Legislative Watch

Sheila Leslie

District: Washoe No. 1
Political Party: Democrat
Current Job/Position: Specialty Courts Coordinator
Born: 1955
Hometown: Carmel, California
Family: Daughter, Emma
Education: M.A., Spanish language and literature, University of Nevada, Reno, 1979 BA, Sonoma State University, 1977.
Interviewed By: Delaney Childs
Interview Date: 4/27/2012

Sheila Leslie represented Washoe Senate District 1 from 2010-2012. She resigned that seat when she moved and challenged Greg Brower in Washoe Senate District 15. Leslie lost that race by 266 votes. You can read more about Leslie's legislative career from a 2009 interview under the Intern Interviews tab, Assembly section.

Q & A

Q - Now that you are in the Senate, what are your new goals?

“Well, my goal right now is to get elected in my new Senate district. Then I would like to improve access to education, so education funding, transparency and access to health care. And also improving human services in terms of substance abuse and mental health in particular.”

Q - With the drastic drop in state and local revenues, how do you think the budget deficit and will impact K12 and higher education?

“I think what’s going to happen is we are going to be limping along, as the taxes are going to continue. I think we’ll have just about the same amount of money to work with (as in the previous two year budget cycle). I don’t think we will be able to make the kind of investment that we should be making but I don’t think we will be seeing more cutbacks.”

Q - What made you decide to leave Senate District 1 and run in District 15?

“It was basically about redistricting. I wanted to move to a smaller home because my daughter is grown and living in Washington D.C. So I purchased a smaller home two years ago and when the court approved the new maps that house missed my district by about a mile. It was just in the wrong district so I really needed to move. Therefore I moved and had to resign from the old Senate district and I am running in the new one.”

Q - You have been called a “carpetbagger”, how do you feel about that?

“Well, my daughter has gone through the school district and all of the schools were in this district. Where I’m living now is less than two miles from where I was living before. I used to represent a large section of the district, and also before I was elected I lived in this district. I moved about two miles. I don’t think that’s the definition of carpetbagging. It’s the first time I’ve moved in 17 years. People need to move once in a while.”

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