What REALLY Happened at the
Clark County GOP Convention?An interview with Worker’s Rights Initiative
activist and lawyer Deanna Forbush.Editor’s note: Did you find the ‘reports’ run by the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Las Vegas Sun on the uproar at the Clark County GOP Convention the last weekend in March curiously uninformative? We here at Electric Nevada certainly did. After reading Jane Ann Morrison’s report in the RJ on Sunday, March 28, and then the later spittle-flecked anti-Russo fulminations of Jon Ralston and Jeff German, we knew there had to be a lot more to the story. Whereupon Lady Luck smiled on us: we learned that the individual who’d precipitated the whole ruckus, lawyer Deanna Forbush -- someone outside both the Russo and Guinn camps -- was available for a telephone interview.
Electric Nevada: We’re lucky we reached you. We’d looked at all of the stories coming out of Las Vegas -- from the RJ and the Sun -- and there was nothing that really explained what had happened. Like, what was the ploy the Guinnites used to get those people self-nominated?
Deanna Forbush: I actually filed a formal objection and started this whole thing…. I knew something was going to happen…
First of all, this is how you become a delegate to the county convention: you attend the precinct meeting and you get nominated to serve as a delegate. And the whole point of going to the precinct meeting is because the county delegates [are to] represent their precinct, as opposed to state convention delegates which are at-large. So … there’s relevance in making sure that the delegates [are] from the precinct, and so forth, and that they attend this meeting so that they sort of ascertain their … neighbors’ feelings, because they’re going to go and represent them [at the county convention]….
Now, if … at the precinct meetings they don’t get enough people to serve as delegates [there is a provision]. Because basically for the county convention … you can have one delegate for every registered 50 voters in that precinct….
There [are], like, 4,000 delegates, at least, that are eligible to go to the county convention, predicated on [the number of] registered voters, [and] registered Republicans.
So typically at the precinct meetings, you don’t get enough people to serve as delegates. So the central committee has the authority to appoint delegates to serve, and they’re supposed to pick the alternates, or the ones to fill vacancies from the qualified members of the party.
So my first argument is, before you can even fill the vacancies, you have to identify them. Which means you have to wait until 9 o’clock on the first day of the convention, which was the 27th [of March]. Because to actually be a delegate, you have to show up that first night by 9 o’clock, sign in and pay your fee.
Let’s say you got elected at a precinct meeting, but you didn’t pay your fee or sign in. Then that’s a vacancy. So you have to wait until the deadline before you can even identify vacancies.
So any vacancy filled before that time, I think is erroneous, because, first of all, you have to put all these people through credentials, to see if they qualify, identify which precincts have vacancies. Then the central committee is supposed to first choose alternates to serve as delegates. Then they’re supposed to pick from the qualified members of the party. Well, that means that… Well, you would think that would mean -- even though the law is very vague and rules and everything taken together are very vague -- you would think that at the central committee meeting, people could then appear and nominate somebody and the central committee could appoint them. But what happened [was something else]…
Now that’s the county convention, okay? For the state convention, you can self-nominate. And there’s a form… in fact, [there’s an] announcement that’s sent out for the county conventions… They tell you right in that big announcement -- it’s a whole page ad that tells everybody where the precinct meetings are, and what day, and what precinct you’re in and so forth. Well, they put a disclosure in there, because by statute they’re required to tell people how to nominate themselves for the state convention. In fact the only way you can become a delegate to the state convention is through this self-nomination process.
There are three ways you can do it. You can mail in a letter, and sign it, and nominate yourself. Or you can go down to the Republican headquarters and fill out a self-nominating form, which requires a signature. Or, you can attend the county convention and get yourself nominated there.
So what the Guinn people did is go down to the state Republican headquarters, took the state form, whited out the signature line, changed state to county, and filled in, like, 330 names. So these are unauthenticated, not signed -- just pieces of paper.
First of all, there’s no self-nomination process under the county system. [Secondly,] these weren’t signed. [Third,] nobody was given notice that they too, could self-nominate.
