Opinion: In Defense of Lori Bagwell

Over the Nevada Day Weekend, I was sent a copy of an email from a friend and trusted colleague. The subject matter of this email was a scurrilous attack on Supervisor Lori Bagwell, who may/may not run for Mayor of Carson City, and either way, her final decision to run for Mayor is entirely up to her and inevitably she will present her well qualified credentials to the voters of Carson City.

What was extremely disturbing to me, was the authors of this poorly written screed against Lori Bagwell, never identified themselves as they leveled unsupported allegations against her.

I have my suspicions as to who submitted and committed these written misogynistic, hateful and paranoid charges against Ms. Bagwell, as they hide behind their anonymous cowardice.

Three names come to mind and at an appropriate time I will name them. Hint: All three of them ran for office in Carson City and were soundly rejected by the rational thinking citizens of Carson City.

A review of the allegations thrown against Ms. Bagwell via this email requires an analysis. And as such, I will quote directly from this despicable email. A copy of which I will provide to anybody for verification.

1. “Did you know some time ago LB (Lori Bagwell) personally had the city do repair work on Colorado Street. If LB can do this then why can’t your street receive the same type of improvements?”

Lori Bagwell never directed the City Staff to fix Colorado St. The residents of Colorado Street and surrounding areas (and oddly enough in Jim Shirk’s Ward) asked for her help because of truck traffic and huge cracks in their street. The only thing Lori Bagwell asked of the staff was to evaluate the concerns of these residents.

She was then advised the city did not have money to fix the cracks etc. in the local areas. However, Lori Bagwell went to work and tried to help everyone. With the money that was obtained thru her work to help her constituents, there was some funding that was finally approved .The road repairs used with this money was done all over town and not just on Colorado Street. Note: Jim Shirk voted yes on her motion on the road money and budget changes!

Question? Why didn’t you attack Jim Shirk on this issue?

2. “Did you know LB (Lori Bagwell) voted to mandate that ALL citizens who are property owners are forced to use Waste Management service. Citizens you cannot opt out without first complying with Waste Management criteria for discontinuing their monthly ($$) fees. Good luck with that endeavor. “

It is unequivocal that Lori Bagwell voted yes on the Waste Management Contract, primarily because they won the bid. The Carson City Board of Supervisors did change the contract to mandatory service with exemptions for vacant property, property being sold and no one living in the home and if you leave for vacation over 30 days. The Carson City Board of Supervisors believed (as I did) when the vote was taken, this was in the best interest of the community as trash must be removed.

Additionally, the Carson City Board of Supervisors were able to lower the rate for 85% of the residents for service while adding recycling and yard waste. Collectively, they also added the ability for residents to request four times a year large item disposal (couches, refrigerators, etc).

The 15% of residents that did not receive prior service from the Vendor were upset. However, let’s do some simple math. The cost of you going to the landfill is 10$. If you went to the landfill once a week it would cost you $ 40 per month, if you added up your time, plus the amount of gas you spent going back and forth to the landfill, the cost would be substantial.

Why the personal attack on Lori Bagwell?

Unless you are blind to your own surroundings, far too many residents in Carson City do not properly dispose of their trash. Their trash is piled up in their backyards causing health violations and unsanitary conditions for their neighbors. Additionally, I have seen many people who have actually taken their personal garbage and trash to commercial businesses and throw their trash into their dumpster.

Most of these “upstanding citizens” do this during the early morning hours because they think they can never be caught. We now have you on camera!

In conclusion, if you ever receive an unsolicited email with the “header” that says “Ilovecarsoncity”….hit delete.