Washoe County Chaos: A Window Into the County’s Increasingly Indefensible Leadership
First Amended Complaint and Jury Demand Cari-Ann P. Burgess vs Washoe County.
If there’s one position more unstable than a Nevada slot machine on dollar night, it’s the Registrar of Voters in Washoe County. And once again, the revolving door is spinning—with lawsuits, cover-ups, whispers, and one very quiet County Manager in the eye of the storm, who just was missing for a month.
Since County Manager Eric Brown took the reins in November 2019, he’s burned through four registrars. Four. At this point, you’d have better luck keeping a cactus alive in a snowstorm than holding down that job under Brown’s management. And what’s the excuse? According to the county, it’s “threats” against election officials.
Except… those threats seem to vanish into thin air whenever public records are requested. No documentation. No reports. Just a vague defense: they were implied.
Implied? What does that even mean? Is Washoe County being run on vibes now?
Things got real on Friday, May 30, when former Interim Registrar Cari-Ann Burgess filed her first Amended Complaint against the county, saying she was wronged. And from the details in the complaint—it sure looks like she was. We bet former Chief Deputy District Attorney Mary Kandaras is relieved her retirement party was yesterday, but we’ll be hearing more from her via depositions.
At the top of the page on the left is the reference to former Washoe County Registrar of Voters Jamie Rodriguez’s departure which was clearly a cover up by the county. We heard she threw something at another employee, oh, and hey Washoe County we know who it was and what department they were moved back to.
Us silly old residents of Washoe County had no idea her predecessor, Jamie Rodriguez (hand-picked by Brown), had been put on leave after an “altercation” with another employee in the office. No public explanation. No press release. Rodriguez vanished into the bureaucratic ether. Classic cover-up vibes? You decide.
Then enters Burgess—again selected by Brown—who reportedly did her job quietly until one of Brown’s assistant county managers decided to start badgering her. And here’s where it gets real spicy: that same assistant county manager had a nearly identical drama-filled history in the City of Reno, which ended up costing taxpayers $300,000 in a lawsuit settlement.
Déjà vu, anyone?
Why was this same official allowed to repeat history under Brown’s watch? Get a clue Eric. Why would a registrar, who reports to Brown, be harassed by one of his deputies without consequence?
Picon hopes to be vindicated as we have expressed that Commissioner Andriola is not as kind as she pretends to be on the dais - just check out the comments in the lawsuit. Also, read it and weep when Commissioner Hill put an Assistant County Manager in charge of the ROV’s office approved by County Manager Eric Brown.
And just when you think the plot can’t twist any further—enter Commission Chair Alexis Hill, who reportedly put that same assistant county manager, Kate Thomas, in charge of the Registrar’s Office. Remember Kate and Alexis both worked a the City of Reno together, they were and seem still to be ‘besties.’ Since Thomas was put in charge of the ROV office, according to the lawsuit, it’s been chaos behind the scenes.
Desi Arnaz said it best: “Eric Brown, you got some 'splaining to do.”
We have a source inside the Distrcit Attorney’s office that has told us Brown is on the record with the DA’s office that they have to keep him from being deposed at all costs. We know the DA’s office will attempt to get this lawsuit dismissed but with all the juicy intel we don’t think that will be possible.
What we pulled out of the lawsuit is just a bit to digest. We urge all residents to read the lawsuit and ask County Manager Eric Brown for an explanation.
For instance the new Registrar of Voters, again hand-picked by County Manager Eric Brown and his super secret committee that needed to sign non-disclosure agreements, Andrew McDonald has an ‘issue of ethical concern raising questions of his moral turpitude and ability to separate work from his personal life.’ If you check out Mr. McDonald on LinkedIn he has a gap of employment is there something we all should know, and what is his connection to Washoe County’s Chief Information Officer Behzad Zamanian.
The Human Resources Director of Washoe County factory reset Cari-Ann Burgess county cellphone in front of Chief Deputy District Attorney Mary Kandaras.
How many registrars have to come and go? How many lawsuits need to be filed? And how much will this latest mess cost Washoe County taxpayers?
This isn’t just a case of bad management—it’s starting to look like institutional dysfunction with a PR gloss.
And we strongly recommend you read the lawsuit. It’s not just a legal filing—it’s a window into the county’s increasingly indefensible leadership.