So they took these forms down to the county and had [County Central Committee Second Vice-Chairman] Ed Gobel put them in as delegates.
So anyway, I found out about it and I filed a long objection [on Friday, March 27] and set forth all the law and every reason on why it’s not appropriate. I mean, forget fairness and equity and due process … -- there’s no system under the rules that even permitted self-nomination. And I think you can make the argument that that’s because the delegates are tied to precincts -- so [people at the party’s base] have to have some control over all that [is done in their name].
So anyway, the first night when they tried to seat all these delegates, I objected… And I was objecting for my own reasons, frankly, because I knew that the county [committee] had just passed a by-law that said that there would be no pre-primary endorsements. So it didn’t make sense for the candidates [Guinn and Russo] to break their necks trying to get a bunch of delegates, because there would be no pre-primary endorsements.
So I thought, "Why is Guinn trying to get all these delegates?" And the only thing I could think of, and his biggest impediment, in my mind, to winning the election, is the fact that he’s not supporting the Workers’ Rights Initiative. And so I thought -- and a lot of other people thought, I can’t take credit for this, a lot of people thought -- ‘he wants to make sure that the Workers’ Rights Initiative doesn’t get on the platforms -- the local, state and national issues platforms.’
So I was worried about that, and I didn’t want him to seat the delegates and defeat worker’s rights. So that’s why I filed my objection. Well, because unseating the delegates would have some collateral benefit for Aaron Russo, all his people jumped on my bandwagon, and started supporting my motion, which was to not seat the delegates. Well, it just turned out to be a melee -- an absolute melee.
Sue Lowden was the chairman of the convention, and … she was trying to get control of the thing… There was a counter motion that said to seat [the Guinn delegates], and my motion was to not seat them. And so Sue said, "You know, we don’t know what to do. We don’t know what the rules require, we don’t know if you can self-nominate, we…" -- because they hadn’t thought about it, apparently. So she formed a committee to go decide what to do.
So I was on the committee, Lea Roberts, who was a dyed-in-the-wool Guinnite -- she runs Jim Gibbons’ campaign, longtime Republican -- and another lady named Betty something, last name starts with an "F", longtime, old-time, Republican lady.
And so we went out in the hall and I explained everything to them. I had all the statutes and by-laws and convention rules with me, and went through the whole thing and they agreed that the delegates shouldn’t be seated. But they said "You know, this is a bad thing because they’ve always done it this way." That was [Guinn floor manager] Pete Ernaut’s whole argument: "We’ve always done it this way."
[My position was:] "Well, then you’ve been doing it wrong -- you know? And this is corrupt and I’m not going to stand for it as an American, number one. And if I had known there was a self-nomination process, I wouldn’t have sat my ass in some high school, waiting to become a delegate that night. At a minimum, you should make this process available to everyone, publicize it, pass a by-law that permits it, let the whole world know they can do it too, and then get it on. And then if you do all that, if you do create the process by which you can self-nominate, then at least these things have to be signed."
Otherwise -- I mean, the whole system is subjected to corruption because candidates will [just] take stacks of paper, [and] put people’s names on it, which is what Kenny did. First of all, he presented these 330 slips of paper with a $12,000 check to pay for the delegates, and then he sent a letter to everybody saying "Please come and support me; I paid your way."
So I thought, "This is really, really bad news. This is old-boys’-network and corruption at its finest." This is why Nevada gets such a bad rap; because we’re such cowboys, you know? And so I went through my whole argument with them about how this was corruption…
The ladies said they agreed with me completely: that there was no process, that it wasn’t fair. First of all, there was no vehicle by which you could self-nominate. Even if there were, they would have violated it, because there was no notice and no signatures, no authentication.
