I have lived in Reno most of my life; this is my home, and I love our community. I’m a mother of seven and grandmother of fourteen. I’m a business owner, advocate, negotiator and consensus builder, and with your support I can bring these skills to the Washoe County Commission.

My family moved to Reno when I was nine years old. I graduated from Sparks High School. My husband, Jim, and I raised our family here, and my children are all graduates of Reno High School. I know the importance of working with our school district to make sure our children receive the best possible education, and when my grandchildren come to visit, I like to know that our neighborhoods and community parks are safe for them to play.

As a business leader I have spent my life working to make this community a better place to live. I’ve worked with businesses and organizations representing mining and exploration interests, health care including physicians and specialty societies, telecommunications and served as Charter Communication’s Division Vice President. Together, we have worked on projects including election reform, women’s issues, non-smoking legislation and expanding broadband internet in our community.

I have served on numerous community boards and commissions including the Reno Sparks Chamber of Commerce, the TMCC Foundation and KNPB’s Board of Trustees.

I believe our governments must be responsible with the funds entrusted to them by taxpayers. I have years of experience balancing budgets and helping organizations with their community relations needs. Washoe County needs a leader with private sector experience and fresh ideas to get our economy back on track. You can count on me to use my background in advocacy, negotiation and cooperation to get our community working again.

ISSUES

Taxes & Spending

Our government cannot tax its way out of this recession nor can we continue to make cuts to our senior centers, libraries and roads without significantly harming our ability to recover in the future. This means that everyone has to come to the table to find new and innovative ways to provide the services our community expects. I believe we need to focus on streamlining our government services to make sure hardworking Nevadans are getting the best possible services for the money we entrust to our local governments. Not only will streamlining services save tax dollars, it will reduce the amount of time it takes for the residents of Washoe County to navigate our departments – a win-win situation for everyone.

Job Creation & Economic Development

I believe our community needs jobs to recover from this recession, and I will be a strong voice supporting our local businesses. I support efforts to streamline regulations and licensing to help new businesses get off the drawing board and encourage existing businesses to start growing again. We need to create a business advisory council to guide us as we look hard at regulations that are hindering job creation in our community.

I also support the Governor’s efforts to encourage job growth by bringing new and thriving industries and jobs to our community.

Strong Communities

As a mother of 7 and grandmother of 14, I believe services such as parks, libraries and senior services are important for our community and have received more than their fair share of cuts. We need to be smart about the programs and services we’re cutting, and we need to pool our resources so that we can make thoughtful investments in our community.

I will work to protect community programing that encourages our children to be successful in school and in life, supports our neighbors who need help with employability skills or resumes and provides a social setting or a hot meal for our seniors. I also support expanding volunteer programs to ensure that our libraries are staffed and that our parks are safe and in a condition where our children can play.

CONTACT

Marsha@Marsha4Commission.com

(775) 525-0150

OFFICIAL WEBSITE