On August 20th, the Nevada Commission on Ethics will hold a meeting to “discuss maintaining the public’s trust.” That’s adorable. Maybe they can start by actually acting on ethics complaints before they collect dust thick enough to qualify as historic artifacts.

Take the ongoing cases against Reno City Councilmember Devon Reese. Months and months of nothing — like the Commission’s motto is “Delay until politically safe.” Sound familiar? It should. They pulled the same stunt in 2024, conveniently waiting until after the election to drop findings on another Reese complaint.

Ah, Nevada politics — where grudges age like fine wine and nothing is ever as straightforward as it seems.

Back in the summer of 2024, after a particularly lively commission meeting, a campaign insider decided to aim a shot at Commissioner Mike Clark by filing an Open Meeting Law complaint. But instead of taking it to the Nevada Commission on Ethics — you know, the usual route for such political potshots — our insider went straight to the Attorney General’s Office. Apparently, he’s more “special” (or “in the know”) than us mere mortals.

n a decision raising eyebrows across Nevada’s political landscape, the Nevada Commission on Ethics has cleared City Councilmember Kathleen Taylor of any wrongdoing—despite substantiated concerns over her use of her campaign email address and involving her campaign infrastructure for official city business.

The ethics complaint, notably initiated by the commission’s own Executive Director Ross Armstrong, pointed to instances where Taylor allegedly blurred the lines between her campaign activities and official duties.

When Campaign Cash Comes with Handcuffs: Should Kromer's Political Donations Be Returned?

The arrest of Stephen Kromer of formerly of Kromer Investments (he resigned from his family’s firm back in February 2025 when these charges started to bubble up) on 31 criminal counts took place May 16, 2025. With $9.1 million in taxpayer money allegedly vanished from a failed rural internet project, the spotlight now turns to those who benefited from Kromer's political generosity before his fall from grace.

While reading today's Reno Gazette Journal, we couldn't help but cheer their coverage of the latest development debacle in the City of Reno - you know, the one Councilmember Devon Reese is championing from his million-dollar perch in Somersett.

Speaking of Somersett... Isn't it fascinating how Reese pushes for dense development everywhere except in his own upscale neighborhood?

Follow the Money: A quick peek at Reese's Secretary of State Contribution and Expense reports tells you everything you need to know. Developer dollars flow like wine into his campaign coffers, and surprise, surprise - he never met a development project he didn't love.

Transparency in local government shouldn't be a game of hide and seek, yet Councilmember Kathleen Taylor appears to be testing those boundaries. Despite winning the Ward 1 election by a razor-thin margin of just 287 votes out of 14,463 cast, Taylor initially attempted to direct city business communications to a campaign email—a move that raises serious questions about public records accountability.

Wannabe Mayor Councilmember Devon Reese, splitting hairs finer than a Vegas showgirl's eyelashes. So you didn't get an "ethics violation" - you just got a special invitation to a "deferral agreement" and mandatory ethics training in 2023.

Potato, po-tah-to... Violation, deferral... What's in a name? That which we call an ethics breach by any other name would smell as... interesting.

Oh, you Renoites crying "no politics, it's only 2025!" Bless your hearts. While you're trying to recover from your holiday food coma, Councilmember Devon Reese is already playing political musical chairs for the 2026 mayor's race. Because nothing says "I'm totally confident about my future" quite like scrambling for support a year early. Picon calls it “political chumming ,” throwing bait in the water to see what support you can catch.

Speaking of confidence... let's talk about that stunning Ward 5 victory. And by stunning, we mean Reese scraped by with 1,412 votes against checks notes ...who exactly is Brian Cassidy? Despite having a war chest that would make a Vegas casino blush and every developer, builder, and power broker in his pocket, Reese barely outperformed a guy whose biggest claim to fame was some local TV commercials for his small business. Talk about a profile in courage.