Incumbent's Bathroom Break Becomes Attack Line Recirculated in Story by Challenger's Former Television Colleague in Feisty District 2 County Commissioner Republican Primary
"I sat there for several hours and I had to go to the bathroom," Commissioner Mike Clark says fighting back against a report on the Joe Hart KRNV page which is titled "Commissioner exits meeting, misses important budget vote."
The story recirculates what has been an attack point for his combative District 2 Republican primary opponent Jon Killoran, a former news director, sports anchor and executive producer at KRNV, previously working with Hart over ten years at the local television channel.
Hart's report indicates Clark was "mysteriously absent," while quoting county spokesperson Bethany Drysdale saying he didn't request a recess or a break.
While the vote is called all of a sudden and taken in a matter of just a few seconds during the May 19th workshop, some of the people present seem to be whispering to each other as it's clear Clark who had been there before is not at his seat at that specific time. He had been in his seat a few minutes prior according to the last shot which showed the seated commissioners on the publicly available YouTube video.
"Please note that Commissioner Clark is not in the room for the vote," Commissioner Clara Andriola says. "I'm not sure but ..." she adds, before pausing briefly, looking around and adding, "maybe we can ask him when he comes in," even though the vote has already been taken.
A few minutes later, the next shot which shows the commissioners has him in the video making a comment on the another discussion item labelled "Capital Improvement Plan."
"I got up and I went to the restroom. And then they immediately held the vote on the budget, which I wasn't against. I didn't voice any opposition to the budget. I would have voted in the affirmative," he says of the budget which passed unanimously without him.
He says he feels attacked by the report and the Drysdale quote. We wrote Drysdale this morning but have not yet heard back.
"They're making a big political statement out of it," Clark said.
In a Facebook video posted on May 20th with Dereliction of Duty Alert in all caps as the headline with "Washoe County taxpayers deserve an explanation……" afterwards, Killoran
alleges Clark "inexplicably got up, left the room and didn't come back until after the vote had been cast." He says there can be explanations like he needed to go to the bathroom, "but you ask for recesses for that." "Why didn't you vote on the county's budget?" he concludes in the less than one minute video which had gotten ten reactions and three comments when we watched it this morning.
"That's powerful!" Peggy Heglar writes in the only comment we were able to see.
"There's lots of times commissioners get up during a meeting and walk to the restroom and then walk back. It's no big deal. I didn't know I have to raise my hand and get a hall pass from the chair to go to the restroom," Clark told Our Town Reno.
The campaigns have had ongoing Facebook feuds such as Clark today writing "Northern Nevada politics has officially entered the:
“Laughing At A Public Event = Statewide Conspiracy” phase of campaign season. According to the Killoran campaign, a smiling photo taken at a crowded public event at the GSR is apparently now considered “definitive political evidence.”"
This followed Killoran yesterday calling Clark a "True-Blue Democrat in Disguise" on top of a poster with Clark smiling and shaking hands with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Aaron Ford, writing "A picture is worth a thousand words!
By the way Commissioner, Washoe County taxpayers are still awaiting your explanation for walking out of chambers just before the vote on the $1.14 billion county budget earlier this week."
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