Progressives' View of the State of the State

And she's back! She may no longer serve in the Legislature, but Sheila Leslie's voice will still be heard in Carson City this spring. Now, she's making waves as an advocate for those who don't often have allies in Carson City. And she delivered a powerful message last night at PLAN's Las Vegas office.



Sheila Leslie delivered the keynote speech at PLAN's and ProgressNow Nevada's Progressive State of the State event. In her speech, Leslie highlighted an issue that's near and dear to our hearts here. Of course, we're talking about the need to properly invest in our people and collect the revenue that's necessary to do so.





Yet she also noted the challenges ahead in pursuing a stronger Nevada that values its own people. Chief among those challenges is overcoming the excessive stranglehold that "the gaming-mining-lobbying industrial complex" has over Carson City. Legislators will ultimately need to look beyond their biggest campaign contributors to see the real State of Nevada.





What was really fascinating last night was the number of Nevada legislators present last night. Lucy Flores, David Parks, Justin Jones, Ruben Kihuen, James Healey, Pat Spearman, and even more legislators came by to see the presentation. When was the last time that many legislators were even interested in learning more about the progressive alternative to the status quo?





Hopefully, last night was only the start of a real conversation on building a better future for Nevada. (And this actually isn't all! Later, I'll post more on the civil rights issues discussed last night at the Progressive State of the State.)