From Ballots to Bylines: Former Registrar of Voters Switches Teams—And It’s Gonna Get Awkward

The luncheon is tomorrow with the former Washoe County Registrar of Voters as a guest speaker. Get a realtor friend to take you.

In the always-entertaining world of Northern Nevada politics, career paths have a funny way of curving in on themselves like a cul-de-sac. Case in point: former Washoe County Registrar of Voters Jamie Rodriguez, who has landed herself a new gig at NVR Government Affairs, the lobbying arm of Nevada REALTORS® — a group that checks notes advocates for private property rights and, well, keeping taxes in check.

That’s right. Rodriguez is now in the corner of the folks who cringe every time a politician whispers the phrase “property tax increase.” And the irony? She’s now on a potential collision course with Washoe County Commission Chair Alexis Hill, Northern Nevada’s unofficial cheer captain for tax hikes.

Yes, the same Alexis Hill who could barely contain her excitement when Rodriguez was promoted to Registrar of Voters. Back then, Hill acted like Rodriguez had just been elected homecoming queen. The support was loud, proud, and sparkly. Fast forward to 2025, and Rodriguez has traded in elections for real estate policy — and is now aligned with a crowd that may find Hill’s “raise a tax, then spend it” fiscal philosophy a little hard to square with the concept of home ownership.

And oh, let’s not forget the now-infamous “tear it down to the studs” era of the Registrar’s Office — a metaphor that the Reno Gazette Journal generously used to describe the complete gut-job happening inside the county’s elections HQ. Rodriguez and retiring-County Manager Eric Brown promised to rebuild trust and efficiency. What we got, allegedly, was a stapler-related unraveling. We’ll save that nugget for later. (Yes, the stapler matters.)

The bottom line? Rodriguez is now working for a politically powerful group with a sharp interest in tax policy, housing legislation, and, inevitably, clashing with local officials who treat homeowner wallets like vending machines.

Will she have to publicly square off with her old fan club? Will Commissioner Hill have to pretend she doesn’t remember the time she praised Rodriguez’s leadership while watching her now become a very well-informed, well-connected policy opponent?

Rodriguez will be in Carson City tomorrow as part of her new role. It might be your best opportunity yet to ask what really happened at the Registrar’s Office.