CAMPAIGN LOG
April 1, 2024
The current incumbent Nevada District 39 Assemblyman, Ken Gray—also my opponent in the November election—made the news the other day. In an article in the Nevada Independent headlined “Nevada lawmakers named in election denial report walk back past comments” Mr. Gray is described as going from believing President Biden stole the 2020 election from President Trump to now just having “a lot of darned questions in my mind.” “Walk back” is politician/media speak for “I’m changing my story.” As you’ll see below, my opponent is a committed, dyed-in-the-wool election denier. In contrast, I totally support our election system and the dedicated public servants who make it work. I especially want to recognize Nikki Bryan, retired Lyon County Clerk Treasurer, Amy Burgens, Douglas County Clerk Treasurer, and Staci Lindberg, current Lyon County Clerk Treasurer. Nevada’s elections are secure and fair, and the results have been beyond reproach for decades, because of women like these and their commitment to democracy. Our District 39 clerks have also risen to the bureaucratic challenges caused by same-day and DMV registration, as well as simultaneous vote-by-mail and in-person balloting. These recent measures made a good system better by removing needless obstacles to registration and voting, but they also made elections more complicated. Nevertheless, our clerks seamlessly incorporated them into the process, where they’re now utilized by thousands of voters. If I am fortunate enough to win the privilege of representing District 39 in the Nevada Assembly, I will make sure our county clerks have the resources and support, moral and material, they need to continue with what I would argue is the most important work in the state. But back to my opponent. As a Lyon County Commissioner—the office he held in 2020—he led the attack on vote-by-mail balloting even before the election. He joined a social media campaign denigrating Ms. Bryan, our County Clerk, because she stood by her constitutional duty to conduct the election according to state law. After the election, he refused to accept the results in Lyon County. He voted against approving and submitting the Clerk’s final tally to the Secretary of State, despite Ms. Bryan’s assurances that there were, in fact, no irregularities. (In a classic “walk back,” Mr. Gray claimed, just before the meeting adjourned, that he only voted “no” because he did not have time to fully review the results.) Next, Mr. Gray allied himself with extremist election denier Jim Marchant in his push to convince rural counties to throw away their voting machines and replace them with paper ballots. As Chair of the County Commission, my opponent devoted almost an entire commission meeting to the Marchant / Cyber-Ninja dog and pony show promoting the specious charge that the County’s Dominion voting machines were not secure. Ms. Bryan, again as she had done many times before, patiently explained that this was simply not the case. She might as well have been talking to the wall. Incidentally, the Chair—my opponent—allowed Marchant and his colleagues to go on literally for hours, but he limited the Dominion representative to a three-minute response during public comment. It appears “we wuz robbed!” has reached the end of its shelf life. But of course, my opponent has not taken back his accusation that Biden stole the 2020 election, let alone admitted he was wrong. He’s just moved on to say, gosh, there are too many questions out there, and he can’t get his head around Biden winning more votes than Trump. Never mind that the Trump campaign took those very same questions to court in Carson City, only to have Judge Russel methodically reject, debunk, or laugh out of court each and every one of them. As did the Nevada Supreme Court. The phenomenon of election denial is not a good faith effort to right a wrong. It is an attempt to undermine our democratic republic by delegitimizing its most basic component—the way people choose their leaders. With one side constantly crying foul, it is easy to focus on them and their allegedly stolen votes. But let’s be clear, reversing the results of an election, denying the plain math that produced the winner, in reality targets and disenfranchises the winning side because of how they voted. And don’t doubt for a moment that, no matter what your party or politics, if in the eyes of the election deniers you ever vote the wrong way they won’t hesitate to pull the rug out from under you—just give them the chance. |
If I am fortunate enough to win the privilege of representing District 39 in the Nevada Assembly, I will make sure our county clerks have the resources and support, moral and material, they need to continue with what I would argue is the most important work in the state. |
March 23, 2024—Douglas County and Lyon County Democratic Conventions
This weekend marked the wrap-up of the county convention / caucuses. I delivered remarks at the Douglas County convention last week, and at Lyon County on Saturday. Friendly, supportive crowds of course. I continued with the “introducing myself” phase of the campaign, and it was great to see new faces and make new contacts at both events. I also touched on some important points which I’ll be expanding upon as the campaign develops. I feel sure we will win on November 5, from Biden on down to myself in District 39, but just winning is not enough. We need to win by a lot. Even now, the Republicans are filing lawsuits accusing several county clerks, including Lyon and Douglas Counties, of election irregularities. This is the legal groundwork for November 6, when they will begin the fight to nullify their inevitable loss. Rest assured they will use any tactics they can—legal and illegal, peaceful or violent. Either way, they won’t be stopped unless an overwhelming majority of Nevadans—and all Americans—rejects their attempt to replace our democratic republic with a strong-man authoritarian state. It’s up to us to redouble our efforts to achieve this majority. It will take the usual door-knocking, phone banking, campaigning, and marching—this time on steroids. |
Rest assured they will use any tactics they can—legal and illegal, peaceful or violent. Either way, they won’t be stopped unless an overwhelming majority of Nevadans—and all Americans—rejects their attempt to replace our democratic republic with a strong-man authoritarian state. |
March 21, 2024—Douglas County Schoolboard
I have been attending Douglas County School Board meetings, lending my support to the “We Deserve a Better Board” movement (We Deserve a Better Board | Douglas County, Nevada). If you’re not aware, right-wing extremists won a majority on the school board in the last election. They proceeded to impose their partisan political agenda on the school district, with disastrous results. The “Better Board” folks have had some success in reining in the excesses, but the future of Douglas County schools will be at stake in November when voters will have the chance to elect a board which values children and education over politics. We are seeing a similar situation in Lyon County. The same brand of extremists hold two seats on the school board. They have put forward a slate of like-minded candidates who, if they win in November, will control Lyon County schools. I know that way-down ballot races sometimes fall under the radar, but this time we can’t afford to give the school board anything less than our full attention. |
If you’re not aware, right-wing extremists won a majority on the [Douglas County] school board in the last election. They proceeded to impose their partisan political agenda on the school district, with disastrous results. |