By Dave Frank
Appeal Staff Writer
Bob Crowell, an attorney and school board member, announced his run for Carson City mayor Thursday, saying he wants to redevelop downtown, fix the budget and maintain public safety.
"I grew up in Carson City, I raised my family in Carson City and I'd like to see Carson City do well," said Crowell, 62. "I think I can build coalitions to help Carson City move forward."
Crowell works as a lobbyist at Kummer Kaempfer Bonner Renshaw & Ferrario. He has been president of the State Bar of Nevada, chairman of the Carson City Chamber of Commerce and a captain in the Navy.
The focus of his campaign is downtown redevelopment, he said, and the city should support downtown groups and find out which incentives are best to help downtown businesses.
The city depends on sales taxes, he said, so it had to give incentives to redevelop big box stores "to keep cops on the street." However, the city needs to look at downtown now.
"The freeway gives us a great opportunity that we're not going to see a whole lot more," he said, "and we need to plan for that."
His work on the school board shows he can help fix the city's budget, he said, pointing to $47 million in school improvements during the last eight years without raising taxes, as well as a $10 million balance for the district.
Another issue that is important but is easy to ignore, he said, is homelessness.
"The first thing we need to do on that is recognize the problem," he said, "then once the problem is recognized, this community will come together in a big way and there will be outreach programs to solve those problems."
He said he will continue working fulltime if elected, though, and will concentrate on what he said are a mayor's two main roles: holding open and fair public meetings and leading the board in decisions while "leaving the personalities behind."
Groups Crowell has lobbied for include the State of Nevada, Vidler Water Company and the Nevada Tavern Owners Association.
Sean Lehmann, a 35-year-old podiatrist, was the first to announce a run for mayor. Other candidates who said they might run include former Mayor Ray Masayko, Supervisor Robin Williamson and First Christian Church Pastor Ken Haskins.
Mayor Marv Teixeira announced Thursday that he would not seek a fourth term.
• Contact reporter Dave Frank at dfrank@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.