No, I’m Not Quitting (Yet)! Here’s Why…

(Annie Black) – Well, it’s all over but the counting.  And we still don’t know who won and who lost in a number of close races – some of which won’t be known until the counting stops next Thursday.

Unfortunately, some folks in Mesquite’s city government missed the memo.

City Manager Aaron Baker has been demanding since Wednesday that I resign my city council seat immediately even while ballots are still coming in and being counted thanks to “emergency” election changes (AB4) made by back in August.

In fact, they’ve already shut down my official city council email address.  They’re also trying to force people I’ve appointed to various boards and committees to resign.

This is dead wrong.  Why should I resign my city council seat BEFORE the election is over?

The argument being put forward by Mr. Baker and others is that I won my seat for the Nevada State Assembly on Tuesday – even though they’re still counting ballots – and can’t hold both that seat and my city council seat at the same time.

Yes, once all the ballots are counted, I’m going to win.  I ran unopposed in the general election.

But that’s not the point. There are pragmatic considerations involved here that could come into play in future elections.  Consider the following…

Let’s say I DID have a general election opponent.  And let’s say when the initial vote count came out, I was ahead by 50 votes – with hundreds or thousands of votes not yet counted.

Would they expect me to immediately resign my city council seat even though there was a chance that the uncounted ballots could flip the election to my opponent?

And that’s not just theoretical.  Consider the current race for Nevada State Senate District 6.

On Wednesday, after initial results were counted, Republican April Becker was leading Democrat Nicole Cannizzaro by 553 votes.

Well, according to the logic of Mr. Baker, if Ms. Becker was a member of her local city council, she should have immediately resigned her council seat.

But as of this morning, the updated results show Ms. Cannizzaro is now up by 231 votes.  If that holds up – and I sure hope it doesn’t! – it would mean Ms. Becker resigned her council seat even though she didn’t win her legislative race.

So, no.  As a matter of principle, I will not resign my Mesquite City Council seat until after they are finished counting ALL the ballots next Friday.

And short of a court order, I intend to participate and do my job at next Tuesday’s council meeting.  My constituents deserve to be represented…and they will be.

I simply won’t be pressured, strong-armed or bullied into doing the wrong thing just because some upset people at City Hall are overly anxious to get rid of me ASAP.

That said, since you can’t reach me using my official city council email address any longer, if you need to get in touch, please send an email to [email protected] or call me on my cell phone at (702) 872-2222.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“If we are going to continue to be America, every legal vote must be counted and certified, illegal votes must be tossed out.” – Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich

Annie Black is a Mesquite City Councilwoman and Assemblywoman-elect for Nevada State Assembly District 19.  You can get more information by visiting www.electannieblack.com