"But [the ladies argued,] they’ve always done it this way, and they don’t know what to do, and there’s all these 300 people that want to be delegates, and it’s not fair to send them home…"
First of all, I don’t think they were there to start with, you know, at the convention, So we made this compromise, and I said. "Let’s do a one-time [thing]… Let’s make it clear to the convention that this procedure will not be tolerated ever again, and if they want to do it, they have to create a vehicle by which you can do it. Number two, we’ll accept these delegates on a one-time basis, but only the slips of paper that were signed, because that’s the only way you’re going to know if these were real people that really wanted to serve." I mean, Kenny could have taken the registered voter database, paid for all the people and sent a letter saying "Please come." And that would be a crap shoot, but he would have stacked the house that way, and that’s not democracy.
And so [the ladies] agreed with me. And we went back to the convention and we announced that we would never do it again, and we advised them to create a system for self-nomination if they wanted to pursue it… But we said, "But because there may be some good Republicans who think they are good legitimate delegates, we don’t want to send anybody home, we are going to take these nominations, we are going to seat the delegates this time only, but only those who signed the slips. So we’ll go in the back room, we’ll look at the slips and we’ll pick the signed ones."
So Pete Ernaut had a fit -- because he knew most of them weren’t signed. But some of them were. Because I had some copies of some that were, even though there was no signature line.
He said "The form’s defective; they gave us a form that’s defective." Well, this is people at the state party office trying to help Kenny, you know, by giving them this form, and I don’t know who erased the signature line. But … it’s clear that they’re the same form; somebody just whited out the line. And why would they do that, but for the fact that these weren’t real people filling these things out? If real people [were to fill] them out, what’s the difference if there [was a signature line or not]? They’d just have them sign them, wouldn’t they?
So then Pete Ernaut had a fit … when we made the committee report. And there was a big uproar again, and Sue didn’t know what to do. So she sent me out in the hall with the convention’s parliamentarian, whose name was Vernon… Out in the hall; I explained the whole thing to him, and the thing that he seemed -- there were so many things that were wrong with the system, everybody seemed to pick up on different aspects of it. Like the ladies on my first committee didn’t like the fact that [the slips] weren’t signed. But Vernon didn’t like the fact [that the Guinnites] filled vacancies before you could really identify vacancies. So he hung his hat on that and went back and announced that he didn’t think we could seat the delegates. And so the Guinn people went crazy again, and the Russo people were demanding justice.
So this is about the end of the night, Friday night. Sue decides there will be a vote -- we’ll let the convention vote as to what to do. Number One, "no" means you don’t want the delegates seated and "yes" means you want them seated. So, first there was a voice vote. And because all the Russo people were now supporting my motion, because they envisioned this collateral benefit, it was overwhelming -- the voice vote in favor of not seating the delegates. But because the Guinn people were up in Sue’s ear, she said it was too close to count. So she said, "We’ll do a vote where you stand up to support your side of the issue. And that would count you and then you’ll sit down and we’ll count the other side." Well, three-fourths of the room stood up in favor of not seating the delegates. It was just so absolutely obvious. And -- I mean, there was just a pittance of people that stood up who said we should seat the delegates. And Sue, for her own reasons, said it was too close to count.
So then they had… Then they decided that they would -- this was just pandemonium, keep in mind, this stupid convention, you know. Then she said, "Well, we’ll go to the back of the room and fill out little ballots, ‘yes’ or ‘no’ ballots." Well, first of all -- I mean, I observed this from afar just because I was just so appalled by then at this process, I couldn’t believe it.
Pete Ernaut was running the tables, the voting tables. And even with all that influence, they still had like a hundred more "no" votes than "yes" votes -- a majority to not seat them. And so there were three votes. Three times people at the convention -- people that diligently went to their precinct meetings so that they could be delegates, people that followed the rules, people that were voicing their democratic opinion at their own convention --- three times [they] voted not to seat the delegates. Sue said all the votes were too close to count. She slammed her gavel down and went home.
[Actually, first] she said, "We’ll have a roll-call vote in the morning, but I don’t have a delegate list tonight."
So I went up, and I had a delegate list that I had received the day before, so it had to be pretty comprehensive.
