used by law enforcement?
“Very strict limits. I'm calling for stricter regulations, as are my other council members, for a policy to come forward. We've talked about this over the last month. We want to make sure that people have privacy, that their personal information is protected, and we're coming forward with a very straight, stringent policy on who uses it, how it's used, what it can be used for, and we expect that law enforcement is going to follow that. I think there is an opportunity for us to possibly terminate the contract with Flock at some time. We have not brought that to council on an agenda, but I think it's open for discussion.”
In the past, you’ve said Reno is currently facing a 24-26 million [dollar] budget shortfall, with that number expected to increase over the next few years. What specific changes would you make to the city’s budget to put Reno on a more sustainable path?
“So that number isn't just proprietary to Reno; it's all local governments because of the funding mechanisms that we use to generate revenue, which are property tax and C-Tax, and those are very long bureaucratic answers. But the things that we can do now without legislative help are look at ways to regionalize services were [sic] looking at the City of Reno. I supported a regional approach to the parks districts, working with parks and working with Washoe County. So that's about a $12 million budget that we have alone, and it would make sense to work together better originally. There are other things that we can do without consolidation on police and fire. We're also doing the work on that. So regionalizing services is a real opportunity. There's also an opportunity to talk with our county partners on the CTAC distribution. So you spend $100, $8.29 goes to tax on that. The City of Reno gets about, I think, 60 cents of that, and it’s generated all of that revenue is generated within the City of Reno. So what we're saying is, ‘Hey, is there a place where we can maybe meet in the middle and get this readjusted without going through the legislature?’ But those are still very early conversations. I am a big proponent of stopping the pet project spending, and I've voted against it. My voting record demonstrates that as well.”
You’ve served on the Reno City Council while these issues have been developing. If elected, what is the first specific policy change you would make and why is that the most important place to start?
“Within the first two months of entering into office, I would bring back everything that we have to get more housing, affordable housing, to market. It's a supply and demand. We saw it at the Council in 2023, and I was, along with Councilman Martinez, the only one to vote for everything. I would like to bring that back as soon as possible to get us more inventory in the market.”
Reno residents are facing higher costs for housing, utilities and other basic expenses. What specific steps can the city take to make it more affordable to live in Reno, and which of those would be your priority as mayor?
“Jobs, more housing inventory, and creating more jobs that create a livable wage. I'm very proud of my voting record over the last 11 years in local government. I support the good projects that bring the good jobs to Reno and put people to work. We've got to increase the livable wage that people are making, and that means that we need to attract the companies to invest here. So that goes back to the first question: a moratorium on anything does not lend itself to investment in Reno, and we've got to invest in Reno and attract those employers.”
Is there anything else that you’d like to add?
“People have got to get out and vote. Your vote does make a difference. I've won races by 200 votes, 400 votes. Your vote makes a difference, and I'd be honored to be your next mayor.”
