On Wednesday, the Reno City Council voted in favor of proposed ward boundary changes to create a sixth ward, as required by state law. However, the changes led to several questions and confusion regarding election law, re-labeling, accusations of a conspiracy and more.
Five proposed maps made the final cut to the council; of those five, map “E” was selected as the finalist. The final approved map includes revisions Council member Naomi Duerr requested at the council’s Aug. 9 meeting.
The first area of revision concerns around 800-850 residents near Baker, Moana and Kietzke lanes and Redfield Parkway, which all moved from Ward 3 to Ward 2. The second revision moves the intersection of Plumas Street and California Avenue from Ward 3 to Ward 2. The area primarily has commercial buildings, and the change aligns the ward boundary to follow the most used road.
The third change moves parcels at the corner of Mill Street and Kietzke Lane from Ward 1 to Ward 3. These parcels are demographically similar to those movedby the first revision and are intended to balance the population shift.
In addition, Ward 1 and Ward 2 are being switched numerically. City Manager Doug Thornley said that’s a matter of the election cycle. Council member Naomi Duerr, who represents Ward 2, is not up for re-election during this election cycle, so the wards need to be renamed.
“It seems like we’re playing around with people in their houses, and this isn’t Monopoly.”
Council member Jenny Brekhus said she had “heartburn” regarding the changes.
“It seems like we’re playing around with people in their houses, and this isn’t Monopoly,” Brekhus said. “I find it distasteful … I find it callous and a disrespectful way to redistrict.”
Duerr said the decision allows residents in adjacent areas to be united in the same wards.
“You have people on two sides of Baker Lane; these people are in one ward, and the other are not, yet they relate to each other,” she said. “We kept hearing about community, and that’s what drove it.”
Council member Devon Reese commended Duerr for her hard work on the redistricting.
“You worked very hard, and the cartography, the drawing of maps, can be a community-building endeavor,” he said.
Council member Meghan Ebert asked why Ward 1 was re-labeled despite being the oldest ward.
“Ward 1 is going to be Ward 2, and Ward 2 is going to be Ward 1 now … it just doesn’t make sense to me that the oldest ward would be flipped to be Ward 2,” Ebert said. “It would make more sense to me if we’re trying to keep things the same as possible, considering it’s the oldest ward.”
Brekhus asked whether Council member Kathleen Taylor, appointed to the council in September 2022 to fill the seat vacated by Neoma Jardon, will appear as an incumbent for Ward 1, given that the ward numbers will shift.
“I don’t think we’re prepared to answer that question today,” Thornley said. “I think we’ll have to talk to some election lawyers.”
The upcoming election cycle will have races in wards 1, 3, 5 and 6, the latter being the new ward. Thornley clarified that there will technically be no Ward 6 until the election in November of next year.
In further discussions, Brekhus implied the map drawing was a conspiracy between Thornley, staff and the incumbents.
“And surprise, surprise, the staff-driven process under the direction of the city manager who reports to the incumbents doesn’t match any incumbents up against each other,” Brekhus said. “Surprise, surprise.” 
Brekhus further said she did not support having city staff involved in redrawing the boundaries and that “the outcome is one that has the fingerprints of staff doing work for the incumbents and have the ear of the manager.”
Ebert, echoing comments made during the council’s Aug. 9 meeting, said she opposed the chosen map due to the lack of community resources—community centers and parks—awarded to Ward 4. Mayor Hillary Schieve told Ebert the best time for those concerns would be during budget discussions.
“I’m trying to figure out if the map would be different, how it would play into [your concerns],” Schieve said.
Ebert said that some versions of the maps included the Evelyn Mount Northeast Community Center located on 1301 Valley Road as part of Ward 4.
“So I think there could have been a provision made to bring that piece [of the map] down again,” Ebert said.
Schieve asked Ebert if she’d spoken with the consultants during the redistricting process.
“Well, the process was to keep council input out of it, and I made a statement I’d stay out of it, but the other council member comments about what they wanted didn’t seem to take that into consideration at all,” Ebert said. “So, while there was accommodations made for other areas and streets, there was no care given to redrawing to include a community center for my ward.”
Schieve said that spending in wards should be balanced, and she is working with Thornley to create a list of finances spent in each ward. Schieve also said millions of dollars had been poured into Mayor’s Park within Ebert’s ward.
“Yeah, but it’s not an Aquatic Center or anything like that,” Ebert said. “If we’re going to compare apples to apples … we have play equipment being put in without shade.”
“We all want, come on,” Schieve said. “If everyone wants a pool—we would all want that. I can’t imagine anyone would deny that.”
Schieve said that as the council’s mayor, she is there to advocate for all the wards equally.
“I’m here rooting for Reno,” Schieve said.
Reese said he found it “curious” that Ebert was concerned with gaining a community center in her ward when the Ward 4 Neighborhood Advisory District (NAB) meets at the North Valleys Library.
“We have facilities all over the city,” Reese said.
Duerr said there are challenges in every ward, but council members prioritize their wards within the city through the process.
“And at the end of the day, we have a better city,” Duerr said. “It’s an opportunity to work for something.”
Council approved the first reading of the map boundaries, with Brekhus and Ebert voting against the measure. The new map will be submitted to the Washoe County Registrar by Sept. 1 and presented to the council for a second reading and adoption on Sept. 13.
