Three of the four candidates for Sparks mayor spoke at a public forum on Sunday.
The League of Women Voters hosted the event at the Northwest Reno library. The organization said scheduling issues prevented it from hosting the event in Sparks proper.
Incumbent mayor Ed Lawson, Ward 4 Councilwoman Charlene Bybee, and longtime resident Diana Mackey fielded questions from neighbors about issues in the rail city.
Wendi Rawson did not attend.
All three candidates present agreed the city's biggest issue is its finances. The City of Sparks cannot raise its taxes, so Mackey says she's calling on the state legislature to help.
"I have a friend who is running for the legislature," she said. "He wants to have a state lottery. He's gone around to all the casinos and talk to them about that."
Lawson wants to see Sparks follow in the footsteps of Clark County and fund police through a new tax.
"If we just take police out of our budget right now, that's $48 million, out of a $121 million budget. We wouldn't have no financial problems," the current mayor said.
Bybee says she's already helped the city's finances by declining a raise for elected officials last summer.
"I declined that raise, which for me just on the city council was $40,000," she said. "I declined it this year because it would come from the general fund of the City of Sparks."
Another hot-button topic was balancing the city's growth with quality of life.
Mackey brought up her fierce opposition to the Red Hawk Golf Course development, and the speed of growth in the city.
"One of the reasons that all this building is going on is because it brings property tax revenue to the city, and I think we're growing too quickly. We can't go back, but I think we can slow down some of the growth," Mackey said.
Bybee said the city needs to be aware of the strain placed on infrastructure when the city grows.
"People are coming here because of jobs, because of the growth of the economy, because they're unhappy in California for a number of reasons," the councilwoman said. "But that growth is coming in, and we've got a lot of jobs. But the infrastructure that it's straining is housing, it's roads, and all of those are quality of life."
The primary election takes place June 9. Since Sparks mayor is a nonpartisan race, the top two finishers from the primary advance to the general election on November 3.
The candidates also fielded questions about homelessness, potential light rail to USA Parkway, and various other issues. You can hear their responses by watching the full forum linked below:
League of Women Voters hosted a forum with candidates for Sparks Mayor. The forum included Mayor Ed Lawson, Councilwoman Charlene Bybee, and Diana Mackey. Wendi Rawson was unable to attend.
