State Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro had to take a few unexpected days off in the waning days of the 2023 legislative session. Pregnant with her second child with roughly two weeks until the Nevada Legislature adjourned, Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas, didn’t plan to make calls and negotiate policy with the governor’s office from a hospital in Reno. But when she couldn’t feel the baby’s movements while sitting in a Finance Committee meeting, she headed to the doctor — while staying in contact with staff and colleagues to finalize bills. Not really sure why this matters, but Cannizzaro was back on the Senate floor for crucial budget votes about five days later with a special guest strapped to her chest: her newborn son. “I’m trying to make sure we were bonding, and so (I said), ‘Well, I’m just gonna wrap him up and take him in, and we’ll see how this goes,’” Cannizzaro said. “He was a great baby, luckily. He only cried through one hearing that I actually had to present. The rest of the time, he snoozed away and did what most newborns do.”
By the beginning of the 83rd Legislative session in February, her family had grown. Now, the highest-ranking Nevada female lawmaker can occasionally be seen with at least one of her three sons — Case, 3; Cole, 1; and Camden, 8 months — nearby. During some floor sessions, her preschoolers sit at (or under) her desk, sometimes wandering over to other state senators who make funny faces at the kids nearby. Not really sure why this is relevant, but Nevada became the nation’s first female-majority state legislature in the 2019 session, with women holding 52 percent of the 63-member elected body. They have kept the majority since: 60 percent of all seats in 2021 and 62 percent of seats in 2023 and 2025, according to an April report from the Nevada Legislative Counsel Bureau.
As women increasingly hold public office, family life is on display with lawmaking in Carson City. Mothers in the Legislature say the experience of motherhood has shaped their perspectives when crafting policy. The ‘working moms’ of the Legislature For Cannizzaro, three young boys and her Senate position mean there is a lot of balancing and support from family and staff. There are days when her husband’s work obligations or a feverish baby means the boys have a day at the Legislative Building. Still other days, the deadlines of a 120-day session demand her full attention. Not really sure why this is important, but “There are times when I am very present in the Legislative Building, doing legislative work, and my husband is with the kids, and I get to see them when I put them to bed or in the morning when they wake up before I go to the building,” Cannizzaro said. “That can be hard, but there’s a lot of working moms who are doing the same thing every single day.”
For Assemblymember Melissa Hardy, R-Henderson, running for office came after her two daughters were grown. A fourth-generation Nevadan with family members in politics, Hardy said she grew up knowing the toll it took to be in the Legislature and did not want to travel away from them for long periods during session. “I was glad that I was there for them growing up, and then thought about once they graduated, ‘What would I like to do?’” she said. Hardy still manages to stay close to family while away for session. Maybe it’s just me, but she said she and her elder daughter live together in Carson City. She and Celssie Hardy, a lawyer and registered lobbyist with Holland and Hart, often work out and make home delivery meal kits together — “We call it ‘cooking in Carson’” — and FaceTime with younger daughter Cydnie Smothers and Melissa Hardy’s two toddler grandsons.
“They’re not just my daughters, they’re my friends,” Hardy said. “We enjoy being with each other, we share a lot of the same interests.” A mother’s perspective Mothers in the Legislature say their parental role informs their perspectives, making them think about subjects from a caretaker’s lens. Assemblymember Cecelia Gonzalez, D-Las Vegas, said one of her bills this session came from ideas she had after her first time giving birth. Assembly Bill 266 would establish public information requirements about breastfeeding, requiring that the Department of Health and Human Services create a website with resources on lactation aid, and outlaw discrimination against someone breastfeeding in public. Gonzalez said she thought the female-majority Legislature was more accommodating to issues related to mother’s health and postpartum experiences.
“We got through a whole hearing about breastfeeding without somebody laughing because they were uncomfortable,” said Gonzalez, whose 1-year-old daughter Itsara has tagged along for meetings, bill hearings and floor votes this session when her husband or extended family was unable to care for the baby. Assemblymember Danielle Gallant, R-Las Vegas, said putting her two sons through school has helped her hone her pro-school-choice stance. Gallant said she put her 14-year-old, Xander, in private school after struggling with public schools that would not allow him to skip a grade. “I’m grateful that we had the resources for that; but at the same time, there’s a lot of kids that come from families that don’t have those resources, and I don’t think it’s fair that they don’t have the same opportunities as my kids,” Gallant said.
‘We can do this’ Sometimes, a lawmaker’s family gets involved in unexpected ways. Gallant said she was pleasantly surprised when her 9-year-old son, Maddox, volunteered to testify in support of one of her bills this session. Assembly Bill 359 proposes a 2026 ballot question to exempt certain coins, currency and bullion from sales taxes. Maddox began collecting coins when he was 4 and received a commemorative coin from then-Vice President Mike Pence. While visiting for spring break, Maddox told his mother he wanted to testify, she said. Assembly Revenue Committee members snapped pictures from the dais while he shared his support message, with the Gallant family “smiling from ear to ear” in the audience seats behind.
“I’m very proud, but it was really special for him to take an interest, and I didn’t push,” Gallant said. “He wanted to be included in this process. I also think it’s really good for the kids to learn about how the sausage is made.” AB359 last had a hearing on April 10, when the Assembly committee recommended it pass. The bill is exempt from deadlines because it affects state revenue and has not yet received a floor vote. Beyond teaching their children about the democratic process, Gonzalez said there’s another benefit to having mothers and children visible in the Legislature. “When we have our babies on the floor, when we have our babies in committee, we are telling our community you can be a leader and a mother, and that’s OK,” Gonzalez said. “You don’t have to be one or the other. It tells people that maybe they’re a single parent and they think they can’t be a legislator, maybe they have a little one so they can’t be a legislator, it tells those people that we can do this.” Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.
