I’m a bit steamed about getting the list of 128 "eligible" voters that can vote at the April 4, 2009 election for the candidates to the new Nye County Democratic Central Committee in Tonopah. Here is why I’m steamed.
At the January 26, 2009 meeting of the Nye County Central Committee when everything seemed to blow up about this election of the new Central Committee.
At that January 26 meeting Laurayne Murray asked, "What is the actual voting in addition to completing the qualification for office? Will you also have the rules for those who are able to vote at our February meeting? or will they be stated?"
Chairman Watkins replied "There will be a list of individuals who are committed and who will be able to vote for them."
At the Monday, February 23rd meeting of the Central Committee Mr. Watkins read off a list names of candidates for the various seats on the Central Committee.
He also stated there were 128 individuals eligible to vote for those candidates (which leaves out over 9,000 Nye County Democrats.) He did not present a list of the 128 voters, however, as he said he would do at the January 26 meeting.
I made a motion, which was seconded, that the Central Committee provide a list of the 128 eligible voters. The motion passed unanimously. I then asked when would the list be available. (It was obvious the list was already available else Chairman Watkins couldn’t know there would be 128 voters). Members of the Central Committee turned to Dawn Hardina to give an answer. It would be Friday (February 27) when the list would be at the headquarters office to pick up.
Friday morning I phoned Dawn Hardina at her home to see if the list was ready. I assumed that she, as Secretary, would be the person on the Central Committee who would "prepare" the list.
Dawn said she didn’t know anything about the readiness of the list because she hadn’t spoken with Loyal Watkins since the February 23rd meeting. She suggested I phone the Democrat headquarters and ask whoever was there.
I did.
Loyle Scarlett, 1st Vice-Chair, answered the phone. He told me he hadn’t seen the list–that it wasn’t in the office. That he would call Loyal Watkins about it and call me back.
Ten minutes later Scarlett called me back and told me Loyal (Watkins) had been ill. That they would work through the weekend and have the list ready "first thing Monday morning."
I kept thinking the 128 name list already existed else Watkins couldn’t have said at the February 23rd meeting there were 128 voters that could vote. Why would anyone have to work through the weekend to prepare a simple list?
So, being patient, I said OK I’d check Monday morning.
Today is Monday. I phoned the Democrat headquarters this morning around 10:00 a.m. Ralph DeFeo, Treasurer, answered the phone. I asked him if the list was ready to pickup. "No," he said there was no list at the office that Loyal Watkins had put it in his bag and left.
I wasn’t surprised. I asked him to phone me "if and when the list ever showed up."
It is now almost 4:00 p.m. Still no word on getting the list. I’m satisfied that we ordinary Democrats will never see that list. I’m satisfied that the Nye County Democratic Central Committee has never intended to release that list, if it exists at all. Doesn’t matter that disclosure of the list was voted on by the membership at the February 23rd meeting. I believe the Central Committee couldn’t give a tinker’s damn what the members want—so far as the Central Committee is concerned they are the Nye County Democratic Party—the membership is merely an insignificant annoyance—tolerated, but to be ignored.
I’m finished trying to get the damned list. I’m a grown man and I refuse to crawl on my hands and knees and plead for that list.
Why is it important for us peon Democrats to have the list?
1. Because if my name or your name isn’t on that "anointed" list we can’t vote for anyone on the Central Committee even if we make that 320 mile drive from Pahrump to Tonopah and back. I’m not going to drive up there for nothing.
2. How can the candidates up for election to the Central Committee campaign? It is obvious that they should be campaigning for the votes of the 128 "anointed" voters. Hard to do if they don’t know who, out of the 9,400+ Democrats in Nye County, the voters are.
3. How can the Central Committee come up with those 128 names when under their own by laws which requires attendance at 4 of the Central Committee meetings. There aren’t 128 Democrats in Nye County that has met that standard. A simple look at the available attendance records of those who have attended a meeting in whatever calendar year the by laws refer to shows that at the absolute best, there are only 28 people who are or could be eligible to vote on April 4. I want to know who that additional 100 are.
This whole election fiasco is simply ridiculous and childish. I’m weary of the insult to my intelligence being perpetrated by the Central Committee. I wash my hands of it. I hope the peon members of the Nye County Democratic Party can find out who that golden 128 list contains.
I hope the new Central Committee they elect is selected for competence and possess the ability to carry out business in a professional manner. I suppose they’ll find out whether they can vote or not when they arrive in Tonopah April 4.
Good luck to you all.
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