If the Mayor Cant Do it Who Can with Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve (S4E04)
Reno, Nevada Mayor Hillary Schieve took it personal. Facing real personal challenges in her family she saw how hard it was to get help for people facing mental health problems. Because of her experiences, she set out to make a difference and make it easier for those seeking mental health solutions. And not just in Reno, but through her position as president of the US Conference of Mayors, she made it a national crusade.
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Transcription
David Martin: This is the good government show.
Hillary Schieve: I have a lot of faith in mayors, and quite honestly, I think they’re the ones that are really running the country on so many levels.
It’s really been pretty miraculous how much Reno has changed the diversity, the culture. and so, yeah, it’s not it’s not just a gaming town anymore. Government always takes the reactive approach. We need to take the proactive approach. And that typically is not what you see. I’m a very positive person, so I just try to focus on the things that I can change and making, you know, making great things happen in my city.
Well, you know, I’m an X figure skater, so the additive side of me, is really fierce.
David Martin: If a mayor can’t easily find where to get good mental health care, what chance to the people of America can’t easily find where to get good mental health care? What chance to the people of your city has a system? That was the question. Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve answer when she said mental. Ready for the conversation? Welcome to Eric’s government show little city of the most of them.
Well, we ready for a great conversation with the mayor of Snow Storm. Biggest little city in the world. Reno, Nevada. Snow of a week. We had to overcome a few scheduling challenges. A snow storm with up to ten feet of snow. The first city we did, and as president we talked about how mayor is becoming mental health. How do you make in her city?
And again, as president of the country recorded this episode. And he’s also trying to make Reno a tiny city and a green. As we talk, all that’s coming up, Conference of Mayors president is over. So listen, after the conversation and I’ll let you know how she did as president. First break, then our conversation, and then stick around for my updates.
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So, welcome finally, to The Good Government show with Mayor Hillary Shively of Reno, Nevada. It is great to finally have you here. Thank you for coming.
Hillary Schieve: Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
David Martin: And we had a little trouble scheduling. We had snowstorms, we had personal crises. But everything’s good today. What’s the weather.
Hillary Schieve: Today? Oh, it’s beautiful. It’s probably going to be high 60s. So I can’t complain because, you know, it’s my fault, including the weather. So I’m taking credit for it. Okay.
David Martin: and one of the reasons why we, we had our previous, scheduled, interview scheduled was, you had, like, record snowfall in, like, two days. and I, I’ve read way too much about the Donner Party, which is about 20 minutes west of where of where you are, where they had like ten feet of snow. How do you manage something like that?
Hillary Schieve: Well, it’s challenging, I think you know that. Those are the days that mayors literally have, you know, anxiety and unrest because you’re constantly trying to make sure that you have every single snow plow and tool ready to go in the, in the tool box. But we’re kind of used to it, right, being.
David Martin: Yeah, but you’re not used to ten feet of snow in two days. And that’s pretty much what you have, right?
Hillary Schieve: That’s a little bit different. Yeah, it’s silly, but you know, you just try to make sure that you’re firing on all four cylinders and, and it’s a tough time. I don’t think people realize how hard that is for our public works department. Those guys work, you know, literally for three days straight without going home, seeing their families, those, you know, types of things.
But, yeah, it was really challenging because they closed the pass. Right. So that becomes challenging, whether it’s like with your mail and and by the way, it’s kind of weird. the United States Postal Service wants to change our mail service to Sacramento. And so we’ve been kind of going through this big debate about it. And all of our congressional leaders have been, you know, sort of screaming.
I’ve been screaming that you can’t do this. and they’re going to do it anyway. But that was sort of the, the sort of the calm before the storm where we all started to say, you cannot do this because look at, you know, people can’t get their medications, those kinds of things. So that snowstorm really sort of highlighted the issues.
If our mail should end up going, to the Sacramento agency from Reno.
David Martin: So actually some good came out of a huge snowstorm.
Hillary Schieve: Well, not yet. Just have rational hearing. And our our senator from Nevada, Jacky Rosen, did a phenomenal job. And so we’ll see. We’re all keeping our fingers crossed. But I think it really highlighted the fact that our mail needs to stay local.
David Martin: Okay. Now we met, in Washington DC at the conference of Mayors, of which you are president. So give us some optimism from your view. you know, nationally, you’re in touch with mayors across the country. How’s government doing? Well, remember, this is a good government show.
Hillary Schieve: It’s not the bad government.
David Martin: No, it is not the bad government.
Hillary Schieve: You know, I mean, mayors are really interesting. We’re I mean, some I mean, a lot of mayors obviously are parties. But for the most part, when you’re a mayor, we always say there’s no Democratic or Republican way to sow a pothole. Right? Right. We are very bipartisan. We the issues that affect us are very, very local and we live in our communities.
So we’re always trying to, be a part of the solution. and we also, you know, we work 24 seven, 365 days a year. And so we don’t get the opportunity to shut down, like you see in Washington, right? We we work all the time, and we want to make sure that our cities are running really well.
But, mayors are they’re really interesting because we don’t play really into the national politics that you typically see. So for I would say, honestly, mayors on a totally different level. So, I, I’m, I’m very optimistic in a lot of ways. And I think people really should have a lot of hope, especially in, in their local government.
David Martin: What is it that you see people are doing across the nation? Mayors are doing it across the nation. That gives you hope that inspires you?
