Rick Gunn/Nevada Appeal Former Carson City Mayor Marv Teixeira stands on the porch of the Station Grill restaurant. He announced Tuesday he is running for mayor.
He's back.
Marv Teixeira, who served as Carson City mayor from 1989 to 1996, announced Tuesday he'll seek the seat again this year.
"I served eight years, then watched the process for eight years," he said. "I've had time to think about the things I did right and the things I did wrong.
"I honestly think I'm better prepared now. I've got the desire, and I've certainly got the time," said Teixeira, a retired IBM marketing executive.
Teixeira said he announced his plans now to let everyone know up-front. But another key factor was that he recently received a clean bill of health after undergoing tests for cancer.
"I got a new lease on life. I'm cancer free and I'm going to have some fun with this," he said.
Teixeira, a 44-year resident of Carson City, said he doesn't know whether incumbent Ray Masayko plans to run again.
"I assume he's going to run again, but if he doesn't I don't think it would have anything to do with my candidacy. And I have respect for anybody who does that for eight years. I was pretty burned out after eight years."
Masayko said he has "continued to go back and forth" on whether to run for a third term but hasn't yet made a decision.
Whether he runs or not, he said, "it's always an open race whether you've got an incumbent or not."
Teixeira said he has a number of projects he believes are key to Carson City's future, including the Virginia & Truckee Railroad and bypass projects.
"I believe in being proactive rather than reactive, whether it's retail sales, new companies, innovative ideas," he said. "I believe the assets of Carson City haven't been really exploited."
He said he will ask residents for their ideas as he walks through neighborhoods during the campaign.
"If I do anything different, I certainly would be a better listener," he said. "Some of the best ideas come from the citizens of this community."
Teixeira said it's critical to work regionally toward goals that help the entire area.
"We absolutely have to renew our relationships with Douglas County and Lyon County. Carson City is not an island. We need them and they need us."
He said he will bring the same drive to make things better this time as he did when he was mayor eight years ago. During that period, Teixeira gained grudging respect from state officials - particularly the Department of Transportation - for his unrelenting pressure to build the bypass.
"We have to ensure they complete it by 2010," he said. "I personally feel that date might slip so I'm going to pay attention to everything they're doing."
The V&T Railroad reconstruction project, which got it's start during his tenure as mayor, he said is a key project to help the western Nevada region and he intends to push hard to get it moving.
He said Carson City already benefits from good staff and good members on the Board of Supervisors. He said he is "very impressed" by City Manager Linda Ritter.
"I just believe we need to kick it up a notch," he said.
He said that will also include ideas to help the downtown area and business in general in Carson City, ideas he will raise during the campaign.
Teixeira was elected mayor twice and served from 1989-1996 but declined to run for a third term at the time.
Contact Geoff Dornan at nevadaappeal@sbcglobal.net or at 687-8750.
