by Alan Snel
Jared Fisher and Mike Galeoto are a pair of fat tire bike geeks with one other common bond.
Both have entered the political arena.
Fisher, 47, of Blue Diamond, is running for governor of Nevada and is biking 14,000 miles in 14 days from Las Vegas to Reno and back to listen to the concerns and thoughts of Nevadans.
Galeoto, 51, of Reno, is a fat tire bike maker and steel fabricator who worked on Joe Biden’s 2008 Democratic primary campaign in Nevada.
Here’s why Fisher has so much political appeal: Galeoto, a former Army medic and National guardsman, is a moderate Democrat who easily connected with Fisher, who is a moderate, Teddy Roosevelt Republican who has a big focus on land conservation, renewable energy and solar power.
He may be a registered Republican, but Fisher has a lot of crossover appeal for Democrats who love his land and outdoors policies.That’s why it’s so difficult to assign labels to Fisher or drop him in a political category.
Fisher and Galeoto knew each other from previous bike races in Beatty and met up Sunday night at the Great Basin Brewery in Reno.
“Jared looks like he’s a regular guy. Most of the stuff he talks about me and my friends are on board with like all the conservation and solar stuff and just being reasonable and wanting to work with the other side,” said Galeoto, pictured below on the left.
Galeoto said he would be willing to work on Fisher’s campaign in the Reno and northern areas because a moderate Republican can have a lot of appeal for Republican voters who want an alternative to Attorney General Adam Laxalt who is expected to run for governor.
“Jared is going about it now in a low-key way but when you’re going up against a well-known family like the Laxalts, he will need to ramp it up,” Galeoto said.
Galeoto is an intense mountain biker who knows the political world.
He worked on Biden’s campaign in 2008 and still has a strong handle on the state’s current political pulse.
Galeoto sees Nevada’s political landscape broken into three regions — Las Vegas to the south, Reno to the north and Elko region to the northeast.
“I get involved politically when I need to,” he said. “Before, Jared and I were bike geeks but now I can help out. The best Republicans have been progressives. I find that really smart. I find what Jared is doing is very plausible.”
