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Kelvin Atkinson
Kelvin Atkinson (b. April 8, 1969) is a former Democratic member of the Nevada State Senate, representing District 4 from 2013 to 2019. Atkinson resigned on March 5, 2019, after pleading guilty to charges of campaign fund misappropriation.[1] Click here for more information.
Atkinson served as state Senate majority leader in from January to March 2019. He previously served as Senate minority whip from 2015 to 2016.[2]
Atkinson served in the Nevada Assembly, representing District 17 from 2003 to 2012. He served as senior chief deputy whip.
Biography
Atkinson received his B.A. in political science from Howard University. He also graduated from the Western Legislative Academy in 2004 and from the Henry Toll Fellowship in 2005. When he served in nthe state legislature, his professional experience included working as a management analyst and mediator for the Clark County Government.
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Nevada committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Commerce, Labor and Energy, Chair |
| • Legislative Operations and Elections |
| • Transportation, Vice chair |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Atkinson served on the following committees:
| Nevada committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Commerce, Labor and Energy |
| • Government Affairs |
| • Legislative Operations and Elections |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Atkinson served on the following committees:
| Nevada committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Commerce, Labor and Energy, Chair |
| • Legislative Operations and Elections |
| • Transportation, Vice Chair |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Atkinson served on these committees:
| Nevada committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Commerce and Labor, Chair |
| • Transportation |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Atkinson served on these committees:
| Nevada committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Government Affairs |
| • Transportation |
Campaign themes
2016
Atkinson's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[3]
New Jobs and Protecting Workers
- Excerpt: "We must also do more to protect Nevadans in their workplace. I am a strong advocate of raising Nevada’s minimum wage, equal pay for equal work, and creating an earned sick leave program so workers do not have to fear losing their jobs when they or family members become ill."
Education Opportunity for All
- Excerpt: "We cannot rest until we have a highly qualified teacher in every classroom. We have a serious teacher shortage problem in Nevada, especially in our at-risk schools."
Looking out for our Senior Citizens
- Excerpt: "Too many older Nevadans in our area are struggling—facing health problems, barely making ends meet, some raising grandchildren or helping take care of other family members."
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2016
- See also: Nevada State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Nevada State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 14, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 18, 2016.
Incumbent Kelvin Atkinson ran unopposed in the Nevada State Senate District 4 general election.[4][5]
| Nevada State Senate, District 4 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Kelvin Atkinson Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 29,912 | |
| Total Votes | 29,912 | |||
| Source: Nevada Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent Kelvin Atkinson defeated Stephen Harvey Munford in the Nevada State Senate District 4 Democratic primary.[6][7]
| Nevada State Senate District 4, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Kelvin Atkinson Incumbent |
66.63% | 3,926 | |
| Democratic | Stephen Harvey Munford | 33.37% | 1,966 | |
| Total Votes | 5,892 | |||
2012
- See also: Nevada State Senate elections, 2012
Atkinson won election in the 2012 election for Nevada State Senate, District 4. Atkinson defeated Katherine Duncan and David Wallace in the June 12 primary election and defeated Linda West Myers (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[8] [9][10][11]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kelvin Atkinson |
79.8% | 27,422 | |
| Republican | Linda West Myers | 20.2% | 6,946 | |
| Total Votes | 34,368 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Kelvin Atkinson |
67.9% | 2,646 |
| Katherine Duncan | 25.2% | 983 |
| David Wallace | 6.8% | 266 |
| Total Votes | 3,895 | |
In November 2011, Atkinson announced he would run for the Senate District 4 seat in 2012. Atkinson said he would move a few blocks from his then-current residence, which sat within Senate District 1, to live within District 4. Senate District 4 held a 4-to-1 Democratic voter registration advantage over Republicans. The district was vacated by Steven Horsford (D), who made a successful congressional bid.[12]
2010
- See also: Nevada State Assembly elections, 2010
On November 2, 2010, Atkinson won re-election to the Nevada State Assembly. He did not have any opposition in the June 8 primary and defeated Kenneth King (R) in the general election.
| Nevada State Assembly, District 17 General election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Kelvin Atkinson (D)
|
11,414 | |||
| Kenneth King (R) | 6,337 | |||
2008
- See also: Nevada State Assembly elections, 2008
On November 4, 2008, Atkinson won re-election to the District 17 Seat in the Nevada Assembly, defeating opponents David Isbell and Ryan Fitzgibbons.[13]
Atkinson raised $195,243 for his campaign.[14]
| Nevada State Assembly, District 17 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Kelvin Atkinson (D)
|
17,473 | 67.78% | ||
| David Isbell | 7,017 | 27.22% | ||
| Ryan Fitzgibbons | 1,288 | 5.00% | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Nevada scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2018
In 2018, the Nevada State Legislature did not hold a regular session.
