Letter by Thomas Daly

Alexis Hill: Know her record before you vote

Alexis Hill is seeking to continue in office in her first re-election campaign. Commissioner Hill represents District 1 including Verdi, Caughlin Ranch, Incline Village and Crystal Bay.
Consider her votes or positions on major issues facing her constituents.
In April 2023, as Commission Chair, Hill unilaterally took away your freedom of speech at the beginning of each County Commission meeting, a long tradition in Washoe County and one that afforded citizens with disabilities their 'reasonable accommodation' to speak at a time certain. Under unrelenting pressure from citizens and Commissioners Clark and Herman, along with multiple Open Meeting Law complaints, Hill relented in October, returning public comment to the beginning of Commission meetings.
Hill voted to raise your telephone tax and approve a ballot measure to renew your library tax, despite the County being 'revenue rich' due to massive federal largesse, including the Infrastructure Bill funds, the opioid settlement and the ARPA revenue stream, not to mention rising property tax revenues, from $609 million in FY21 to $751 million in FY24. Hill has never proposed reducing county taxes, including our county's near highest-in-the-state sales and gasoline taxes, despite soaring inflation economically crippling her constituents.
Hill did nothing to fix the Registrar of Voters disastrous 2022 elections (primary and general) including candidates left off the ballot, misprinted ballots, faulty mail-in ballot instructions and a missing-in-action Registrar, conclusions confirmed a year later in a scathing consultant's report. She compounded that error by voting to appoint yet another Registrar of Voters with dubious credentials, who has since resigned, to be replaced by yet another with no Washoe County experience and who is now missing in action. Multiple ballot errors continued in our June 2024 primary election, including some 2,788 ballots sent to voters who had opted out of receiving them and 25,000 ballots returned as non-deliverable costing $87,000. Hill voted to award the 2024 sample ballot printing contract to an out-of-state firm for twice what it cost after rebidding with firms with Nevada roots. A Nevada firm won the re-bid, saving County taxpayers about $332K.
Where is the accountability?
Hill has done nothing to reign in the Library Board's obsession with Drag Queen Stories and other perverted and obscene subjects and textbooks. She voted to re-appoint the Chair of the Library's Board of Trustees but, thankfully, that candidate was rejected by the Commission.
Hill voted to spend more than $48 million of County taxpayer dollars on the CARES homeless encampment, despite the area's homeless problem being almost exclusively in the City of Reno. Why isn't the City of Reno paying its fair share? Yet another Hill botched Interlocal Agreement burdening County taxpayers.
Hill voted to allow marijuana lounges in unincorporated Washoe County. Fortunately, the measure failed.
Commissioner Hill paved the way for the 947 Tahoe project in Incline Village - luxury condos up to 4,000 square feet on land previously designated for affordable workforce housing and mixed-use development. Her vote as a Tahoe Regional Planning Agency member will ultimately increase the population density, reduce workforce housing, exacerbate already inadequate parking and traffic clogged roadways on a good day and dangerously deficient escape routes in the event of a wildfire in these 'high-wildfire-hazard-zone' communities. No county roads have been designated for improvements.
Hills' campaign contributors are a who's-who list of the 'well-heeled', including developers, casinos, unions, lobbyists and trade associations, with most money not coming from her District.
Despite a long tradition by her predecessors of not seeking the Commission Chair position in an election year, Hill sought and was granted that role on a 3-2 vote in January.
Hill classifies citizens and taxpayers expressing their views at county meetings as 'disrupters'.
Hill's lust for power knows no limits.
Commission District 1 citizens and taxpayers deserve better.
Vote accordingly.

Thomas Daly
Thomas Daly is a resident of and registered voter in Washoe County