The Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter Releases the Following Statement in Response to the Recount in Reno City Council Ward 1
Reno, NV - The Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter is the region’s largest grassroots environmental organization, representing thousands of members and supporters across Nevada. We are proud of the work we do every day to support climate action, renewable energy, public transportation, conservation, and environmental and racial justice. We proudly stand behind candidates in Nevada running for office who represent our values. We also strongly believe in the integrity of our democracy and the democratic process.
Lily Baran is a well-known progressive advocate for climate action, food justice and security, and water conservation. Lily has always worked tirelessly for marginalized people in Nevada and has personal experience with environmental injustice. Her passion for climate justice and conservation is why we endorsed her for Reno City Council Ward 1. We trust that she will continue to advocate for community-driven solutions to environmental issues, regardless of the recount results.
Working-class people running for office already face an uphill battle. Campaigns are expensive, and running a successful campaign while ensuring you can keep the lights on and put food on the table is a stressful endeavor. This was Ms. Baran’s first time running for office, and she ran an impressive grassroots campaign funded by small-dollar donations and supported by working-class people. She came just 15 votes shy of advancing past the primary in doing so.
In many other states, losing by 15 votes would be sufficient to trigger an automatic recount, paid for by the county. The Sierra Club does not condone in any way Lily’s decision to accept Robert Beadles’ money to fund this recount. We support Lily’s decision to ensure all voters in Ward 1 had their voices properly represented, but the Toiyabe Chapter unequivocally denounces everything Robert Beadles stands for—baseless election fraud claims, racism, antisemitism, and conspiracy theories.
We trust the democratic process in the state of Nevada. We pray this won’t be used to fuel Mr. Beadles’ baseless accusations of widespread election fraud. Nevada’s elections are not rigged, but double-checking razor-thin margins isn’t inherently a bad thing.
We look forward to continuing to support candidates who will champion environmental and climate action for Nevadans this election cycle.