Hillary Schieve: Well, they’re big time problem solvers, but they’re very, very optimistic. And they’re big time fighters like you definitely saw in the pandemic. sometimes you would see, you know, mayors sort of fighting with their governors, you know, for different reasons, but they’re just so local that, you know, these are people that they know their neighbors, they see them at the grocery stores.
They see them.
David Martin: Well, I was going to ask you, how long does it take you to get out of the grocery store?
Hillary Schieve: Well, I always joke. I go about 1155 at night, so I, you know, I would say mayors are also very entrepreneurial. They’re very visionary. you know, we’re big time collaborators. And again, I just think because we are so local and we know our neighbors and we live in the communities in which we serve that we want, we want it better for all.
So it’s not nearly as political. Okay. but I would just say that, you know, I have a lot of faith in mayors, and quite honestly, I think they’re the ones that are really running the country on so many levels.
David Martin: So I’ve never been to Reno, you know, heard a little bit about it over the years. tell me about the name. The biggest little city in the world. Where does that come from? And is it the biggest little city of the world?
Hillary Schieve: Actually, it was named, by a gentleman from Sacramento. Okay. And even from Reno. And I think he got paid a hundred bucks to name it Reno. Okay. Reno is really interesting. I mean, it’s really evolved. I was born and raised here, and, you know, we have 300 and, 20 days of sunshine. People probably don’t know that about Reno, so that makes my job a little easier when we have a lot of sunshine.
And,
David Martin: It could be snow and sunshine, but it’s still sunshine.
Hillary Schieve: And for that snow. Okay. But, you know, we we have been known as a very predominantly gaming town for, you know, decades and decades. It’s what kind of what we’re known for. And, of course, back in the day. Yeah. Quickie divorces. Okay. for sure. And then, you know, we there’s been sort of this big transformation in Reno in the last ten years.
We’re what they call a breakout city. And a lot of that has to do with a lot of the tech industry that’s moved here, like Tesla, Amazon, Apple, have all been building and investing here in Reno. And it’s changed just dramatically. And then the other thing that I’ve focused on a lot is arts and culture. you know, we were not really known as a, you know, predominantly an arts and culture hub.
And, you know, we are today, we have Burning Man, you know. Have you ever heard? Of course. Yes. I mean, right in our backyard. Yes I have okay. Many, many times, not only have I attended days, yes, I have ten mayors out there. Oh. So, it’s the largest pop up city in the world during that week. And there’s a lot to learn about it, a lot to learn about sustainability, a lot to learn about infrastructure.
It’s, you know, brings in $70 million of economic impact into my city. So there’s a lot to learn, when it comes to Burning Man. And then also, I’m a big believer in arts. I think it’s the way that you package a city. you know, when you first arrive in a city, when you get out of the airport or, you know, entering a new city and you see some art that inspires you in some way or makes you think a little bit different.
you know, I think that it changes the perception of people’s minds. And so I’m big into art therapy and expression and just, you know, performing arts, those kinds of things that I think, make a city healthier. So we really I mean, we’ve infused a lot of art throughout Reno, and it’s it’s changed dramatically. So we have a lot of artists that move here, a lot of young entrepreneurs.
you know, it’s really been pretty miraculous how much Reno has changed the diversity, the culture. and so, yeah, it’s not it’s not just a gaming town anymore. It’s really become incredibly vibrant. And, it’s it’s exciting.
David Martin: You talk about Reno as a gaming town and certainly, casinos and gaming as part of your legacy. When one thinks of Nevada, they think of Las Vegas, which is the, you know, big gaming city in your state. What what are the big what’s the biggest difference in coming to Reno and going to Vegas?
Hillary Schieve: Oh, it’s it’s night and day. Yeah. I.
David Martin: You know, I get better odds at the tables in Reno. Maybe.
Hillary Schieve: Well, we definitely celebrate jackpots. Much more, I would say. But good. You know, it’s it’s a whole different dynamic. The the landscape here and our terrain. We have one of the best backyard playgrounds you could ever ask for. Incredible skiing. you know, summer sports are phenomenal. Just 20 minutes away, up the hill to Lake Tahoe. I mean, it’s, it’s very, very different.
We are not, you know, the big glitzy glamor shows that you would see in Las Vegas, which is all, you know, that’s all great because tourism is fantastic. And I’m a huge supporter of tourism. Our our tourism is just a little bit different. It’s more, you know, outdoorsy. And I would say in the day we play really hard and at night we play really hard too.
So we can have the best of both worlds. Right. we’re a little gritty too at night, probably because of the, the gaming component. But then in the day, you know, beautiful blue skies, you know, very healthy lifestyle, you know, so we get a lot of people that are big sports enthusiasts, especially outdoor enthusiasts.
David Martin: So let’s talk about some of the things that you’re doing as mayor and some of the things that you are championing. You ran, and have made mental health care, a priority, both, as, president of the Conference of Mayors and as, mayor of Reno. How did this come about? I know there’s some family story in there.
And what have you been able to accomplish?
Hillary Schieve: That’s such a good question.
David Martin: do you feel like you’ve made. Do you feel like you’ve made a difference? Do you feel like you’ve made strides in mental health care?
Hillary Schieve: Yeah, I, I do only because the feedback that I received a lot of people say to me, you know, Mayor Seavey, I never talked about my own mental health struggles because of the stigma. And I didn’t talk about sort of what was happening in my family and sort of also the things that you see as a mayor, especially when it comes to, you know, we’re on the ground so much so, especially when it comes to homelessness, addiction.
you know, you see a lot of that. And I for so long I didn’t talk about it because there was such a stigma to it. And, you know, it was very predominant in my family. for years and years. I just sort of grew up, in a family where I had a brother and a sister that struggled with addiction and depression and bipolar.
