For its first 45 years as a state, Nevada didn't have a residence for its chief executive.That's why there are at least a half-dozen homes on Carson City's west side that can claim to be the home of a governor.The state Legislature finally got a bill passed to build a mansion in 1907. Gov. John Sparks initially opposed the idea, saying Nevada had more pressing financial needs than a mansion. But he bowed to public pressure and signed the bill appropriating $40,000 to build it.Sparks made clear he didn't want to live there, and he never did - he died …