Robert Weise nominated by Carson City supervisors to fill Senate seat

UPDATE:
The joint meeting between the Carson City Board of Supervisors and the Washoe County Commissioners to confirm a final candidate to fill the Nevada Senate vacancy will be held Wednesday, Nov. 10 at 1:00 p.m. Residents are invited to join in-person at the Commission Chambers on 1001 E. 9^th St., Reno, or watch the meeting virtually via Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84752589372. To provide public comment in advance of the meeting, email Washoe311@washoecounty.gov or leave a voicemail to 775-954-4664.

“Having a physical body in Carson City keeps our district closer,” Mayor Lori Bagwell said, as the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Thursday afternoon to nominate local Robert Weise to fill the Nevada Senate vacancy in District 16.
Weise is a Republican living in north Carson. Between 1975 and 1980 he served three terms in the Nevada Assembly and helped with one special session. Though he’s long retired from his political career, he put his hat in the ring to replace resigned Sen. Ben Keickhefer because he’s hoping to protect Northern Nevadan interests in the upcoming legislative special session for redistricting based on the 2020 U.S. Census.
That session will be held before year’s end.
“I have a lot of experience in the Legislature and how the wheeling and dealing goes,” he told supervisors during the meeting.
But it’s not only his political experience the supervisors expressed interest in. If District 16’s candidate to fill the Senate vacancy does not reside in Carson City, there’s a chance that Carson City could be drawn out of the district entirely.
Senators are not allowed to be drawn out of their districts during redistricting. Hence, having a senator in Carson City guarantees that Carson City will remain in a Northern Nevada district, rather than being pulled into a district with Clark County, as Weise and the supervisors speculated during the meeting.
Bagwell said she hopes Washoe County commissioners see the mutual benefits of choosing a replacement senator from Carson City. The commissioners will meet on Tuesday, Nov. 9 to nominate their candidate.
The supervisors and commissioners will hold a joint meeting Nov. 10 at 1:00 p.m. to vote on their final choices. Based proportionally on District 16’s population, Carson City will have four votes toward Weise, and Washoe County will have six votes toward whichever candidate they select as their nominee.
The other candidates in the pool include Melissa Clement, Rew Goodenow, Steven Guerazzi, Ron Haslem, Assemblywoman Lisa Krasner, Maxine Nietz, Larry Peyton, and Donald Tatro.
Applicants Tracey Smith, Heidi Palmer, and Jeffrey Thiede all withdrew. Applicant Jessica Glover did not arrive for her interview with the supervisors; however, she may still appear before the Washoe County commissioners.
The supervisors had also expressed interest in Krasner, Tatro, and Goodenow, but Weise was the only applicant with unanimous consensus out of the gate.
Supervisor Maurice White issued a disclosure that he has spoken with Krasner in her past campaigns but has not been financially involved in any employee-employer relationship on her campaign teams. He said he would be supporting her in a future campaign for the District 16 seat. However, he still voted with the majority of the board in favor of appointing Weise to fill Keickhefer’s seat until the next election.
“I appreciate your vote of confidence,” Weise said during public comment time at the end of the meeting. He said that if he secures Washoe County’s nomination, he would be prepared to join in on the special session for redistricting as soon as Nov. 12.