And so especially being a mayor, I didn’t want anyone to know that, you know, at home, you know, it was pretty dysfunctional, right? And so for, for so long, it was something I never talked about. And then, you know, unfortunately, a few years ago, I lost my brother and my sister within a very short period of time, of a couple months of each other, and it was due to mental illness and I and it was during the pandemic as well.
So it was really, really tough on me because being in a pandemic and being a mayor was just beyond anything that you could imagine. And I was actually the first city to shut down in Nevada. and that’s a really, really hard thing to do. And, you know, because there’s no playbook on doing anything like that. So during that time, whenever I lost them and we, you know, we were sort of feeling incredibly out of control during a pandemic.
I started to struggle with my, my own mental health. And, you know, it wasn’t until a reporter came to me and said, can I tell your story? Because she’d read a little bit about my brother and sister, but it was something that I had hid for many, many years. And finally, whenever I told my story, I. This huge weight lifted off my shoulders and I just thought, If I’m struggling right now to this extent, then my entire community is is struggling.
And obviously, it’s, you know, across the.
David Martin: The work. So you, you know, like any other issue, you shine a light on it and that frees people to discuss it and bring it out into the open and deal with it. Right.
Hillary Schieve: Well, that was exactly it, because I said, if your mayor’s not talking about it, then who is? So once I came out and talked about, you know, the challenges with my family and even my own mental health, then a lot of people started opening up to me. I started to receive letters from all across the country, and a lot of people saying, I could never talk about it.
I could never talk about it. So your story as a mayor just highlights even more so that this isn’t isolated, that many people are in the dark. And by you talking about it, I feel comfortable talking about it. And so actually at that time, I think it was it was really good for me to sort of recognize because I, I thought, we’ve got to do something different.
We’ve got to provide access to mental health care. And I learned a big lesson because I started calling around to see if I could get in to speak to someone to go get therapy. And at the time, because it was in the pandemic, it was even more challenging. Sure, what I learned was that we have such an incredible shortage of health care workers.
I learned that you can have great health insurance. but that still doesn’t matter. You’re going to have to pay in cash.
David Martin: I think I read somewhere you made a comment like, if the mayor can’t find help, what chance do other people have?
Hillary Schieve: It’s true. And when I called, I obviously didn’t say, hey, I’m the mayor because I want right everyone else, right? Yeah. So that, you know, it was it was a huge eye opener. So I started to think really differently. Like, how can I get my citizens therapy if they need it? Especially right now in a pandemic when people aren’t working and, you know, staying at home and there are so many kids that go to school just to have a healthy outlet in life, right?
Right. you know, because home life is really challenging for a lot of people. And so I reached out to a platform, an online platform, and I took some of our CARES act dollars that we got from the federal government. And I bought every single citizen a subscription for mental health care, virtually for a year. Wow. And yeah, and it was.
David Martin: That’s that’s something you bought into. So I want to make sure I got this correctly. You bought an online health care. Mental health care sessions for the citizens?
Hillary Schieve: Yeah.
David Martin: Wow. Okay. That’s something.
Hillary Schieve: Around 50,000 approximately, which.
David Martin: You know, budget wise is kind of a drop in the bucket, right? I mean, it’s not nothing, but it’s not. We’re not talking millions here.
Hillary Schieve: Well, it it costs a lot. Okay. But it was the CARES act money that was given to cities to, to somehow use it for Covid relief and those types of things. Okay. And so, it was just, you know, one portion of it, but it was something I felt so strongly about. And, you know, I thought, this is actually the approach that we need to take, because government always takes the reactive approach.
We need to take the proactive approach. And that typically is not what you see. So I thought and it was very risky, a lot of people criticize me for it. it was it was challenging. But you know, once people started to use it, it really opened my eyes. A how many people are struggling? B 42% of the people that use the platform had never sought out therapy, ever.
42%. So that tells you a lot of.
David Martin: Like almost half. Right?
Hillary Schieve: Right. And then we saw a very high amount of 18 to 24 year olds. you know, mental health in this country right now has just been disastrous for, you know, our, our younger populations, we’re seeing high rates of suicide, those types of things. So I, I said because like I said, I took a lot of criticism for it, but I always felt like if we can save one person’s life, then you can’t put a price on it.
And it was expensive. It was about $1 million. And, you know, I just thought, think about it. If we can avoid someone using. Right. There were a lot of people that suffer from addiction and, you know, probably feeling like using especially in a pandemic or, you know, beating their child or whatever, if we can avoid some of these things that cost cities an astronomical amount.
because we’re doing something about their mental health, we’re going to be in a much better space. So, you know, it turned out in the end we had about 5000 users. And, it just the, the letters I received, just some of them were just so heartbreaking, but yet at the same time, because they use the service, it they it truly saved some people’s lives.
And I’m just, I it just really gave me a such a different perspective. But it also, you know, mental health care, is something that is not accessible to everyone. And it’s very, very challenging to sort of receive that type of care, for many different reasons. so again, that’s kind of where I became really passionate about it over the letters that I received from people using the subscription, where I was like, this is we have to do something.
We absolutely have to do something. And obviously, you know, most of my life I watched my sister and my brother suffer, you know, so, so, so much. And so, you know, now it’s just been something that I’m very passionate about and it’s not something that I’ve heard a lot of politicians talk about or even to the, the level to understand the dynamics and think about it.
