Paper or Plastic in Sparks

There are rumors swirling about mayoral candidates in the City of Sparks. Picon has received a number of messages from our readers pondering if Christine Garvey will do a 2022 repeat run for mayor and asking more about silently announced mayoral candidate Wendi Rawson who owns Engine 8 Urban Winery in Sparks. Some folks are saying former Ward 5 Councilmember Kristopher Dahir will run. But come on Sparks voters, you’re basically stuck with two choices Mayor Ed Lawson, who is quietly raising money for his reelection bid and termed-out Ward 4 Councilmember Charlene Bybee, who seems to not be concerned about all that lovely money Lawson is raising, and is staying coy about her run - but telling constituents, who are contacting us, she is running. This caused us to think Ed Lawson vs. Charlene Bybee is a study in political redundancy.

The City of Sparks is about to witness what political scientists call "the illusion of choice"—that magical moment when voters get to pick between two candidates who are essentially the same person wearing different name tags.

In the red corner, we have Mayor Ed Lawson, a conservative Republican with famously thin skin who squeaked past the virtually unknown Christine Garvey by about 800 votes in 2022. In the blue corner—wait, sorry, also the red corner—we have Councilmember Charlene Bybee, a conservative Republican with equally thin skin who's being termed out after twelve years of representing Ward 4's reliably Republican voters.

It's like choosing between Coke and Pepsi, if both beverages were made from the same syrup and had identical flavoring.

Both candidates share a remarkable gift for limited people skills, making them perfectly matched opponents in the "Who Can Connect Least Effectively with Voters" championship. Lawson has distinguished himself through social media rants that make one wonder if someone should hide his phone, while Bybee—a former flight attendant—apparently gets her feelings hurt if someone so much as glances in her general direction with insufficient enthusiasm.

A couple of Mayor Ed Lawson’s social media rants.

The entertainment value peaked when Lawson stuck his foot so far in his mouth he nearly swallowed his ankle, ranting about legislators being "public employees or union members" and suggesting they only pass laws that "pad their pockets or their friends." Because nothing says "elect me to work with other government officials" quite like publicly insulting the entire legislature.

Bybee is responsible for aiding, endorsing, walking with Commissioner Clara Andriola get her elected in 2024 and will that help or hurt Bybee. At a recent event Picon covered we noted Commissioner Andriola had Mayor Ed Lawson sit with her omitting Bybee from being by her side.

The most substantive difference between these candidates appears to be chromosomal. Both are conservative, both are thin-skinned, both have questionable people skills, and both seem uniquely qualified to lead Sparks into an era of... well, pretty much exactly what Sparks already has, a budget deficit of $18 million.

Voters might reasonably ask: "Is this really the best we can do?" The answer, apparently, is yes—if your definition of "best" includes a choice between two people who could probably share the same campaign platform, the same talking points, and quite possibly the same therapist.

It's democracy in action, Sparks style: Why have meaningful choice when you can have the illusion of difference?