Candidate sees potential in arts community

Carson City lawyer Day Williams filed this week for the Ward 3 Board of Supervisors seat, which will be vacated at the end of the year by Pete Livermore.

Williams moved to Carson City in 1991 after graduating from the University of Arizona School of Law. He said he has some solid ideas for change in the capital city.

"Supervisors need a more unified vision of how to build Carson City for the future. For example, Carson City was named No. 3 in Business Week's top 10 as an emerging arts community. Our arts community is an asset we can build on as a tourist attraction. Also, we need to bring more light industry and green industries to the area," Williams said.

Williams said he would go out on a limb to "just say 'No' to the Nugget project."

"I'm not against development, but it's the wrong project at the wrong time," he said. "It's kind of like a drug when you see a PowerPoint presentation with talk about a new library and Hollywood and lots of money coming in."

He said he also has deep reservations about putting a gathering place for families and children right next to a casino, and that officials need to distinguish between wants and needs.

"We want a library, but do we need it now? A better use of funds would be a convention center. We're the only capital city in the country that doesn't have a convention center," he said.

"And why would the city guarantee a return to the developer? Where is the Nugget's risk? The risk should be on private business, not on the city. There are already vacancies all over town," he said.

Williams believes the project should be put to a vote.

"The last library initiative was shot down. This is the biggest project the city has ever faced, and I think we should let the voters decide. We're cutting law enforcement and firefighters right now," he said.

"We're not Hollywood and we're not Silicon Valley. A convention center is more in keeping with what a capital city should be doing and has more likelihood of success to bring in tourism and more sales tax," Williams said.

"What we need now are deputies on the street and firefighters ready to go. That (Nugget project) dream is maybe 5-10 years up the road," he said.

Williams has been married to Robin A. Williams since 1993. She has an adult daughter, Alyss, and together they have a daughter, Abby, and a son, Nathanael Day, both 15.

Ward 3 is encompasses the southeast portion of Carson City. Mark Sattler and John McKenna also have filed for the seat.