If you don’t have your mental health, there is no way that you’re going to have, a healthy city, a healthy country. You would not have education, you would not have infrastructure, nothing. You cannot run a city without strong mental health.
David Martin: And I understand that you sent a survey to your counterparts at the Conference of Mayors to get a look at what is happening nationally. What did that survey tell you?
Hillary Schieve: Yeah, it was incredibly alarming. About 90% of mayors said that they don’t have services in their city. And typically one of the biggest reasons is that the way that cities are funded, that money usually comes from the federal government to the state and then goes to the counties. And the reason it goes to the counties is that health and human services are typically under the county, and they’re not under cities, and that’s particularly alarming because it’s our first responders that are dealing with the crisis.
It’s our ERS that are dealing with the crisis. It’s our jails. We’re using our jails as mental health hospitals. You know, typically in ERS, they are not equipped at all to handle mental health. That’s where they fix, you know, broken bones, not broken brains.
David Martin: I think I have a quote from you, someone that says, we shouldn’t have to call the police to get our loved ones medical health today.
Hillary Schieve: Yeah, exactly. And I went through that with my brother so many times that I just I couldn’t believe that I would have to have him arrested in order to get him, you know, into a program that, you know, that a judge would say, hey, we can get you into this program, but it shouldn’t have to go to that extent.
And it’s the only health care crisis that we send police officers to. We don’t send doctors to mental health crisis is on the street.
David Martin: Have, you know, some cities have started sending social workers out with police officers? Have you been able to do that arena.
Hillary Schieve: Yeah. So we have, a regional team now because I’ve really been pushing and we’re doing a 24 seven, mental health facility so that police officers, you know, when they encounter someone, on the street or even even in a home environment, it doesn’t matter what it looks like, that they have a place to take them, because right now, most cities, the only place to take them is the jail and the ERS and the hours.
Honestly, you know, they they don’t know how to deal with it. So they typically release you very, very early in times of crisis or times of feeling suicidal or homicidal. It’s just it’s really, really dangerous. And so cities are now because I think a lot of the work that we’ve been doing at the conference, looking at all these different models, you know, to deploy.
And so I think that we’re finally starting to see large amounts of success. And I, you know, I would say to people, I don’t know if they really are aware the amount of mental illness that we’re seeing on our streets with our homeless population addiction, you know, those types of crisises. So we have to, you know, hit the ground running and, and tackle it.
Like I said, we have to be proactive instead of reactive. And that comes with sending out those mental health professionals, along with our first responders.
David Martin: So let’s switch topics a little bit. It seems like you’ve been able to make some good progress on the homeless situation in Reno. something called the Nevada Cares campus. Can you tell me a little bit about how that’s going deter?
Hillary Schieve: let’s see.
David Martin: This is good.
Hillary Schieve: News. This is good news. Yes. Well, and here’s the thing. It was a project that we all did regionally. So I’m very proud of that because I think that that’s it’s very, very important to work with all your partners. Usually that’s not always the case for mayors. so I have great relationships with my regional partners and that really helps tremendously.
But it was a project that was supposed to take five years, and it literally came in about ten months into the process that we got it up and running. So you, you see, sometimes you can get through the bureaucracy faster than, than you think. If, you know, if you really believe you can, you will. So, but we built this care’s campus, and we’re really trying to take a different approach when it comes to homelessness and addiction.
And what I mean by that is not one size fits all. We have to triage the reasons why people are homeless and how they got there, because everything that we’ve been doing in this country has been failing. There’s been sort of what they call this Housing First model, which is fantastic, but it does not work for everyone. And it’s sort of the model that cities have adopted for years and years and years.
And that is, you know, just put people in housing that they’ll be fine. We can just put them in housing. But we really know that that does not work. depending on the reason why they’re homeless. So we have to triage because we see it all the time. Sometimes it’s situational, sometimes it’s addiction, sometimes it’s mental health. And if we don’t treat that first, then they can never sustain long term housing.
So we’re really taking a different approach when people are starting to experience homelessness. Sometimes you see, you know, senior populations that really it’s just because they’re living on these very tight fixed incomes. And so then they tend to fall into homelessness. But those are people too, that we see can sustain long term housing. So those people were great for the Housing First model.
But if someone is suffering from mental illness or addiction, typically they can’t sustain housing. So for those.
David Martin: Living in my house, but that’s only part of the.
Hillary Schieve: Solution, right? And so for those individuals, you have to get them care first so that they can sustain that later on. And so you got to give them the tools first to be successful down the road or treatment or health care, those types of things. And so that’s where the CARES campus is a little bit different. And also we have pods to we’re doing we brought in sort of these modulars so that people can have privacy.
They feel, you know, not nearly the stigma that you would see with people experiencing homelessness, you know, there’s dignity is really, really important. Now, listen, it is not perfect. We still have a long way to go. But I think our our approach is something where we’ve said what we’ve been doing for decades has been failing. Now we have to do something different.
And we’re seeing really, some phenomenal results. And we’ve had, you know, a lot of success. And, you know, we’ve been talking about it nationally and they’ve been highlighting our program.
David Martin: People have come to Reno to see what you’re doing from other cities.
Hillary Schieve: Yeah, they do. And, you know, so we’re really proud of it. And take a lot of pride. But like I said, I think, you know, so much of it too happens to be the regional partnerships that we have, because you tend to typically see a lot of fragmented politics, especially when it comes to, you know, the homeless situation, because it’s in especially on the West Coast, it’s very, very stark.
David Martin: I know that you have, come up with some climate programs and you sort of declared Reno to be, a green city are moving in that direction. Just tell me a couple of things you’ve been able to accomplish.
