When Dan DeQuille wrote for the Territorial Enterprise of Virginia City fame, back in the 19th century, he used this depiction of a braying, angry, miner's burro. He always called it, as did most of the prospectors of the day, "A Washoe Canary." Below are some of our brayings, that is, Washoe Canary Songs.

Why the Apathy In Local Elections?

Does The Word Money Come To Mind?

by Donald J. Cook

Have you ever given any thought as to why a good majority of our citizens choose to distance themselves from local election activities throughout the Silver State? Why do highly qualified and talented individuals opt not to seek public office? Why are voter turnout figures for these elections mediocre at best?

At the risk of sounding somewhat cynical, electing our local governmental officials is something akin to looking for a used car. With optimistic hope one goes “shopping” and encounters possible hopefuls with the all too familiar sights and smells associated with the hasty refurbishing needed to conceal basic flaws. One is given a myriad of veiled promises with no guarantee. Let the buyer beware! After a couple of election cycles, we are then the proud owners of a fleet that most would not take for a leisurely Sunday outing, let alone be used to drive the various economic engines within the community.

We as a society have lost trust in the “system”. Democracy, one-man-one-vote and equal representation all take a distant rear seat in antiquity to Special Interest involvement. As with the proverbial used car, the single most important factor is the financial Bottom Line. Why in the world would any sane person with pure motives want to participate as a candidate in such a process?

As reported in other segments of the Nevada Observer, candidate Campaign Contribution and Expenditure Reports provide incredible insight into the motives and future actions of the candidate and ultimately, your public servant. The poet who described the “eyes as being the window to one’s soul” obviously had never feasted his baby blues on any of the current C&E’s on file! Not just a window, but also, a complete roadmap to the heart of the process.

Let’s do the math! Why would a candidate for public office “loan their campaign” more money than they would receive in one or two years, or even the full term of that office? A nice loophole; forget about asking where the money may have come from in the first place! Don’t worry about the statutory $10K per person/entity contribution. A not too creative Special Interest knows to have the spouse, every child, each corporate officer, manager, et al participate with a handsome contribution to THEIR candidate for office. It is all about the money! Nothing less, nothing more! Philosophically, such transactions are to “provide access” to the public official. What businessman or Special Interest would pay that kind of money to merely “go to the front of the line”? Let’s get real!

In closer races where the potential “heir apparent” does not immediately surface, one will find these folks “hedging their bets” by giving a modest $1K-$5K contribution to EACH candidate to office until the final lap of the race! Once the winner is known, then the subsequent contributions start to pile up, thereby “retiring the debt” (and then some) of the candidate. The candidate, now Elected Official, can use any and all of those funds in the “course of their duties.” As noted in previous stories within the Nevada Observer, the criteria are quite liberal.

Located somewhere in the mix is the candidate who is a very active and popular person within their Ward or District and they want to make a difference within the community. They may have large grassroots support, but if they fail to align with the Special Interest “design manual,” how far do you think your and your neighbor’s $50 contribution will take them?

So, it is all about the money. What can we do? We as the public must demand that our legislators enact campaign reform to cap the amount of monies that a candidate can receive. It is called leveling the playing field. Imagine a candidate having to actually focus on issues instead of money! A public official looking out for the public’s best interests; is it possible? We can only hope and try our best!

A New Feature Comes To Your Nevada Observer Pages

The Nevada Observer is by, for, and about Nevadans. We still have some archival space on our website, so we are going to use it to present to our readers a series of relatively scarce Nevada history texts which are now in the public domain. We propose to put the text up for one month (two issues) of The Nevada Observer, and then replace it with a new story, book, or document. For those interested in this sort of reading, make a special point to take a look at our upcoming issues.

SCHEDULE

June 1 and 15: "A Peep At Washoe" by renowned writer J. Ross Browne

July 1 and 15: "Sazerac Lying Club" by Fred H. Hart. You'll rip your knickers reading this

August 1 and 15: "As I Remember Them" by C.C. Goodwin

September 1 and 15: "Brigham's Destroying Angel" by William Hickman

October 1 and 15: "Reminiscences" written by Nevada's first U.S. Senator, William Stewart, also known as the father of mining law in the country.

November 1 and 15: "Lassen County" by Asa Merrill Fairfield. Some still think Susanville south should be Nevada.

December 1 and 15: Writings from Lewis Adelbert Norton

A group dedicated to historic preservation recently named 11 sites around the state that are in danger of being lost, including the oldest commercial building still standing in Reno, the Reno Masonic Temple/Reno Mercantile Building, and the LaConcha Hotel Lobby in Las Vegas. In between is the railroad in Ely, Jack's Saloon building in Carson City (just how many laws have been written at that long oaken plank?), and the Applegate-Lassen trail.

These buildings and sites are still standing. Over the next few weeks, we're going to show you some of the buildings and sites around the state that we've lost. There are many that scream, "We can't continue to trash our history."

Those old-timers from Reno will remember this unique little club. It was torn down and replaced with a concrete patio for Harrah's Reno.