Sparks, Nevada, located in Washoe County, is a vibrant city that is home to a thriving community. In addition to its impressive amenities and attractions, Sparks also has a vibrant political scene. Sparks is governed by the Sparks City Council and Mayor Ron Smith, who have been in office since 2018. The city council consists of five members: Ed Lawson (Mayor Pro Tem), Phil Smith (Ward 1), Paul Anders (Ward 2), Julia Ratti (Ward 3) and Charlene Bybee (Ward 4). Each year the citizens of Sparks are invited to participate in local elections for Mayor and City Council to determine who will represent their best interests. Local issues such as education, public safety, transportation and infrastructure are discussed during regular meetings that are open to the public. Through these deliberations, the leaders of Sparks strive to make sure everyone’s voice is heard and respected while they work together for the betterment of their city.
The political climate in Zip 89434 (Sparks, NV) is leaning liberal.
Washoe County, NV is leaning liberal. In Washoe County, NV 50.8% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 46.3% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.9% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Washoe county remained Democratic, 50.8% to 46.3%.
Washoe county voted Democratic in the four most recent Presidential elections, after 2000 and 2004 went Republican.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 89434 (Sparks, NV) is leaning liberal.
Sparks, Nevada is leaning liberal.
Washoe County, Nevada is leaning liberal.
Reno Metro Area is leaning liberal.
Nevada is leaning liberal.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index is based on recent voting in national elections, federal campaign contributions by local residents, and consumer personality profiles.
VoteWord™
Displaying 20 years of Presidential voting, visualized in one word.
Sparks, Nevada: r r D d d d
How It Works:
Here at BestPlaces, we were looking at the voting patterns since the 2000 election and realized that we could express the results of each election as one letter. R if the Republican Party candidate won, D for the Democrat and I for the Independent. The six elections (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020) would be expressed as six-letter word (R R D R R).
Then we went a little further and added the dimension of magnitude. If the difference of victory was greater than 10 percent, the letter is upper case, and lower case if the difference was less than 10 percent. This allows us to see interesting voting patterns at just a glance.
Here's the VoteWord for Iowa d r d d r. In the last six elections the state has been closely contested, voting narrowly for the Republican Party candidate in 2016 and 2020 after voting for the Democratic Party in 2008 and 2012. Virginia (r r d d d D) has voted for the Democratic Party in the last three elections.
Individual Campaign Contributions in zip 89434 (Sparks)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 1,069 contributions totaling $83,262 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $78 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 327 contributions totaling $174,911 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $535 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)