Hillary Schieve: A lot of people don’t know this, but Reno is the fastest warming city in the country, so we are really, really attuned to it. We have partnered with a lot of, you know, innovative companies that are local, like we I’m a big entrepreneur, and so, I like to work with our local entrepreneurs, and one of them is called M0.
And they measure our power in real time. So we can be very, very nimble. typically, you know, you don’t see a lot of governments do that. So we’ve been doing that. So we can really pinpoint where, you know, that power usage is and dial it back. also, you know, we have Tesla right here in our backyard.
So, you know, the the good old EV vehicles, you know, doing a lot of programs in that space, Leed buildings, making sure that we have green buildings, incentivizing, the people that use them, those types of things. And we’re always doing climate initiatives and, you know, we got to be good to our planet. So we’re just something we’re very, very passionate about.
And then I have a council member who is the champion on trees and really building up our tree canopy. I think that’s really important. I get to work with really talented people. So I’m very fortunate.
David Martin: I want to ask you about something else. A whole different topic. You’ve been sort of a victim of kind of some, some dirty, some kind of nasty politics. And, you know, we don’t really get into politics on the Good Government show. We try to keep it positive, but how can you turn that into, you know, I guess explaining to citizens, you know, like how this is not helpful or, you know, like, how do you how do you explain to people that, you know, forget all this noise?
We’re we’re we’re working hard. The government still continues to work.
Hillary Schieve: Yeah, I mean, I and well, I was gonna say unfortunately or fortunately, you know, my addiction is work. Okay. I, I am constantly, working and, you know, I,
David Martin: But you were the victim of some pretty nasty politics. As I understand it, somebody trashed your car, you know, brought you up on charges, and, you know, you still have to manage that. You still have to be the.
Hillary Schieve: Mayor, right? I found a GPS tracker under my car, about a year ago. Right. And, it was, it was shocking, quite honestly. And it was alarming because. Think about it. If you find something like that under your car, the first thing you think of is that someone wants to kill you. Yeah. So, that brought a lot of anxiety, I would think a whole new level to sort of the dynamics of politics because we still don’t know who put it there.
It was a private investigator. We do know that. And, we’re going to court right now because I think it’s important to know who it is so that, I can take care of my safety. So even though it’s very, very stressful and I live my life completely differently now because obviously Hennessy.
David Martin: 1140 55 A visit to the supermarket.
Hillary Schieve: Right? Right. Exactly.
David Martin: But how does this how does this help or how does this hurt? The sort of conversation that has to go on every day about, you know, why is government effective? How does it what does that do and how do you manage that? Well.
Hillary Schieve: And also I always think good comes out of certain things. And one of the things that came out of it when that story came out, it was a national story. And I had women from all over sharing their stories about being stalked or some of, you know, the horrific things that have happened to them. And I’m really grateful that, you know, out of it.
The legislature took it upon themselves here in Nevada to outlaw tracking devices on cars. And so I’m really I’m really grateful for that. And there’s a lot of women in Nevada that is that have reached out and said, you know, thank you so much. I was stopped by, you know, a boyfriend or someone I didn’t know, those kinds of things.
So, again, I think when you take an issue and you highlight it, you look at it and say, how can we do something positive with it? And so that’s the good news, is that now in Nevada, it’s against the law. And I sort of feel like I didn’t have anything to do with it. But I think the legislators that did, you know, looked at it and said, we’ve gotten to a place where it’s absolutely unacceptable, whether it’s a politician or whether it’s, you know, your mother, your sister, your brother, it doesn’t matter who it is.
Invasion of privacy can be a very, very scary thing. But at the end of the day, I looked at that bill and I’m super grateful because maybe it’ll save, you know, some young women’s lives or, you know, someone’s life in general just because, now there’s, you know, a law against doing something like that. But I will tell you, it’s it’s been very, very stressful, but I still I also won’t let someone when I’m going to every day and work hard.
you know, and start. Yeah. I still have to go to the grocery store, but I, do take family members with me now. Okay? You know, I, like I said, I had to adjust my life and and live it differently.
David Martin: That.
Hillary Schieve: Yeah. Because we still don’t know who it is. And we’re in court right now, so hopefully one day I’ll be able to, you know, have a little bit of, I guess, peace, when this is over. But for now, you know, I, I’m a very positive person. So I just try to focus on the things that I can change and making, you know, making great things happen in my city.
David Martin: So the Reno Aces are the Triple-A baseball team in Reno. how’s the season looking? And have you got to throw the first pitch you ever.
Hillary Schieve: Oh, I can’t believe you just brought that up. Baseball. well.
David Martin: Yeah, a little bit.
Hillary Schieve: Yeah. Okay. All right, well, we just had our first game. Okay. but, you have a dog, and I’m fostering a couple of dogs here, so I apologize. That’s okay. That’s that’s that I that I do is I have a big basement, and I love the foster dogs. Okay, okay.
David Martin: Because because you have all the free time. So baseball. Do you throw out the first pitch?
Hillary Schieve: Yeah. no, I didn’t throw out the first pitch, but unfortunately, we just had our first game and we lost. Oh, and and I’m very competitive. I hate to lose. And we’re the first team for the Diamondbacks. So, you know, and we have a beautiful stadium here. And so baseball as, you know, is one of my all time favorites.
And we have the baseball initiatives at the US Conference of Mayors. So we do a lot with bringing children into the stadium and, and exposing them to baseball and those kinds of things. But yeah, it’s a sore subject. Dave. Sorry, just our first game. Okay. I told the get get the losses over early and then let’s go for the championship.
