Nevada Democratic Party chair was convicted on a felony theft charge in the 1990s

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – The chair of the Nevada State Democratic Social gathering is a felon convicted of grand theft within the Nineties who was as soon as ordered to not deal with cash at work with out a probation officer’s approval, in line with paperwork obtained by KLAS.

Judith Whitmer was elected occasion chair in 2021. In 1996, authorities in Seminole County, Florida, charged Whitmer, then 40 years outdated and referred to as Judith Sprayberry, with organized fraud and grand theft for cashing fraudulent checks in different peoples’ names from her employer, information confirmed.

Although the occasion’s central committee elected Whitmer in 2021, her prior conviction was not made public till Monday. Whitmer is up for re-election on the occasion’s central committee assembly this Saturday.

“This isn’t a scholar council election,” stated lawyer Bradley Schrager, an lawyer representing Democratic candidates and political-action committees. “These individuals, definitely the membership of the Democratic Social gathering, need to know to whom they’re giving these contributions and full details about their backgrounds.”

Whitmer pleaded nolo contendere to a cost of grand theft between $750 and $5,000, information confirmed. Nolo contendere means a defendant accepts a conviction however doesn’t admit guilt.

“Frankly, I don’t care what she did 25 years in the past,” Schrager stated. “Individuals are permitted to make errors. I believe that is an unlucky factor to return to gentle now however I believe for this election individuals can have the data.”

Whitmer, the pinnacle of the extra liberal faction of the state Democratic Social gathering, eliminated greater than 200 members of the occasion’s central committee weeks earlier than this weekend’s vote.

“As Democrats, we consider that the identical guidelines must be utilized to everybody with out exception or partiality,” Whitmer stated in an announcement two weeks in the past. “Our bylaws state that ‘any member who fails to submit proxy designation upfront for 2 common conferences throughout a two-year time period shall be thought of to have vacated his or her membership,’ and a reminder of this requirement is included in each SCC discover. Even additional, members have the choice to submit a well timed request for an excusal of their absence even after a missed assembly.”

Meeting Speaker Steve Yeager, a kind of booted, stated his elimination got here with out warning.

“We’re deeply disillusioned by current occasions that reinforce our considerations over the previous two years that Chair Whitmer is less than the duty of managing primary operations and supporting Democratic campaigns in probably the most aggressive battleground state within the nation,” Yeager stated in a joint assertion with Democratic Senate Majority Chief Nicole Cannizzaro launched Feb. 14. “These controversies embrace an unprecedented turnover in officers and employees, assaults on our former Lieutenant Governor and the undermining of different elected officers, a purge of 40% of state central committee members this month with out warning, and a whole failure to handle systemic issues with digital registration and voting at current state occasion conventions and conferences – together with for subsequent month’s officer elections.”

Yeager, Cannizzaro, the state’s high elected Democrats, and all Democrats within the state’s congressional delegation have endorsed Assem. Danielle Monroe-Moreno to succeed Whitmer.

Yeager tweeted final week his central committee place was reinstated.

“Any time you might be eradicating individuals, particularly simply earlier than a contentious chair’s election, the method for inspecting somebody’s eligibility must be completely clear,” Schrager stated.

A spokesperson stated Whitmer would comply with an interview final week. She then despatched a written assertion declining to go on digital camera. She didn’t deny her felony conviction.

“As Democrats, we consider that neither poverty nor the challenges that include it ought to disqualify anybody from something,” she stated. “Like thousands and thousands of People, I discovered myself in an inconceivable state of affairs as a younger lady however I’m proud to have emerged from these circumstances and constructed a greater life for myself, my youngsters, and my grandchildren. That’s the promise of this nation, and it’s what our occasion is proud to struggle for.”

Whitmer continued, “I used to be elected by individuals who had been uninterested in their voices not being heard and my focus will stay on persevering with to struggle for them, for a greater occasion, and for a greater Nevada for us all.”

The central committee vote for all occasion management positions was scheduled for Saturday.