by Jeniffer Solis, Nevada Current

A historically competitive legislative district in Washoe County could be the deciding factor in the Democrats’ quest to clinch a two-thirds supermajority in the state Senate.

Northern Nevada’s Senate District 15 — which spans most of Western Reno — has long been considered a swing-district with a nearly even split between Democratic and Republican registered voters.

That changed when District 15’s boundaries were redrawn under the state’s 2021 redistricting process, giving Democrats a 5-point advantage among active registered voters. 

Incumbent Republican Heidi Seevers Gansert chose not to run for reelection in the district, leaving the seat open and attracting a crowd of candidates during the primary.

Republican political newcomer Mike Ginsburg, and one-term Democrat assemblywoman Angie Taylor, won their respective primaries and are now competing for the chance to serve in the state Senate.

Democrats currently are trying to protect a supermajority in the Assembly, but remain one vote shy in the Senate. If Democrats achieve a supermajority in both the Assembly and Senate, they could have the power to override Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo’s vetoes. During the last legislative session, Lombardo vetoed a record 75 bills. 

In an interview with Nevada Current, Taylor said voters in her district are not interested in whether her party achieves a supermajority, adding that voters are invested in electing a representative who can pass legislation that improves their lives.

Democrats control the Legislature, which means they largely decide which bills receive hearings, and what bills advance. Taylor highlighted her track record of working across the aisle with Republicans on legislation. During her time as freshman assemblywoman, five of the nine bills she was a primary sponsor for became law. 

“That’s pretty cool for a freshman, right? And all of them were bipartisan,” Taylor said. “That’s the way I’m always going to operate, whether we have a supermajority or not.”

Ginsburg did not respond to requests for an interview from the Nevada Current. However, in a Reno Gazette Journal Op-ed Ginsburg noted that part of the reason he is running for Senate District 15 is to prevent a potential Democrat supermajority in the Legislature.

Ginsburg is currently the chair of the City of Reno Parks and Recreation Commission. He’s been an NV Energy employee for nearly 40 years. 

Taylor has a financial edge over Ginsburg in what’s expected to be a tight race, reporting about $280,000 in campaign contributions as of July, compared to about $150,000 reported by Ginsburg. 

Some of Taylor’s top contributors include, the Nevada Service Employees International Union, a financial service company called Ajax Financial LLC, Grand Sierra Resort and Casino, and Zuffa LLC, former parent company of the UFC, all of which donated $5,000 each. 

Ginsburg’s top contributes include the Silver State Victory Pac and Southpoint, which each contributed $5,000 to his campaign. Zuffa LLC also contributed $2,500 to his campaign. 

Education 

Both Taylor and Ginsburg called for more competitive compensation to retain and attract educators and support staff. Both candidates have also said they supported increasing the state’s per-pupil funding to match the national average.

Taylor said she was proud of the work the Legislature did to pass SB503, the K-12 education funding bill, which increased the state’s K-12 education spending by a historic $2 billion. Taylor noted she also supports establishing accountability measures to ensure the new funding is effectively increasing student achievement, and would continue working on education accountability in the Senate. 

Taylor said she believes the new education funding could pave the way for smaller class sizes by increasing the number of certified teachers and giving schools the chance to open space to accommodate more classes.

In an interview with KUNR, Ginsburg said he supports school choice. 

Taylor noted she supports providing funding for a wide range of public school options, including charter schools, magnet schools, and career and technical academies, but does not support state subsidies for private schools.

“I am not supportive of taking money from a woefully underfunded public school system and giving it to our profit system,” Taylor said.

Health care

Both Taylor and Guinsburg have said they support policies to incentivize Nevada graduates in health care fields to stay in Nevada in order to address the worker shortage. Both candidates also support investing in graduate medical education and growing health care workforce training programs, like residencies.

Taylor said she would look at establishing a state loan forgiveness program for health care providers working in the state, similar to programs offered in other states. She also said she would support reviewing Medicaid reimbursement rates and establishing prescription drug price caps negotiated by Medicare under the Inflation Reduction Act.

On his campaign site, Ginsburg  said he supports Lombardo’s 3-year health and wellness policy program. That plan includes supporting competitive reimbursement rates for public programs, primary care loan forgiveness, and identifying dedicated funding streams for public health services. 

Affordable housing 

If elected, Taylor said one of top priorities in the Senate would be addressing affordable housing.

Taylor said she wants to find ways to curb corporate ownership of single-family homes, which she believes are removing housing stock from the market and “jacking up the price.”

“Those corporate landlords who have no investment in making sure that the people in our community, we’re talking working people, can afford a place to live,” Taylor said. 

Incentivizing developers to build affordable housing through public-private partnerships is the most pragmatic approach to growing affordable housing stock, said Taylor.

Taylor also said she supports revising Nevada’s rapid eviction process to protect renters. In 2022, Taylor supported a bill that would have required landlords to make the first court filing in an eviction case instead of a tenant. The bill was later vetoed by Lombardo.

“We’re one of the few states that really puts the onus on the person being evicted,” Taylor said. “I think that’s something that we should take a look at.”

In the interview with KUNR, Ginsburg echoed Lombardo’s assertion that to create affordable housing in Nevada, the federal government should turn over public land for development.