Hillary Louise Schieve (born October 12, 1970) is an American businesswoman and politician from the U.S. state of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. She has been the mayor of

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

since 2014 and is not affiliated with a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

. She previously served as the 81st President of the

United States Conference of Mayors The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) is the official non-partisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. The cities are each represented by their mayors or other chief elected officials. The organization was founded ...

and was the first

independent politician An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or Bureaucracy, bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicia ...

to serve as its president.

Career

Schieve was on the Reno City Council from 2012 to 2014. Schieve was one of 20 candidates on the primary ballot in 2014. She ultimately ran for mayor in 2014 and beat her opponent, Raymond "Pez" Pezonella, a Democrat, 60.90% to 39.10% in the Washoe County election. She was elected to the position of City of Reno Mayor on November 4, 2014, and sworn in eight days later. Although the mayor's office is a

non-partisan Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias. While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...

position, she received support from the Democratic Party prior to winning the mayoral election. On August 25, 2016, Schieve endorsed

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

for president in 2016 in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

after Schieve declined to endorse candidates in the primary. Schieve was named by ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...

'' as one of the 11 most interesting mayors in America, citing her work to revitalize the Midtown District of Reno and continued efforts to promote affordable housing, mental health services, and the fight against homelessness. Schieve ran for re-election in 2022 for a third and final term due to

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of Term of office, terms a Incumbent, person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in Presidential system, presidential and Semi-presidential republic, semi-president ...

and was not affected by the court ruling regarding the elections for the city council and mayor by the Nevada Supreme Court.

Controversies

American flag replaced with an LGBT flag

Schieve apologized for the replacing of the

American flag The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

with the

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

rainbow flag on the Reno City Hall skyscraper building on July 27, 2015.

Excessive taxpayer spending

Schieve defended the taxpayer expenses of more than $10,000 on the State of the City address on March 9, 2017, after being criticized for wasteful spending.

Amending powers of Mayor in Reno City Charter

Schieve convinced Democratic state senator Tick Segerblom of

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

to introduce an amendment to the city charter granting "Strong Mayor" powers common in other cities across the state and country. This amendment would have made the Mayor the helm of the Executive branch by creating a separate office and allow the Mayor to veto matters passed by the Reno City Council (with the Council power to override a veto) and to break tie votes. Despite a similar Charter amendment adopted by the cities of Sparks and

Mesquite Mesquite is a common name for some plants in the genera ''Neltuma'' and '' Strombocarpa'', which contain over 50 species of spiny, deep-rooted leguminous shrubs and small trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. Until 2022, these ge ...

, as well as a power common to the incorporated general law cities of Nevada, the amendment was withdrawn amid criticism, such as that the amendment was introduced without consulting the charter committee. Critics (including Washoe County Democrats, Republicans of all 17 counties and others) have condemned the bill as a power grab by Schieve herself and for abusing multiple taxpayers' money accounts. The bill was rejected by the state assembly after it was passed by the state senate and was later withdrawn.

Personal life

Schieve attended Reno High School and

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

. She owned two clothing stores. She became an advocate for organ donor awareness after her sister, former KOLO-TV news anchor Amanda Sanchez, donated a kidney to her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schieve, Hillary 1970 births Living people 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century mayors of places in Nevada Arizona State University alumni Businesspeople from Nevada Mayors of Reno, Nevada Nevada independents Politicians from Reno, Nevada Presidents of the United States Conference of Mayors Reno High School alumni Women city councillors in Nevada Women mayors of places in Nevada