https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/senate-majority-leader-kelvin-atkinson-to-resign-amid-federal-charges-of-misappropriating-campaign-fundsDemocratic Senate Majority Leader Kelvin Atkinson resigned from his legislative seat on Tuesday in a tear-filled speech on the Senate floor, announcing he would be pleading guilty to federal charges of misappropriation of campaign funds for personal use and taking “full responsibility” for his actions.
The sudden, emotional resignation marks a precipitous fall for Atkinson, the state’s third African-American and first openly gay Senate majority leader. A legislative mainstay, the Las Vegas Democrat was first elected to the Assembly in 2002 and joined the Senate after the 2012 election.
Atkinson acknowledged in his speech that he had used campaign funds for his personal use and said that he would be “pleading guilty for those actions when that time comes.” He declined to comment further on the case before and after the floor session, saying the disposition of the case was not final and he would be referring all questions to his attorney, Richard Wright.
Court documents related to the charges had not been posted online as of late Tuesday morning. Wright said in an email that Atkinson will plead guilty to a federal misuse of campaign funds charge in Las Vegas, which is both a state and federal crime and carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years.
State Sen. Nicole Cannizzaro, who previously served as Atkinson’s deputy, was elected to succeed him as majority leader in a unanimous vote of the Senate Democratic Caucus Tuesday afternoon.
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