KUNR: You're running for re-election to the Washoe County Board of County Commissioners, a position that oversees elections, homelessness policy, public health, and a host of other critical issues. What's your main case to voters? Why should they elect you again?
Marsha Berkbigler: Because I care about the constituents in Washoe County, and I don't think Commissioner [Alexis] Hill does. You're there to represent the interests of the citizens, and that's what I do.
KUNR: What sets you apart from your opponent?
Berkbigler: I have a long history of working in politics in general, but politics in Nevada, specifically. I was a lobbyist for many, many years. I represented the interests of businesses. I represented the interests of local governments. I also, as a lobbyist, participated in writing law. I know a lot about Nevada statutes and how they impact the citizens, as well as how they impact the local governments.
KUNR: If you win, what does day one of your new term look like?
Berkbigler: I think there are three major actions that need to be prioritized. One is transparency, because this commission is extremely dysfunctional and not transparent in any way. And so one of the things that I would do right away is require that we do a complete audit by a qualified forensic auditor of the amount of money that's been spent at the Cares Campus.
My second agenda issue, and something that I'm really concerned about, is affordable housing. I talk to seniors really, pretty much on a daily basis, and what I'm finding is that many of them are on total fixed incomes, and daily they have to decide, “Am I going to the grocery store to buy milk, or am I going to buy my medicine?” And it isn't just seniors, it's also some veterans. And so we need to look at affordable housing and say, “What can the local government do to make it easier for developers to build affordable housing? And make it easier for citizens who are on fixed incomes to find affordable housing?”
And, these people have no access if they don’t have access to their local governments. They should be able to go right before the commission and say, “Commissioners, here's an issue I'm worried about.”
KUNR: Republican county commissioners made national headlines earlier this year when they failed to certify the results of a primary election recount. They eventually reversed course, but only after the state attorney general sued the county. How do you feel about that episode?
Berkbigler: What happened in this particular case is this: Three candidates came forward who lost, and asked for a recount. These three said, “I would like to have a hand count.” And that's where the problem came in, because there's nothing in the state law that says the county can't require a hand count.
KUNR: Now, a quick follow up to that: Because, as I understand it, under [the Nevada Revised Statutes], a recount of an election has to be done in the same manner as the original election was.
Berkbigler: No, it has to… A recount must be done in the same manner that the votes were cast. That's what it says, not in the same manner that the previous count was.
Editor’s note: After this interview was recorded, KUNR did a fact-check of Berkbigler’s claim and found it was inaccurate. In reality, Chapter 293 of the Nevada Revised Statutes says that in a recount, “All ballots must be recounted in the same manner in which the ballots were originally tabulated.”
Berkbigler: I am not an election denier. Never have been. Likely, never will be. I say, “likely,” because it's questionable at times. But I am very concerned about the severe lack of transparency. And really, you know, it doesn't matter whether an elected official thinks that it's fair. It matters whether the citizen thinks their vote is counting, and that's what the county needs to look at.
KUNR: Final question: If you were reelected, would you commit to certifying future elections?
Berkbigler: Sure, absolutely. I'm not going to say, “I'm not going to certify an election.” Because, if I'm reelected, I guarantee the elections are going to be fair and safe and equitable, and the citizens are going to know that their vote counts.
