Mild criticism and high praise for Rheba Montrose

Rheba Montrose learned some lessons from her failed recall petition of Mayor Marv Teixeira. For one thing, there aren't many people - possibly not even one - in Carson City who care as much about a clean and accountable government as she does.

It's not that every other resident is apathetic, but she quickly found out that there's a wide gulf between those willing to complain and those willing to work for change.

The mayor's DUI prompted her recall petition, but in an angry letter last week she was equally critical of the current happenings at city hall and the role she believes he's played. Does that mean she's going to be starting another recall campaign? Unlikely.

"You all had your chance when he had his DUI problem, and chickened out," she wrote.

Whether the change Montrose tried to set in motion with her recall petition was best for the city is up for debate. But we admire her for caring enough to take action. Her efforts fell apart after she was injured in an accident shortly after taking out the petitions, and no one else stepped up to pick up the slack.

Montrose didn't exactly follow the letter of the law, failing to return the petitions until after the deadline. She deserves mild criticism for that, considering the no-excuses accountability she expects from elected officials. But District Attorney Neil Rombardo was correct in brushing aside thoughts of charging the woman for that infraction. There are more pressing matters.

Overall, Montrose deserves more praise than criticism. We're sure politicians would disagree, but we wish we had more residents like her.