David Martin: All right. So we’ll you’ll be following the, the, Reno Aces this year. All right. Now all of that is just, the the prequel to, real conversation we’re going to have, which is our, our, our good government show questionnaire. You are, by the way, you are the USA, USA Today Woman of the year. You’ve, you’re a three term mayor.
You’re a, city councilwoman, for, I think, at least two years and president of the Conference of Mayors. So from where you said define good government.
Hillary Schieve: I think it’s collaboration. I think it’s always being able to work with both sides. I think that it’s, fostering innovation. Not being afraid to fail is good government because government, as you know, makes a lot of mistakes. But I think is when we stop trying is when it is when we fail. And a lot of people remember, politicians are very scared to go out there and make mistakes, right, because they want to get reelected.
So that’s part of the problem. Sometimes they play everything, you know, very, very safe and politically. And if you want good government, you got to take risks. And people might not always embrace that. But I think it’s really, really important. you know, again, it’s it’s something that you have to be willing to take opportunities worth with others.
People that are smarter than you. That’s another big one. There’s a lot of experts that would never run for office, but they’re incredibly talented. And so, you know, reaching out to those people, those are what are going to make a difference.
David Martin: Other than being reelected. You’ve been reelected three times. How do you judge your success, you know, on a weekly or daily basis?
Hillary Schieve: I’m, I’m terrible because I am, I well, you know, I’m an X figure skater, so the additive side of me, is really serious. Yeah.
David Martin: So do you have your staff hold up cards? Yeah, a nine today.
Hillary Schieve: Well, I’m I’m always like, oh, we could have done better. We could have done better. And they’re like, wait, what are you talking about? We just, you know, won this huge award. We just won, huge awards for being voted, happiest city in America. you know that’s true.
David Martin: Are you the happiest city in America?
Hillary Schieve: I think they are, but yeah, I’m biased. Okay, but, and we’re working towards it, you know, trying to work towards better mental health. Of course. So we are pretty happy here. And I think 320 days of sunshine really helps. But I think, you know, for, for the most part, I’m always striving to be better. I’m, I’m always willing to look at our challenges.
I just feel like, you know, we can always, always be doing more and be doing it better. That’s probably a bad thing for my my team that I drive.
David Martin: How should the people, how do people, the citizens of Reno, know if they’re getting government and how should they hold you accountable?
Hillary Schieve: Yeah, I think that’s such a great question. I think, you know, sometimes we get it wrong and we don’t communicate to the level that we need to be. maybe things that are controversial. So whether it’s, you know, housing projects or certain ordinances that are coming to council, you know, it can be challenging because we’re living in a time where there’s a lot of noise and there’s a lot of things coming at you, especially with social media.
And so we there’s a lot more distractions today. So we kind of have to fight some of that. And then part of it too, you know, people liked us for a reason because they’re busy putting food on the table for their families. You know, they’re not paying attention all the time what’s happening. So sometimes you really have to go the extra mile to let your citizens know, hey, this is happening.
We need you to come down to City Hall. We need to hear your voice. It’s really important because it is true. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. And, you know, there are a lot of times, too, that in a council meeting, you might feel one way about something. And a citizen that has never come in front of you before.
Ever been to a city council meeting can have a very different perspectives and change your mind entirely. So don’t ever think that your voice doesn’t matter, or what you have to bring to the table doesn’t matter because it really, really can affect change locally and right at home.
David Martin: As an elected official, you both, as a city council person and as a mayor, you know, a government insider. What would you like people to know about government, about how it works and about, you know, the stuff they don’t see?
Hillary Schieve: Yeah. You know, that’s such a that is a great question.
David Martin: I it’s a good government show questionnaire.
Hillary Schieve: I love it I think that we deal with a lot of land use. the city council deals with a lot of land use and people. I think there’s a misconception that or perception that, that we have the, the ability to, stop certain projects or, you know, prohibit businesses, certain certain things. But remember, people have property rights.
And so a lot of times you end up getting sued when you can’t make the findings. You have to have very, very good reasons, legal reasons to make findings. Right. So sometimes things get approved and, you know, because they they have property rights also, you know, massive liability sometimes. I think those things are really hard because a lot of times you can philosophically feel some way and I totally understand that.
But there’s the other side to it, that there’s a legal ramification of doing that, that can cost your city millions and millions of dollars. Right. So I think people have a perception sometimes that the council can absolutely say no, not happening. for I mean, you have to have a good reason, right? So sometimes that’s, frustrating. But I also think that, you know, people think that seriously that now and that’s, it’s it’s difficult.
There’s a lot of conspiracy theories out there. now more than ever. And people also think, you know, oh, you’re a corrupt politician. You know, we’re just people.
David Martin: Think you’re a politician, so you’re a corrupt one. That’s a perception a lot of times.
Hillary Schieve: Yeah, 100%. And really, when you got elected, like we’re like everyone else, we’re like you. We’re like our neighbors. We just wanted to run for office to, you know, leave a legacy in our city and make it better for everyone that lives here. And so people have a perception that now you’re on the inside and you’re still really on the outside, you know, even sometimes, you know, people that have worked in government will say, you know, I, I’m, I’m working here 20 years.
You’re working here for years. Sometimes there’s that mentality right. And and you’re you’re still really, really an outsider because you don’t work there. You were elected. And so sometimes that’s hard to get over. And just sometimes changing the mindset of, you know, there is a lot of bureaucracy. I ran for office because I was frustrated that, the city wanted to charge me $5,000 to move my sign two feet in my business.
