Empty Aisles, Empty Promises: Garcia’s Sun Valley Problem
Commissioner Mariluz Garcia at an event for Start-Up Week last year at Reno Public Market … so we made it a meme. If she was with all those start-ups she should have talked about Sun Valley’s impending banking and grocery difficulties.
Sun Valley doesn’t just have a grocery problem—it has a leadership problem. While residents watched their only supermarket circle the drain, Commissioner Mariluz Garcia somehow missed the smell. Maybe she didn’t notice the bare shelves. Maybe she never set foot in her own neighborhood store. Or maybe she just didn’t care—until election season rolled around.
Garcia was elected in 2022, sworn in by January 2023, and has had plenty of time to act. But she didn’t ring the warning bell. She didn’t rally the community. She didn’t even make a peep until the doors slammed shut. Now, suddenly, she’s Sun Valley’s “town crier,” trying to look like she’s leading the charge when in reality she’s just showing up late to the funeral.
And her big move? Contacting Senators Cortez Masto and Rosen. Because nothing screams “bold leadership” like passing the buck to D.C. Meanwhile, her fellow commissioners aren’t coming to the rescue either. Alexis Hill is too busy measuring drapes for the governor’s mansion. Clara Andriola can’t fundraise her way out of a paper bag for the mental health facility. Jeanne Herman doesn’t bother with Garcia, and Mike Clark is laser-focused on a fire station for West Washoe Valley. Translation: Garcia’s out of allies and out of excuses.
So what’s left? Coffee chats and photo ops. Gather a crowd, nod a lot, pretend you’re listening—then take credit for whatever scraps someone else brings to the table. Don’t be fooled, folks. Garcia isn’t fighting for a grocery store; she’s fighting for her political survival.
The truth? The only thing emptier than Sun Valley’s grocery aisles is Garcia’s track record. And no amount of staged community conversations is going to fill that void.