Gov.-elect Sisolak’s wife will resign from Nevada PERS board

CARSON CITY — Newlyweds have so much to do after tying the knot — combining households, maybe filing paperwork for name changes — and in some cases, stepping down from that state agency board your spouse’s predecessor appointed you to.

Kathy Sisolak — the former Kathy Ong, who married Nevada Gov.-elect Steve Sisolak in Las Vegas on Dec. 28 — is taking care of that last item this week, resigning from state Public Employees’ Retirement Board before her husband is sworn in next week as Nevada’s 30th governor, a spokeswoman for the governor-elect’s office confirmed Wednesday.

Nevada’s soon-to-be new first lady was appointed to the PERS board by outgoing Gov. Brian Sandoval in 2011. The seven-member board oversees the independent public agency that administers benefits for public sector workers in the state. Kathy Sisolak currently serves as its chair, and her stepping down averts a potential conflict of interest going forward.

A native of Ely, she is co-founder of a Las Vegas financial consulting group that specializes in municipal finance and earlier was budget manager for Clark County.

The couple met more than five years ago and announced their engagement after Steve Sisolak defeated Adam Laxalt to win the governor’s race. The former chairman of the Clark County Commission, he will be sworn in as governor on the steps of the Capitol in Carson City on Monday.

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