And I was like, that’s it. I’m not going to complain about it. I’m going to run for office.
David Martin: Isn’t that why Sonny Bono ran for office in Palm Springs? Kind of a similar idea.
Hillary Schieve: Yeah.
David Martin: They’ve decided as a restaurant.
Hillary Schieve: Okay. Oh, yeah. Yeah, for sure. So those are the things. Like I said, I never thought I would run for office. I’m not a politician. I’m not even a party. I’m not a Democrat or a Republican. I’m a nonpartizan. And so you just you just see a level of distrust. And I think that that’s, really hard to take, especially when you see the people that show up every single day, that clean our streets, that do the hard, that do the hard work and that really loves what they do.
And so it can be challenging.
David Martin: So who is your political hero? Who inspired you to to do this? is it something you thought about?
Hillary Schieve: Oh, gosh, that’s such a good question. I think I was inspired to run for office because I grew up in a household where my father was a staunch Republican. My mother was a staunch Democrat. So why am I nonpartizan? Maybe. I mean, my mom always told me, Hillary, if you want to change something, then you’ve got to go out there and do it yourself and, you know, be ferocious and never give up.
Like I said, I’m super optimistic about everything. And so I just, I, and I also I love people and I want to make things better for people. And I love helping people and serving. And you know, and I was born and raised in Reno. And I also think that, there wasn’t a lot to do here at the time.
Oh, okay. And so I, I said, you know, one day I want Reno to be thriving with arts and culture and innovation and technology and, you know, and, and keep, keep the kids that go to the University of Nevada, Reno here and and boy, that brain drain and keep them in my city and you know and so I didn’t have that growing up here.
So I also thought it was a great opportunity to actually do something that might make a difference. You know, for generations.
David Martin: Now that you’re in office, are there politicians who inspire you and who are they?
Hillary Schieve: Oh, let’s see, That that is a tough one. I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you my two. Okay. Please. Jamie Raskin, he is amazing, man and human.
David Martin: And who is a.
Hillary Schieve: Wonderful Jamie Raskin. he is a senator, and he lost his son to suicide. And he’s been a huge champion for mental health. And he’s been battling, but he’s just incredibly inspirational. And then the other one that I admire tremendously is Liz Cheney. Okay. I think, you know, she’s incredibly brave and she’s showing women to, you know, find your voice and to not be afraid.
I think she’s really, really remarkable. you know, you know, there are two politicians that really inspire me. And I would say our past mayor was a wonderful, wonderful man and showed me, actually, you know what it looks like to be a great mayor. So, you know, I just I’m very lucky. I have a lot of people in my life that inspire me.
David Martin: Did you were you president of your senior class in high school? Were you, in student government in college? Any of that stuff? Did you did you think this was a future for you?
Hillary Schieve: Ever? Never. I listen, I was one of those kids that you probably could find me cutting class. Oh, okay. Yeah, well.
David Martin: I thought there was nothing to do. Why were you go to school?
Hillary Schieve: You already? Well, right, right. Well, I, I was bored at school. I wanted to be an entrepreneur more than anything. so I kind of always just grew up around it. My grandfather was a big entrepreneur and an inventor, so I kind of had it in my blood. But I got really bored at school, and so I tend to cut class a lot.
And I also figure skater, so when I cut class, I was actually going to the ice rink. So I got to be honest.
David Martin: All right. But but never politics. That was never part of your part of your mission. It wasn’t part of your thinking.
Hillary Schieve: Okay, I will say one thing. Yes. we haven’t talked about. I’m a big advocate for organ donation. My sister Amanda donated her candy to me. I went into, oh my goodness, about 20 years ago from strep throat. And it it caused me to have to go on dialysis. And I was so fortunate that my sister donated her kidney to me.
So I actually started kind of getting into a little bit of politics, when I started advocating for organ donation. Okay. And so a little bit on that level. So I kind of started out as an advocate for organ donation, and that sort of opened my eyes, a little bit to probably, you know, being on on that side of the aisle.
David Martin: That is a good way to get inspired and get involved. All right. Now, I’ve never been to Reno. You’ve lived there your whole life. I have, coming to Reno. You’re taking me out. Where are we going? What are we having? What is the dish of Reno? What is it? What is Reno famous for? Take me to Reno.
Hillary Schieve: well, definitely. You have to come. I think you’ll like what we’ve done with the place. Okay, good. Okay. First thing that we would do is we would go on. I hope you like to, rock climb, because we have the world’s largest rock climbing wall, right in downtown Reno, just steps away from City Hall overlooking casinos. Okay.
Has that all.
David Martin: Right? No, I can’t think of anyone.
Hillary Schieve: We’re going to go rock climbing. The second thing that we’re going to do is that where you’re going to get in a raft and head down the Truckee River? It runs right through our city, and it’s absolutely beautiful and stunning. And then the next thing we do is we would go on a mural tour and, the incredible artistry that’s around, my city.
And then we would head over to, get pecan punches, at our Basque restaurant, because we are, we, love our best food here.
David Martin: And pecan punch described.
Hillary Schieve: Please, I don’t know what’s in it, but it’s good. I don’t know, but longtime Nevada favorite and, And it’s a cool environment when you’re eating Basque food because it’s family style. So you sit with people you don’t know, okay? And you ride with them. And so it’s sort of the Nevada way. So that’s super awesome.
David Martin: And then what’s your what do you order there. What what’s your what’s the what’s your regular order.
