Multiple high-level Democrats in the state of Nevada have had to resign this month amid scandals that have drawn mockery from the Republican Party and have threatened to derail their agenda.
Last week, former state Senate Majority Leader Kelvin Atkinson pled guilty to “wire fraud after admitting to taking about $250,000 in campaign funds for personal expenses, including leasing a luxury SUV and opening a Las Vegas nightclub,” the Reno Gazette Journal reported.
“I’ve let myself and my family down,” Atkinson told his colleagues during his resignation speech. “I accept full responsibility for my actions. I can’t express the depth of my remorse. I am truly sorry.”
Also last week, State Assembly Majority Whip Mike Sprinkle announced his resignation after sexual harrassment allegations were made against him, saying that he was going to seek therapy to better himself.
“In light of the growing sexual harassment claims against me I will be resigning from my position as state assemblyman effective today,” Sprinkle said. “As for the claims against me, I am so sorry that anyone ever felt harassed or threatened by me. While that was never my intention, I am taking full responsibility for my actions and would never discredit the feelings or concerns of someone who felt wronged by me.”
In a statement, the Nevada Republican Party wrote:
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. A Nevada Democrat is resigning their seat in the Legislature in disgrace.
Nope, this isn’t Groundhog Day. Assemblyman Mike Sprinkle will leave Carson City immediately because of, in his own words, “growing sexual harassment claims.”
Death, taxes, and a Nevada Democrat resigning in scandal.
Sprinkle is the second Nevada Democrat to resign in as many weeks. Last week, Majority Leader Kelvin Atkinson left his post after announcing he would be pleading guilty to using his campaign coffers to enrich himself.
With the 2019 legislative session barely a month old, how many more Nevada Democrats’ resignations should Nevadans anticipate before sine die in June?
“You’re not experiencing déjà vu, Nevada,” Nevada Republican Party Executive Director Will Sexauer said. “Another Nevada Democrat is resigning due to scandal. Speaker Frierson must release the details of the sexual harassment allegations that have forced Mike Sprinkle from office. Nevadans deserve answers.”
Late in February it was revealed that disgraced former Rep. Ruben Kihuen was running for Las Vegas city council after he resigned from Congress over sexual harrassment allegations.
A House Ethics report found that Kihuen “made persistent and unwanted advances towards women who were required to interact with him as part of their professional responsibilities.”
In 2017, state Sen. Mark Manendo was forced to resign at the conclusion of an investigation into sexual harrassment allegations that were made against him.
“The investigator concluded that Senator Manendo violated the Legislature’s anti-harassment policy; had engaged in multiple and repeated instances of inappropriate, offensive, and unacceptable behavior towards female staffers and lobbyists; and had attempted to interfere with the subsequent investigation into his conduct,” a statement said, as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.