You know what happens when someone thinks they’re playing 3D chess but they’re actually playing checkers? Just ask Assemblywoman Alexis Hansen, who managed to pull off one of the dumbest political moves we’ve seen in Nevada in years.
Hansen’s Ego Trip Backfires Spectacularly
Republcian Assemblywoman Alexis Hansen from Sparks made history by signing a petition with Democrats, alongside her husband, Senator Ira Hansen, to add a housing bill (SB10) to Governor Lombardo’s special session agenda. This was the first time legislators had ever used this power in Nevada history.
Alexis thought she was some kind of political mastermind who could leverage this move for her own benefit.
Reality check: She wasn’t.
Here’s what this genius didn’t figure out – the Democrats didn’t need her as badly as she thought. They could have simply amended the bill to remove the fee that required a two-thirds vote, making it a simple majority bill. Then they could have gotten someone like Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui (D), who’s leaving the legislature anyway, to cast the deciding vote.
Hansen thought she was the kingmaker, but she was really just a pawn.
Hansen ended up voting against the bill she helped bring to the floor, casting the deciding “no” vote that killed it. Sure, voting no was the right vote for conservatives, but why bring it up in the first place?
“Just Happy to Have the Conversation”
When she addressed the Assembly that night, Hansen was emotional and said she wanted the bill to be considered, but lawmakers didn’t solve what she said were issues in the bill. She claimed she was just “happy to have the conversation” about housing.
Give me a break. You don’t need to make history and call a special session to “have a conversation.”
You can talk about housing issues with your caucus anytime. You can hold town halls. You can draft your own bills for the regular session. What Hansen wanted was to flex a muscle that she didn’t have.
The Conceptual Amendment Circus
Here’s another head-scratcher from this mess: Republicans were voting on conceptual amendments – basically voting on language they couldn’t even see. Why would any self-respecting legislator vote on something when they don’t know what’s actually in it? That’s Politics 101 stuff, folks.
This shows how unprepared and disorganized the Republican caucus was during this special session. They were making it up as they went along, and it showed.
Meanwhile, Where Was Titus?
Senate Minority Leader Robin Titus was listed as an excused absence during crucial votes, including the film tax credit bill. Now, people have been talking about Kasama and Hibbetts being on vacation, but Titus was the leader. When your caucus is running around like chickens with their heads cut off, that’s when they need leadership the most.
Titus had already publicly stated she wouldn’t back the film tax credits, saying she concluded “they are not good for Nevada.”
Great, but making statements from outside the building doesn’t help your team when they’re inside dealing with chaos. Your caucus was in disarray, and the leader was MIA.
The Bill That Should Never Have Been
Let’s be clear about what SB10 was – a horribly written piece of legislation that tried to limit corporate home buying. The bill would have capped corporate home purchases at 1,000 units annually, a compromise between Senator Dina Neal’s preferred 100-unit limit and Ira Hansen’s (Alexis’s husband) starting position of 2,000 units.
Neal confirmed that the 1,000-unit cap applied to ALL corporations combined, meaning one corporation could buy all 1,000 homes and no other corporation could buy any. That’s not a solution – that’s a recipe for market manipulation.
Democrats Play Republicans Like a Fiddle
While Hansen was playing her little games, Democrats stayed focused and unified.
They got Republicans to help them make history with the petition, then watched as the GOP imploded. They even managed to slip through a constitutional amendment on mail-in ballots at the last minute while Republicans were busy fighting among themselves.
Do you think the Democrats told the Hansens they had that up their sleeve?
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro called the death of the corporate housing legislation a:
“complete disservice to Nevada.”
Of course, she did – Democrats get to blame Republicans for killing a “pro-housing” bill, even though it was terrible legislation.
The Real Losers
Hansen thought she could play kingmaker and ended up being the weakest link. She gave Democrats a procedural victory, created chaos in her own caucus, and accomplished absolutely nothing positive for conservatives. All because she wanted to feel important.
What Conservatives Should Do
If you’re a conservative voter in Nevada, you should be furious. Your representatives are playing ego games instead of fighting for your values. Hansen needs to explain why she thought helping Democrats was somehow smart politics.
Call her. Email her. Show up at town halls. Because if this special session proved anything, it’s that Nevada Republicans need new leadership – people who understand that politics isn’t about personal ego trips, it’s about fighting for principles.
The Democrats are laughing all the way to their next supermajority while Republicans are stuck with legislators who think they’re clever but are really just weak links in an already fragile chain.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