Hillary Schieve: okay. Rocky mountain oysters.
David Martin: okay.
Hillary Schieve: All right. That’s fast food, my friend.
David Martin: Okay. Rocky, that.
Hillary Schieve: Is. Yeah. And then after that, we would head to Midtown and have lots of very, very cool local, vibey, you know, bars and all the, you know, young, young kids like to hang out there, as I call them. Okay. so and then, you know what? Then after that, we got to go play some craps since I’m 21.
David Martin: What’s your game? What’s your what do you play? What, do you go to the casino?
Hillary Schieve: Oh, I like craps. Yes.
David Martin: All right. Are you all right? Do. How often do you play? How often you get out.
Hillary Schieve: So you know, when you live here, you don’t do it that much? I mean, I only probably do it when I have friends come to visit. You know, that was sort of something we did in college. We would, you know, stand around at the craps table and, you know, because they would have like, dollar craps. So of course, we were cheap and wanted some, you know, fun.
So, so that’s.
David Martin: Are you do you win? Are you, are you a successful, player?
Hillary Schieve: I hit the jackpot here and there for a couple weeks. But, no, I’m not a big time gambler. Okay.
David Martin: Neither. so Rocky mountain oysters, that’s the dish of Frito. You’re say. That’s the living.
Hillary Schieve: Or an awful, awful burger. It was one of the best burgers ever. And, you can still get one, but it was from a casino that you would go eat late night. Probably something you would see more on, like Drive-Ins, dives and diners or whatever that show, right? Yeah, that’s something I would see there. But that’s also a Reno favorite.
David Martin: The awful, awful burger. Yes. Okay. All right. Well, this is the good government show. We like to always bring it back to good government. Tell me about a good government project. We haven’t talked about that. You’re pretty proud of that. You be able to pull off an Reno?
Hillary Schieve: Well, the one that I am, I think I’m going to be the most proud of. well, we have a huge aquatics facility coming online, which I think is amazing. but no, I think for me it’s going to be 20, so. 724 seven mental health, facility doors will be open for anyone that needs mental health and treatment.
And then what we’re doing is we’re partnering with nonprofits and other agencies that provide addiction and mental health treatment. And so then we will have caseworkers that follow individuals. It’s what they call a living room model. not like what you would see in a hospital, you know, setting because that’s not what they need. And so I’m really excited that, you know, this is a project I’ve been working on for about seven years and is finally coming to fruition.
We’re getting ready to break ground. and, you know, hopefully we’ll have it up by September and making sure that everyone is receiving all the help that they need when it comes to mental health and addiction.
David Martin: Mayor Hillary Shively, of Reno, Nevada, mayor of Reno, Nevada, and president of the Conference of Mayors. Thank you so much. It has been a pleasure and a delight talking with you. thank you for sticking with it and, and taking care of the dogs and, finally getting it done. It was great to have you.
Hillary Schieve: Thank you so much, Dave. And I really appreciate you putting up with the barking. You know, just kind of one aspect of mayor life.
David Martin: Where do you get your news from? Where do you get your state and local government news from? Because that’s getting harder and harder. And it’s essential to stay updated with your community. And it’s becoming increasingly important to know what’s going on in other cities and states, because they’re likely facing challenges that you’re grappling with, too, or you’re going to face eventually.
That’s why we’d like to welcome our new partner, route 50, to the show. Route 50 is a leading online publication covering state and local governments across the country. They’ve written about states protecting themselves against the rise in cyber attacks, counties using AI to better support citizens services, local responses to crumbling infrastructure and extreme weather, and much, much more.
There’s a lot there. It’s a one stop shop for issues affecting state and local governments and their residents. And that’s you. That’s all of us. Do yourself a favor and go to route 50.com to see the topics and solutions they cover, and learn what other people in government are doing. They also deliver a daily newsletter called route 50 today.
I see it in my inbox every morning. I check it out and you should too. Thanks again. Route 50. We’re excited to have you on board and being a partner here at the Good Government Show.
What is it the county government does? That’s the question county commissioners get asked the most. And the simple answer is everything on the Good Government show. We’re so lucky to have talked with so many county commissioners and other county officials that have shown us how effective county government is. County government dates back to get this 1634, making it one of the oldest forms of government in the United States.
Think about it. Roads. Highways. Hospitals. Schools. Recycling. Law enforcement. Water. Sewers, and most of the county. Those services are maintained by the county that’s county government. The National Association of Counties represents all 3069 counties across the USA. Naco helps county government work better together through things like sharing best practices. When county government works well, well, that’s just good government.
It’s hard to find good things when bad things happen, but Mayor Hillary Schieve found a way she turned personal family tragedy into action, making other people’s lives better as they struggled with their mental health issues. By any measure, Mayor Shriver had a successful year as conference of mayors president. She said it return trips to the Capitol Hill to press for more mental health awareness and funding.
Said she had at least 20 mayors. Advanced mental health advocates in their cities. Reno. She said she was able to get a $30 million federal grant that will help make Reno’s waters cleaner. That’s a good run. Back in Reno, when she was attacked politically, she set the stage for a statewide ban on the type of attack that made her feel unsafe.
This three term independent mayor is continuing to make a difference, always moving forward. Both in her city and there’ll be other mayors create and continue providing good government. And that’s what we like to share on the good government show. Well, that’s our show. Thanks for listening. Please like us and share this with your friends and review us right here where you’re listening.
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**This transcription was created using digital tools and has not been edited by a live person. We apologize for any discrepancies or errors.