LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It doesn't take Alexis Hill long to start talking about how she wants to bring an end to tax subsidies for sports teams, film studios or electric car battery plants.
WATCH | Nevada Democrat wants to end corporate subsidies, invest billions in schools
In fact, it's one of the main reasons that Hill, the chair of the Washoe County commission, is running for the Democratic nomination for Nevada governor.
She faces two-term Attorney General Aaron Ford, who is considered the establishment pick for Democrats in the race. (A Noble Predictive Insights poll found Ford trailing incumbent Gov. Joe Lombardo by 3 percentage points, within the margin of error.)
"I am a different sort of candidate," Hill said in an interview with Channel 13. "He [Ford] is very similar to our current governor on his economic plan for this state, which is more corporate giveaways. And I am against that. I believe that we need to invest in Nevadans and actually tax billionaires and corporations who are doing business in our community who are getting a free pass."
Ford's campaign declined to comment on Hill's interview.
Hill is positioning herself to Ford's left, advocating for higher taxes on corporate-owned rental property; taxes on electric delivery vehicles that use roads but don't pay traditional gasoline tax; government investment in affordable housing and child care centers; and a massive expansion of the state schools budget by $2.5 billion per year for the next 10 years.
"I want to be governor because the state needs change, and I am tired of waiting for it," Hill said. "I see that Nevada really needs investment and no one is talking about that, and so I want to bring change to the state that is badly needed."
One of the first changes? An end to subsidies for big businesses that want to move to the state. Most particularly, Hill is targeting the proposed $1.4 billion film tax credit program that would bring a film studio to Summerlin. She's circulating a petition against the idea, which may come up at a special session of the Legislature later this year.
Ford was the driving force behind the state's current $10 million film tax credit program.
"I want to invest in our communities," she said. "I don't want to give away all these tax incentives to, you know, the billionaire class."
In her native Northern Nevada, she says tax incentives that helped build the Tesla gigafactory have overwhelmed local infrastructure, resulting in an increase in traffic and rising home prices.
Although most political leaders approach the issue from a cost-benefit analysis — asking if the return in tax revenue is worth the investment of tax dollars — Hill says the real issue is whether that money should be going to more basic needs. Until then, she says she'd oppose all big corporate subsidies.
"Yes, until we can figure out a way to invest in Nevadans and make sure these corporations are paying their fair share. Why are we taking table scraps?" Hill asked. "We can actually create our own jobs with public works projects, where we can ensure that there's livable wages with these projects. We can build new schools in Las Vegas, we can build new roads, we can invest in affordable housing and workforce housing. We can invest in child care centers. That is the kind of investment I want to see in Nevada and that is economic development as well."
On affordable housing, Hill wants to reassess home values each time a property is sold to boost tax revenue, although she said she would leave the 3% property tax cap on owner-occupied property intact. And she said she'd want to tax corporate-owned homes at higher than the 8% commercial property tax rate cap in place now.
"I think they're [corporations] gobbling up our inventory," she said. "I think it's really tough to legislate how many homes people can own, because property rights are king in this country. So I think we should just tax what we don't want to see. And people deserve to be in, you know, families deserve to be in a home."
Because of high home prices, people are leaving the state, Hill said.
"It's heartbreaking to me, because we're losing people," she said. "I mean, we're losing people leaving the state because they can't make it with their families. And this, I feel like Nevada is the place where the American dream should thrive. That's why people come here. It's the land of opportunity."
Hill said her idea of a huge investment in public schools would guarantee improved education outcomes, something other advocates of school spending have been reluctant to promise. But even with that boost, Nevada would only hit the national average in per-pupil spending, she said.
"I grew up here, so the Nevada saying is. 'well, you can't just throw money at the problem.' Well, we've never really thrown money at the problem," she said. "And I'm not even asking for gold-plated schools, or the fanciest of the education that we could have in the nation. I am asking to be in the middle of the pack."
Hill's challenge will be to boost her name recognition in Clark County, the most populous area of the state, where Ford and Lombardo already have a political base. Hill says she's been making weekly visits to Clark County since she announced her campaign in September.
Filing for offices starts March 2, and the primary election is June 9.
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