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Nevada State Legislature was in session from February 6 through June 5.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Nevada State Legislature did not hold a regular session. |
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Nevada State Legislature was in session from February 2 through June 1.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Nevada State Legislature did not hold a regular session. |
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the 77th Nevada State Legislature was in session from February 4 through June 4.[15]
|
2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2012, the Nevada State Legislature did not hold a regular session. |
2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the 76th Nevada State Legislature was in session from February 7 through June 7.[15]
|
Nevada Policy Research Institute
The Nevada Policy Research Institute, a Nevada-based conservative-libertarian think tank, releases a "Legislative Report Card" evaluating members of the Nevada State Legislature on "each lawmaker's voting record on legislation impacting the degree of economic freedom and education reform." Bills determined by the Institute to be of greater significance are weighted accordingly. According to the Institute, "a legislator with a score above 50 is considered to be an ally of economic liberty."[16]
2011
Atkinson received a score of 28.80 percent in the 2011 report card, ranking 56th out of all 63 Nevada State Legislature members.[16]
Noteworthy events
Resignation following campaign fund misuse (2019)
Atkinson resigned on March 5, 2019, after announcing that he was pleading guilty to federal charges of campaign fund misappropriation. Atkinson admitted to using campaign funds for his personal use.[1] On March 11, Atkinson pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud, including using $250,000 in campaign funds for personal use.[17]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
When he served in the state legislature, Atkinson had one daughter. In an April 22, 2013, Senate debate on repealing Nevada's ban on gay marriage, he announced that he is gay.[18][19][20]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Kelvin + Atkinson + Nevada + Senate"
See also
External links
- Official campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Twitter feed
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions via Follow the Money
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Nevada Independent, "Senate Majority Leader Kelvin Atkinson resigns after admitting to misappropriating campaign funds for personal use," March 5, 2019
- ↑ Las Vegas Sun, "Nevada Senate Democrats announce leadership changes," accessed March 4, 2016
- ↑ atkinson4nevada.com, "On The Issues," accessed May 9, 2016
- ↑ Nevada Secretary of State, "2016 Master Statewide Certified List of Candidates," accessed August 19, 2016
- ↑ Nevada Secretary of State, "2016 general election results," accessed November 25, 2016
- ↑ Nevada Secretary of State, "2016 Election Certified List of Candidates," accessed May 16, 2016
- ↑ Nevada Secretary of State, "Official Primary election results," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ Nevada Secretary of State, "2012 Primary candidates," accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ Clark County, "2012 Primary candidates," accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ Washoe County, "2012 General Election candidates," accessed May 5, 2014(Archived)
- ↑ Nevada Secretary of State, "Official Results of the 2012 Primary Election," accessed April 23, 2014
- ↑ www.lvrj.com, "Upheaval continues for Democrats vying for Nevada Legislature seats," November 28, 2011
- ↑ Nevada Secretary of State, "2008 General Election Results," accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2008 campaign contributions," accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Nevada State Legislature, "Session Information," accessed July 3, 2014
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Nevada Policy Research Institute, "The 2011 Nevada Legislative Session Review & Report Card," accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ Reno Gazette Journal, "Former state Sen. Atkinson pleads guilty, used $250K in campaign funds for SUV, night club," March 11, 2019
- ↑ Associated Press, "Nevada senator comes out as gay during debate," accessed April 25, 2013
- ↑ Business Insider, "A Nevada State Senator Came Out During A Gay Marriage Debate On The Floor," accessed April 23, 2013
- ↑ MSNBC "Nevada state Sen. comes out in dramatic floor speech: ‘I’m black. I’m gay’," accessed April 23, 2013
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Steven Horsford (D) |
Nevada State Senate District 4 2013–2019 |
Succeeded by Marcia Washington (D) |
| Preceded by ' |
Nevada State Assembly District 17 2003–2012 |
Succeeded by Steven Brooks (D) |
