Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Top Democrats seek removal of Nevada party chairwoman

Democrats Campaign at Early Voting Rally

Steve Marcus

Nevada Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro speaks during an early voting rally at Cheyenne High School in North Las Vegas Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022.

Updated Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023 | 3:16 p.m.

The top two Democrats in the Nevada Legislature called on state Democratic Party Chairwoman Judith Whitmer to resign today, citing a series of missteps as the party begins preparing for the 2024 election cycle.

In a joint statement, Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager, D-Las Vegas, and Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas, urged Whitmer to step down, stating they “are deeply disappointed by recent events.”

Media reports surfaced last week that Whitmer had urged more than 230 members of the state party’s Central Committee be purged from the membership list — representing more than 40% of the committee.

“As Democratic leaders of the state Legislature, we are fully invested in having a strong, successful Nevada State Democratic Party focused on winning elections,” the statement said.

“We are deeply discouraged by recent events that reinforce our concerns over the past two years that Chair Whitmer is not up to the task of managing basic operations and supporting Democratic campaigns in the most competitive battleground state in the country,” the statement said.

Yeager and Cannizzaro listed “unprecedented” turnover among Nevada Democratic Party staff, as well as allegations Whitmer “undermined” elected officials, including a former lieutenant governor.

They also cited a “complete failure” to address systemic problems with electronic registration and voting methods at state party meetings, including next month’s election for a new party chair and other officers.

“We further denounce the false smears against one of our own colleagues, Assemblywoman Daniele Monroe-Moreno, who is a barrier-breaking trail blazer and a steadfast champion for criminal justice reform,” the statement said.

Monroe-Moreno announced earlier this month she’s running to unseat Whitmer, a liberal progressive, and has assembled a “unity” slate consisting of liberal and moderate Democrats.

Infighting between the progressive and establishment wings have plagued Whitmer’s tenure, dating back to her controversial win over Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom for the party chair in March 2021.

Several progressive candidates, backed by the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, swept all five leadership positions, prompting nearly every employee with the Nevada State Democratic Party to resign, according to a March 8, 2021, report in The Intercept. Shortly before the progressive faction took over the reins of the party, establishment figures who were running the party emptied its coffers to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Those who quit started a new group, Nevada Democratic Victory, and endorsed more moderate candidates like former Gov. Steve Sisolak — who was defeated in Novermber’s general election — and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto. Like Nevada Democratic Victory, Whitmer’s NV Dems also supported Sisolak and Cortez Masto, but also focused their energy on down-ballot races.

“We’ve supported their work, but we haven’t been working together or coordinating any of our efforts,” Whitmer said of Nevada Democratic Victory in the Los Angeles Times in November. “We focused heavily on down-ballot races while they took the top of the ticket. But, of course, we’ve done everything we can to support all of our candidates.”

Two months later, former NV Dems Treasurer Howard Beckerman resigned after Whitmer made controversial statements critical of Israel, garnering criticism from high-profile Nevada Democrats like U.S. Rep. Susie Lee and U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen.

The Times also reported the relationship between the NV Dems and Nevada Democratic Victory had grown so fraught during November’s general election, some members of the NV Dems were not invited to Nevada Democratic Victory’s election-night watch party at the Encore. The NV Dems, by contrast, phone-banked until polls closed and had a small watch party with food from a local Olive Garden.

In their joint statement Tuesday, Yeager and Cannizzaro reiterated the need for change.

“With so much at stake for hardworking families in Nevada, we firmly believe it is time for new state party leadership that is up to the job, bringing together Democrats from across Nevada and across the political spectrum. Our state party cannot afford these distractions for another two years. We urge Chair Whitmer to resign so Nevada Democrats can turn the page and get to work on preparing for the 2024 election cycle,” the statement said.

Responding to the allegation that the 230 Central Committee members were improperly removed, Whitmer said in a statement the action complied with the party’s bylaws. The committee rolls have been routinely updated to remove individuals who “failed to maintain their membership,” she said.

“We were disappointed to learn that this essential responsibility is being misrepresented as a targeted removal,” Whitmer said.

“Due to an outpouring of concern about our upcoming elections, we felt it was important to publicize the attendance records going back to the start of the 2022-2024 membership term,” she said. “This step is unprecedented, but we believe it to be necessary given the apparent efforts of some individuals faith in our party’s elections through the same rhetoric used by Republicans in 2022.”

“As is clearly shown in our attendance records, only individuals who have missed two meetings without a proxy or an excused absence have been removed, as is required by our bylaws,” she said. “It’s deeply frustrating to see narratives being created based on speculation on social media, rather than on facts that could’ve been easily provided by simply reaching out to the party. It’s our hope that these steps will dispel the misinformation being circulated.”

Later Tuesday, another statement attributed to Whitmer was sent out.

“I was elected chair by Democrats who felt that their voices weren’t being heard. The false allegations being pushed are, unfortunately, common tactics to stop reform.

“When I was elected to Chair, our party had been drained of resources and staff. Every step of the way, we’ve been met with obstruction from forces invested in maintaining the status quo. Despite those obstacles, it’s been my privilege to help our party rebuild and emerge from 2022 stronger than when my term began.

“I knew from the beginning of my run that putting control of our party back into the hands of regular people, rather than lobbyists and political insiders, wouldn’t be easy. Many expected my administration to fail, and when it didn’t, are now trying to stop me from running on our achievements. I and my slate remain committed to elections based on facts and our shared vision for a better Nevada.”