Mayor throws in hat for third term

Carson City Mayor Ray Masayko will run for a third and last term, he announced Wednesday.

"I love my community and I sincerely enjoy serving as mayor," Masayko said.

The self-described fiscal conservative will be up against former mayor Marv Teixeira, who served as Carson City mayor from 1989 to 1996 but declined to run for a third term at that time.

Masayko took time to "soul search and deliberate" his decision to run again, but said he got the kind of feedback from friends, residents and family that indicated he should seek another term.

"In my last eight years, I've done everything possible to ensure the government of Carson City is open, accountable, accessible and transparent," he said. "I expect that to continue if elected."

Retired from Sierra Pacific Power Co., Masayko devotes nearly full-time hours to the job. Supervisors Shelly Aldean and Richard Staub, who are also running to reclaim their seats on the board, said they didn't consider running for mayor because they recognized how much work it takes.

Serving the city is "hard work and it consumes my attention," Masayko said.

Masayko, 59, said he has several priorities in mind if elected for another four-year term, but most importantly he would like to see completion of the second phase of the Carson City freeway to Fairview Drive.

Also at the top of the list is the completion and funding of the V&T Railroad from Highway 50 to Virginia City. The recreation of the historic rail line is expected to boost tourism in the area, he said.

Other projects in the pipeline for the next term would be completing funding for a new storm drainage system needed to comply with federal mandates and avert mass city flooding problems of the past.

Challenges remain for Carson City with financial stability, but Masayko said he would continue pursuing changes to the state's sales-tax revenue system that encourages counties to compete for retail businesses, an idea that is still conceptual but needs to be addressed, he said.

Carson City is still waiting for answers from Lyon and Douglas counties about offers the city has made to work together on regional agreements, Masayko said. Carson City's political relationship with Douglas County suffered recently after a tug-of-war broke out over the sale of 144 acres in North Douglas County. Carson feared losing auto retailers to Douglas County, crippling the city's sales tax revenue base.

Even with ongoing loss of retail revenue dollars, the city is "bullish" on economic development and opportunities are "absolutely fantastic," Masayko said.

"That bodes well for Carson City," he said.

Contact Jill Lufrano at jlufrano@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.