34 Facts About Shelley Berkley

Shelley Berkley is an American businesswoman, politician and attorney who has served as mayor of Las Vegas since 2024.

Previously, Berkley served as member of Nevada Assembly from 1983 to 1985 and as a member of the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education from 1990 to 1998.

Shelley Berkley moved with her family to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1964 when she was a junior high school student, attending Fremont Junior High and Valley High School.

Shelley Berkley practiced law for several years, mainly as a member of the legal counsel for several Las Vegas casinos.

Shelley Berkley served as the national director for the American Hotel-Motel Association.

Shelley Berkley served in the Nevada Assembly from 1982 to 1984 and was involved in civic affairs locally.

Shelley Berkley served on the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents from 1990 to 1998.

In 1996 and 1997, during the construction of The Venetian, Shelley Berkley advised this employer to make campaign contributions to two Clark County commissioners and two Clark County judges to secure their approval for the new hotel.

Shelley Berkley represented Nevada's 1st congressional district from 1999 to 2013, serving seven terms as a member of the US House of Representatives.

Shelley Berkley was the second woman elected to Congress from Nevada, the first to do so as a Democratic Party nominee, as well as the first woman elected to represent the 1st district.

In Congress, Shelley Berkley was a member of the New Democrat Coalition.

Shelley Berkley is strongly opposed to the building of a nuclear waste repository in Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

The day after, Shelley Berkley filed papers to run in the district.

Shelley Berkley raised $206,000 in the first six months and $410,000 in the next six months.

Shelley Berkley announced in June 2012 that she would turn over all $11,900 in campaign contributions from indicted lobbyist Harvey Whittemore to the US Treasury.

The themes of some groups endorsing Shelley Berkley included education, environmental protections, and gender equality in politics.

Shelley Berkley received endorsements from groups such as The National Education Association, The Sierra Club and The National Women's Political Caucus.

In 2011, Shelley Berkley voted for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 as part of a controversial provision that allows the government and the military to indefinitely detain American citizens and others without trial.

Shelley Berkley was given various scores from a variety of advocacy groups dedicated to various topics.

Groups that Shelley Berkley has received poor ratings from include the National Taxpayers Union and Peace Action.

On October 3,2008, Shelley Berkley voted for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which created the Troubled Asset Relief Program that bailed out Wall Street banks.

Shelley Berkley is a supporter of Israel and is a member of the pro-Israel group American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

On October 10,2002, Shelley Berkley was among the 81 House Democrats who voted in favor of authorizing the invasion of Iraq.

On September 5,2011, a New York Times expose detailed the actions that Shelley Berkley took as a member of Congress that she and her husband financially benefited from.

Shelley Berkley's actions were among a series over the last five years in which she pushed legislation or twisted the arms of federal regulators to pursue an agenda that is aligned with the business interests of her husband, Dr Larry Lehrner.

Shelley Berkley was named in CREW's Most Corrupt Members of Congress report for the second year in a row in 2012.

On July 9,2012, the United States House Committee on Ethics voted unanimously to form an investigative subcommittee to see whether Shelley Berkley used her official position to advocate for policy that benefited her family's financial situation.

Shelley Berkley was blamed for her efforts to block the closure of a kidney transplant center where her husband was employed.

Shelley Berkley announced that she would run for the United States Senate in April 2011 to succeed John Ensign, who resigned amidst an ethics scandal.

In 2014, Shelley Berkley was hired as CEO and senior provost for both the Nevada campus and the California campus of the Touro University System.

Shelley Berkley was later promoted to senior vice president of these two campuses.

Shelley Berkley retired from her positions in 2023 after launching her candidacy in the 2024 Las Vegas mayoral election.

Shelley Berkley announced her plans to run for the office in January 2023.

In March 1999, Shelley Berkley married Dr Lawrence Lehrner, a practicing nephrologist in Las Vegas.