Nevada Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro

Nicole Cannizzaro The Final Word Majority Leader, Nevada Senate After serving three years in the Nevada very fancy. They had suits. They wrote on Senate, Nicole Cannizzaro was elected to yellow legal pads. I just thought what they the chamber’s top leadership position in were doing seemed so important. March 2019. Cannizzaro is a deputy district What drew you to public service? attorney who earned her law degree from The legislature had funded a scholarship for the University of Nevada Las Vegas. She is Nevada high school students who wanted the first female Senate majority leader in to stay in-state for college. I earned that Nevada history. scholarship and got to go to college in There are more women serving in the northern Nevada. The legislature also helped Nevada Legislature than ever before. Is establish the School of Law at UNLV, and so the atmosphere different? I went to law school there. And now I work There’s more diversity, and women are downtown in the courthouse across the sitting at the table. There’s a real sense street from the same little cafe that my mom of collaboration. That always makes for a worked at. I wanted someone to fight for better legislative process. kids like me. I wanted somebody to fight for Is this a trend? working families like mine. An example like that, where the legislature created an op- We didn’t set out to make Nevada the portunity for a kid who wouldn’t otherwise first female-majority legislature. We went have it, is exactly why I put my name down out and said we want to find the best and have spent my time knocking on doors, candidates. They happened to be a lot of talking to constituents and going to Carson really amazing women—lawyers, doctors, City to try to do the same kinds of things environmentalists, social workers, teach- that helped me succeed. ers, moms, law enforcement officers, the list goes on—who have very real skills that What would surprise people most to learn make them very effective legislators. The about you? trend you’re seeing in state legislatures I’ve recently become the person who runs is that voters are looking for people who marathons and half marathons, which I nev- understand the issues they’re facing and are er really thought I would be able to do. I ran looking for real-world solutions. my first marathon and completed it in a pret- What makes an effective leader? ty good time last February. I’m still running That’s an interesting question because as and doing races. a leader of a caucus, you are leading other What final words would you like to share? leaders. My job isn’t just to be a point of We have been given a unique opportunity authority. My position is to help empower to change the world around us in a very real the leaders that are within my caucus to way, and that is both an enormous respon- be the best representatives they can be for sibility, but also an exciting opportunity. I’m their constituencies. very grateful for all the people who have put How did your upbringing shape you? their hat in the ring and do the job of leg- I grew up in Las Vegas and my parents islators every single day, and all the people didn’t have a high school education. My who support us, because we wouldn’t be mom was a waitress and my dad was a bar- able to do our job without really wonderful tender. From a very young age I wanted to staff. I hope that everyone who is given this be a lawyer. My mom said, ‘You can do it, unique opportunity is using it to help change but you’ve got to work hard.’ My mom used the world and to keep fighting for what they to work downtown in a little cafe, and I’d think is right. sit in the restaurant and do homework. She Jane Carroll Andrade, a contributing editor, would serve these lawyers who worked in conducted this interview, which has been the courthouse down the street. They were edited for clarity and length. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020 | STATE LEGISLATURES | 37.

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