News Report: Meet-and-greet for Maurice White on August 12

In the pleasantly warm evening air under the trees this past Wednesday, Maurice White, candidate for Carson City supervisor for Ward 2, held a meet and greet at Glen Eagles Restaurant on North Carson Street, and talked to an attentive and respectful audience of about 35-40 people.



Maurice got right to the point, and frankly stated that the purpose of a meet and greet is to ask for votes, support and of course funding.  He reminded people of his website and FaceBook presence (https://mauriceforward2.com/, https://www.facebook.com/Maurice-for-Ward-2-111728417109272/). 



Staying true to his direct style, he explained how his background and experience uniquely fit the job requirements of Supervisor: his literally life long residence in Carson City (born and raised), his wide experience in several hands-on job types, his long interest and involvement in local civic and governmental affairs, and his long study of the founders, the US Constitution, the Nevada constitution, the NRS, the Carson City charter, the many years of attending the meetings of the Carson City Board of Supervisors, and serving on and working with various boards and commissions. He said that all this adds up to a level of expertise that does not exist and is badly needed on the Board at this time: someone who’s been in the trenches, who understands what city staff is talking about.



Maurice explained that when elected his guiding principle will be to refer back to the Founders, and in the spirit of our Founding, with every issue before the Board, ask if this is something the Founders thought government should be doing, if Carson City needs it, is it something we must do or we should do; most importantly the health and safety challenges that residents, businesses and visitors expect the city to provide: safe streets, clean water, functioning Sheriff’s and Fire Departments.



Maurice explained that the key to all that starts with the Asset Management Program. He cited the ongoing effort to define it, and that his life experience gives him the tools to help set responsible priorities to define and put that plan into effect.



Maurice singled out mental health issues faced by the Sheriff and by the Fire Department as examples where priorities need to be bolstered. He explained the need to increase resources for the Sheriff’s MOST and FASTT programs which are intended to address crises rather than merely put offenders in jail, both of which need additional personnel for another shift on duty. He also cited the concern about maxing out the Fire Department’s overtime use which, among other things, mean that overworked tired safety personnel are responding to emergency situations. Carson City’s growth will also require not just building another fire station, in about three years, but continued funding for personnel, equipment and other resources to operate it.



When elected, these two areas will be his top priorities.



In the Q&A after his comfortingly brief presentation, about ten minutes, Maurice fielded a wide range of questions for another half an hour.



Will Carson City need another high school? Yes, but finding a location is a problem.



Will growth translate to increased revenue? Yes. The City Manager is looking into the question as too how much new revenue will be generated by the current permitted projects.  The casinos also pay a lot in different taxes (property, alcohol, room, tobacco, gaming, etc.).



Is the Board unified in their thinking, or is there balance on the Board? Maurice explained that the Board is defined to be non-partisan in the Charter. But, realistically, no seat on the Board is non-partisan. Balance is definitely needed. He mentioned that when elected, the Board will have two Democrats and two Republicans. The current plan is to have the present Board, not the new Board, appoint someone to fill the vacancy in Ward 3 (caused by the current Supervisor having been elected as the new Mayor).



Maurice called on the audience to fervently voice their opinions about that.



Maurice also mentioned that there is a Charter Review Committee that submits recommendations to the Board of Supervisors who then submits them to the Legislature. Such as letting people run for mayor and supervisor openly as Democrats or Republicans? The people have the means to speak up.



How does the City manage the impact of new developments on the City’s infrastructure? Developers pay into a fund that builds up until it’s needed. The program may need to be examined to see if its adequate and administered equitably.



Does the city and the School District cooperate, collaborate or coordinate on problems, projects, solutions and resources? Maurice explained that these two are completely independent governmental entities, and past efforts to coordinate have not been successful. Collaborative efforts should be revisited. The City and school budgets are in good shape, but the danger is from the State’s “unfunded pushdowns.”



Where does Maurice’s opponent stand on the issues? The other candidate for supervisor ward 2 is a Democrat, and has termed out from the School Board, so the performance of the School Board should be a pretty good indication of how she’d do this job.



What’s the impact of immigration from California? Look at the Legislature. But we welcome refugees....



What to do about the problems caused by the homeless on North Carson Street? Maurice explained that you can’t help people until they ask for help, and cited this as one reason why the MOST and FASTT programs should be expanded.



When someone asked about converting the now unused prison into a museum, Maurice responded with the “full disclosure” that he is the Vice President of the Nevada State Prison Preservation Society. He then lead a lively discussion about other successful prison museums and how ours could be developed as a tourist magnet with a very broad range of activities, offerings and resources for public and private enterprises in the facility. It’s already been used as the location for about twenty movies. The Society is now looking for a new president.



One of the oldest residents of Carson City offered his praise for Maurice as a man of fresh ideas.

Maurice closed with his promise to keep constituents informed by blog, website, FaceBook and, when elected, a newsletter (on his website), and asked people to share with family and friends as widely as possible.