Washoe County Commissioners scuffle over chair, vice chair elections at Jan. 16, 2024 meeting

Washoe’s Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday voted to retain Commissioner Alexis Hill as board chair and Commissioner Jeanne Herman as vice chair. Both initially took on the roles in March 2023 following the resignation of then-chair Vaughn Hartung.

The board chair and vice chair are responsible for working with the county manager to set the agenda for each commission meeting, and the chair is also responsible for running commissioner meetings. 

A number of people providing public comment, along with Commissioner Mike Clark, advocated for Commissioner Herman to be elected as the board chair. As the longest-serving commissioner on the board, she had earned the position, they said. Clark has also regularly complained during board meetings that, as chair, Hill refuses to add his requested items to meeting agendas and has removed public comment from the beginning of meetings. 

Commissioners Mariluz Garcia and Clara Andriola, however, said they were more interested in continuity with the board. Garcia noted that Hill had yet to serve even a full year as chair.