Wendy Stolyarov, A Progressive Running a Unique Campaign During COVID-19

With the November elections just weeks away, campaigning is as important now as ever before. A major challenge for this year’s local office candidates, however, is finding creative ways to campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic. One such candidate, Wendy Stolyarov, who is running for the Ward One seat on Sparks City Council, has been conducting her own contact free campaign neighborhood “lit drops.” Stolyarov has also turned her campaign into a vehicle for assisting people in need. “When the pandemic hit, we switched to doing community welfare calls,” Stolyarov said. “Whatever [their needs] might've been, we were then putting them in contact with those resources and encouraged people to engage in mutual aid. Our first mailer for the campaign was a mutual aid card, which you basically put your name on and stuck it on your neighbor's door offering to help. I got a lot of phone calls from people who had received those and said that it was such a sweet idea and were going to reach out and help their neighbor and see what they can do in the community.” She says this also made her realize the positive influence of community building, rather than pretending to be an individual savior.Hear much more in this episode with reporter Scott King on her campaign techniques and the issues she cares about as she runs for a seat on the Sparks City Council in northern Nevada. Get full access to Our Town Reno Newsletter at ourtownreno.substack.com/subscribe