Former Carson mayor Marv Teixeira dies

Former Carson City mayor Marv Teixeira died Thursday morning at his home.

He was 79.

The colorful and outspoken Teixeira served three terms as mayor of the capital. He was the driving force behind the reconstruction of the V&T Railway and the Carson bypass, as well as the push to allow the city flexibility in celebrating Nevada Day that enabled it to become a three-day weekend.

Teixeira succumbed after a lengthy illness.

He arrived in Carson City in the 1960s as an IBM Corp. representative. Teixeira served two terms as mayor but retired in 1996 saying, “I want my life back.”

Eight years later, he was talked into running again, winning a third term in the office on the promise he would repair growing polarization in the community and “help bring people back together.”

He also said he would fix what he termed economic warfare between Carson City and the surrounding communities.

“Marv was a dear friend of mine and a dear friend of Carson City,” said Mayor Robert Crowell. “He truly loved this community. We’ve lost a pillar of this community with the passing of Marv.”

But Teixeira’s signature drive was to recreate and reconstruct the Virginia & Truckee Railroad. Teixeira was relentless in his push to get money and right-of-way for the historic train.

“The V&T Railroad project is without a doubt the icing on the cake,” he said when he was sworn in for his third term. “The project that will give not just Carson City but the whole region an identity.”

At the time, he was told he’d never live long enough to ride the train but he fooled the doubters, enjoying the first official run from Virginia City to the depot just inside the Carson City border several years ago.

He was equally relentless in his arm twisting to find funding for the long-talked about but never built Carson bypass freeway. That bypass, in significant part because of his efforts, is now completed to Fairview with Nevada Department of Transportation officials saying they hope to go to bid on the final leg south to Spooner Junction this coming winter.

“Mayor Teixeira has been instrumental in bringing new companies and new jobs to Carson City,” said Sen. Harry Reid on the floor of the U.S. Senate in 1996. “These efforts have helped change the face of Carson City into a thriving manufacturing town with old west charm.”

He also worked tirelessly to convince the Nevada Legislature to make Nevada Day into a flexible holiday celebrated either on the nearest Friday or Monday. His goal was to allow the city to create a three-day weekend for an annual celebration of statehood because, as he argued, when the day fell mid-week, it was impossible to raise a decent crowd for the parade and other activities.

He said a three-day weekend would be an economic boon for the capital.

“I think everyone is really going to miss Marv. I thought Marv was a really good mayor,” said Alan Glover, Carson City clerk-recorder, adding Marv was “larger than life.”

He was equally tough in negotiating with businesses and developers. When an issue or project was just minutes from a vote, it was always Teixeira who wanted just one or two more concessions. It was he, for example, who shamed the representative for cable television to remove two adult channels that, while scrambled visually, had clear audio some citizens said their children didn’t need to listen to.

His son Matt said the things Marv was most proud of were his long involvement in youth sports. Teixeira coached for years in both Pop Warner Football and Little League and was heavily involved in the development of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Western Nevada.

Sheriff Kenny Furlong remembered when Teixeira coached him in youth sports. “My first memory of him is in pee wee league, him throwing me a ball and it hitting me in the mouth. And he said, ‘Kenny Furlong is not ready to play ball.’”

He also was the force behind creation of the Carson Booster Club.

“Marv and I were friends for more than 50 years,” said Guy W. Farmer. “We were friendly competitors in Little League baseball in the 1960s and as mayor, he welcomed me back to Carson in the 1990s. As a politician, he didn’t try to please everyone all the time, and I admired and respected him for that.”

As mayor, Teixeira was famous for quotes, while entertaining and to the point, were often too salty to put in the newspaper. He made no bones about saying exactly what he meant in exactly the way he meant it.