Fresh Faces in the Nevada State Legislature

Due to term limits and some members not seeking re-election, there will be more new members in the Nevada State Legislature than there have been in 40 years. At least 19 will never have served in the Legislature and it could be more pending the results on Election Day 2010. There will be a new governor as well. When the 2011 session convenes in February, these newbies will have 120 days to deal with reapportionment and a state budget hole of up to $3 billion. It's not going to be pretty.

Term limits (12 years each in the Assembly and Senate) adopted in 1996 are the main reason for the big shuffle. Among the northern Nevada legislators being termed out in the Assembly are Sheila Leslie (D-Reno), Bernie Anderson (D-Sparks), and John Carpenter (R-Elko). Though not termed out, Heidi Gansert (R-Reno) and Bonnie Parnell (D-Carson City) are not seeking re-election. In the Senate, say a term limit goodbye to Randolph Townsend (R-Reno), Bernice Mathews (D-Reno), Mark Amodei (R-Carson City), and Maurice Washington (R-Sparks).

Some members termed out in one chamber are seeking a seat in the other. Sheila Leslie, for example, is running against Phillip Salerno for the District 1 Senate. Others are looking to switch without the term limit incentive. Assemblyman Don Gustavson of Sparks wants to take the District 2 Senate seat over Allison Edwards. Check out my General Election 2010 Partisan Candidates in Reno, Sparks, and Washoe County article to get a handle on who's who in these heavily populated races.

Early voting is under way and runs through October 29. You can early vote at any of numerous locations throughout Washoe County. If you don't early vote, you'll have to go to your designated polling place on the official Election Day of Tuesday, November 2.

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