Washoe County taps Greg Smith to replace Mike Sprinkle in Nevada Assembly

The Washoe County Commission Tuesday chose Greg Smith, a retired labor union apprenticeship coordinator and widower of a state senator, to succeed Sparks Assemblyman Mike Sprinkle, who resigned from the Legislature March 14 amid claims of sexual harassment.

Smith, whose wife, state Sen. Debbie Smith, died in 2016, takes Sprinkle’s place immediately, joining a Legislature that is nearly halfway through its biennial session. The five-member commission made the choice after hearing from 15 applicants for Sprinkle’s post in Assembly District 30. One candidate chose to withdraw from contention.

State law on the filling of legislative vacancies required the commission to choose a candidate from the same party as Sprinkle, a Democrat. And what commissioners said they wanted, besides someone who knew the priorities of the Sparks area well, was a candidate who could hit the ground running.

“I need somebody who was actually prepared two weeks ago,’’ Commissioner Kitty Jung said.

Smith, 56, is retired from Operating Engineers Local 3 in Reno as their apprenticeship program administrator. He will serve the remainder of what would have been Sprinkle’s fourth term, through 2020.

In remarks to the commission, he said he had lived in the Assembly district for 35 years, cited the apprentice program he built from scratch, his dedication to wildlife conservation issues, and his familiarity with the Legislature. The seat was once represented by Debbie Smith, before she was elected to the Senate in 2012.

“My commitmemt to you today is to be statesman and conduct myself with the utmost integrity, in a manner that will make you and this community proud,” he said.

Praising the appointment, Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, D-Las Vegas, said Smith “has three decades of experience advocating on behalf of working families in our state and is well aware of the tasks at hand.”

Smith becomes the second person appointed to fill a vacancy this session following the departure of Senate Majority Leader Kelvin Atkinson, who resigned his seat March 5 after admitting misuse of campaign funds. He awaits sentencing on federal wire fraud charges. Marcia Washington, a former state education official, was named to fill Atkinson’s seat.

Contact Bill Dentzer at bdentzer@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-0661. Follow @DentzerNews on Twitter.