I said, "Look -- Use my delegate list."
She said, "Well, no, because it’s not official."
Well, I mean, I got it from the party.
I said, "Sue, you mean to tell me that you don’t have a delegate list? How did everybody register? I mean, I went up and paid my money today. Somebody checked my name off a list. I mean, I saw it."
[Sue]: "Well, I don’t know where they are now."
Okay, we"ll do it in the morning then.
So in the morning the thing starts at -- I don’t know if it was 8 o’clock or 9 o’clock -- but when I walked in, Pete Ernaut and Sue and Milton Schwartz were up on the stage having a discussion. And so, you know, I thought that was pretty ex parté, you know. So I went up to see what was up, and [Ernaut] was just vehemently objecting to my objection, because he said that it wasn’t in the proper form.
Now in -- I don’t know if it’s the county rules or by-laws or something, I think it’s the by-laws, there’s a method by which you can challenge the seating of a delegate, and it provides that either the delegate who’s been seated, or the person wanting to be seated in that seat, can challenge the seating of the delegate. And you have to do it in writing and you have to object, and you have to state in your objection how the seating of the delegate would harm you.
Now that’s one method, and I knew that that was one method, but … that really didn’t apply to me. I was alleging a violation of the law….
There’s a county [central committee] by-law -- it’s article 11 -- that says "No officer, agent or member of the committee" -- which means the central committee – "is authorized to take any action in violation of any state or federal election law. Any action taken in said violation shall be cause for recall or removal…." Okay, so that’s one; that’s a by-law.
Then, let’s see… "Violation of Clark County convention rules or any provision of the Nevada statutes will be grounds for the county convention, or its credentials committee to investigate and to hold all or any part of the putative credentials of prospective delegates to be null and void." And I also think that’s the same by-law.…
Obviously you have to look at the convention rules, the county by-laws, and the state statutes as a body. You can’t look at one document at the exclusion of others. Because I didn’t use the method set forth in the by-laws to object [to a particular individual’s credentials], they just wanted to throw out the objection; that was their best way of handling it, and that was Pete Ernaut’s whole argument: that we didn’t really make the objection.
I said, "Look. I made my objection on the basis of law." And so Sue assembled another committee -- with Pete Ernaut, me, Milton Schwartz, her, Lea Roberts, Craig somebody, Mills Berger or something -- I don’t know who he is.
But anyway … Pete was just like, completely out of control, screaming to the top of his lungs, "We’ve always done it this way; this is a newcomer; I don’t even know who she is; she has no… she’s coming in and disrupting everything, and this has always been done this way."
And I said, "Look…." And then he said the central committee is authorized to appoint delegates.
I said "Right -- but you’re supposed to … pick the delegates [you appoint] from the whole body of qualified Republicans -- not from a select group of hand-picked people from one political source."
I [said], "Let’s not even talk about the law -- it doesn’t pass the smell test. And it’s disgusting. And it’s political corruption at its finest. And as long as I’m involved in this party, I won’t countenance it."
And I said, "I don’t have any personal stake in either of these candidates’ campaigns. I don’t care if Kenny Guinn’s the governor; I don’t care if Aaron Russo’s the governor -- as long as it’s a Republican. At this point I don’t care. This is not a political objection; this is an equity, due process, clean-up-the-corruption-in-our-own-house objection. This shouldn’t be partisan, you know?"
They weren’t going with me; I was so outnumbered. And then I told Sue I was going to sue, for violation of election laws, and that just completely made her mad. And she went back in and seated all the delegates -- said it was an improper objection.
So then the Russo people went nuts. I mean, first of all, he represents this segment of the population who haven’t typically been involved in politics. They haven’t had anyone representing their interests, and now they’ve finally got someone who’s going to give them a voice. I mean, they’ve basically been railroaded by political systems and by authority, all their life, and now they’re participating in a convention, they’re doing it the right way, they’re trying to join the mainstream, and once again they get railroaded. And they’re all there; they’re all witnesses. They see it with their own eyes that the Establishment has no regard for their input and [the Establishment people] are going to do what they want to do no matter what [the real delegates] say.
