Mayor Bob Crowell chats with the Boys and Girls Club's Susie Messina at 'Soup's On!' at the Gold Dust West Wednesday afternoon.
Mayor Robert Crowell will seek a third term, he announced Friday.
The mayor, during a breakfast meeting that included a range of ethnic and business people at La Posada Real restaurant, said he wants to continue working to grow Carson City, as well as help diversify the economy and promote an inclusive state capital in which children are raised safely and seniors want to retire.
“Today I’m going to announce that I’m going to run for a third term as mayor,” Crowell said. He mentioned recent kudos from a retirement-oriented website that billed Nevada’s capital as among the top 10 places to live when working days are over, calling that important, but also said it isn’t sufficient.
“It doesn’t sustain itself over time,” he said of any city focused solely on retirees. He said Carson City’s economy is on the move, city government is building on that via new projects, and he wants participation from everyone.
Citing the $8.5 multi-purpose athletic center (MAC) almost built, the $4 million animal shelter starting soon and the multi-million dollars for a downtown makeover next year, plus eventual upgrades for other business corridors, the mayor said city government seeks to capitalize on a 150 year legacy and forge forward based on a 2006 community master plan.
He said nobody likes tax increases, but roughly half of a one-eighth of a penny city sales tax hike helping do capital improvement projects will be provided by visitors. He also said completion of the I-580 freeway bypass, plus other roadway connections and new Northern Nevada industries, will bring perhaps 50,000 new people to the region over time. He said the city and city government must take advantage of that.
Crowell said it provides the city an opportunity to “grab ahold of what I call the brass ring” as the region diversifies with the likes of Tesla Motors, SWITCH, Apple and smaller firms locate nearby or here.
From not long after he first took office in 2009 until now, Crowell said, the city’s jobless rate has been cut by half. He said he’d like to take credit for cutting it from about 14 percent to 7 percent, but can’t.
“That’s the benefit of a community working together,” said the mayor, an attorney and former school board member. In a news release with prepared remarks that accompanied his verbal announcement, the mayor expanded on his views.
“I believe in a community where citizens of all ages, demographics and ethnic backgrounds can feel safe and be part of a greater whole,” Crowell said, “where differing ideologies and opinions are respected. Mutual respect and inclusivity are at the core of creating a sustainable quality of life in Carson City.”