So it was like a revolution. I mean, these people went crazy -- screaming, yelling, demanding a vote, demanding justice, demanding fairness. You know, I don’t approve of their method. But I know very well why they were upset. I mean, I felt the same way.
It became a melee… The hotel security came in and read the trespassing statute. Milton Schwartz came to the podium and asked the sergeant at arms to remove Aaron Russo. And so then his people surrounded him. It was just like a revolution, you know, like in the 1800s. And they said, "No -- Remove Sue! Remove Sue! Remove Sue!" Because she…
They said, "Sue’s a Liar! She’s Lying!" And she was lying. Because they won the vote -- three times. They said, "Remove Sue, not me. You can’t remove me -- I did what was right!"
And [the Establishment people] called the police. I never saw any police, but they said they called them. They [the police] didn’t do anything. But somehow…
Oh… Finally Sue realized that she had to appease these people. I mean, she knew in her heart what she did. And so she decided that there would be a roll-call vote. Well, by then, it’s in the afternoon [of Saturday], and this whole thing has been so offensive to everybody, and a lot of people have left, plus…
Now, this I can’t attest to. But I’ve been told by people that say they witnessed it, that they saw two Kenny Guinn buses pull up that morning with like senior citizens, and they were writing.…
Everybody had credentials -- for delegate credentials, your name [was] typed on a card and you hung it around your neck. It had your precinct number and so forth on it. Well, they [the Guinn forces] were hand-writing cards and sending people into the convention. That I don’t know for sure, but that’s what I was told. So, if that’s true, those people didn’t register; you’re required to register Friday night, if you were a delegate.
But anyway, by the time they took the roll-call vote, Kenny had more people there than Aaron did. And so it was apparent, after they’d read a couple of hundred names, that Kenny was going to win. And so Aaron got up and conceded the thing. He basically said that he wasn’t going to put everybody through this; everybody knew what had happened -- how the vote had been manipulated and railroaded, and that they would still try to participate in the process but they were going to address this issue. And I think, you know, he’ll probably sue -- probably [sue] the party. So anyway, after he conceded the thing then … the convention got calmed down again and we managed to get Paycheck Protection on all three platforms, with the help of his people.
And it was just a disgusting, repulsive, series of events. And I’m not biased. I mean, I don’t care about either one of those guys…. [But] everybody that was there knows what happened.
Elecric Nevada: The first time [the committee people] tried to get the security guards onto the floor, or whatever, what was the putative offense that they needed the guards for?
Deanna Forbush: Well, because the [real delegates] -- when Sue seated the delegates -- the [Russo] people went crazy. You know -- standing up, standing on chairs, yelling. Nobody was spitting or throwing food, like Kenny alleged. That was just patently not true. But they were.. they were angry. It was like a mob. They stood up -- some of them stood on their chairs -- yelling, "We want a vote! We want a vote! We want fairness! We want …" I can’t remember exactly what they were saying, but basically they were saying, "You give us a vote… You’re not going to do this… You railroaded us, you lied." They kept saying, "Sue’s a liar! Sue’s a liar!" And those guys [at the dais] were trying to get some decorum back, pounding the gavel. And that’s when security came in, trying to get rid of the people that were being so vocal.
Electric Nevada: Wow… We’d looked at all of the stories coming out of Las Vegas -- from the RJ and the Sun -- and there was nothing that really explained what had happened. …
Deanna Forbush: Well, it’s so stupid, because… Like, [take for example] Jane Ann [Morrison, reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal]. First of all, she wasn’t there Friday, so all she saw was what happened Saturday. I mean, she doesn’t even talk about why the people were upset. People had a right to be upset. They were out of hand, but I wonder what the Guinnites would have been doing, had it been reversed? Would they have just sat down and said, "Oh, okay…"?