Submitted by Michelle Beck
Recently, William Puchert posted a piece that chastised the Washoe County Democratic Party for keeping Scott Kelley on their cards. Kelley’s divorce should NOT be the focus though.
I agree we need to keep our eye on the prize, but especially in non-partisan positions it is important to hold those accountable within our own party for their proven behavior. The Washoe Education Association pulled their endorsement of Kelley.
We have all focused less on the more troubling aspects of the previous This Is Reno article and more on the salacious ones.
None of this behavior is divorce-related and it goes back years in how he interacts with the people who elected him, former co-workers and the public in general.
Voters should be concerned by the intimidation tactics employed against the public that he allegedly and apparently also used within his marriage. Concerned voters should not fear losing their jobs or facing personal harassment for participating in the processes that affect all of our children.
The behavior of an elected official, or even of an employee of a state institution, in using proven fake accounts — which Kelley himself confirmed belonged to him as “used for online shopping” in the very same court documents as his divorce — to attack constituents, the press and the public in general should be at the forefront of this story. Kelley’s use of contacting employers to take “revenge” on constituents has been largely glossed over.
This is not about his personal life, it is about his public one.
Shortly after the This Is Reno story broke, I began to receive private messages from many others who had previous interactions with Scott. One was a former co-worker of his. Both of us had made comments on the follow up story by KRNV and she was (rightfully) concerned about retaliation. While her comment was innocuous and did NOT refer to their previous working relationship, Kelley still proceeded to weaponize her comment and attempted to affect her employment by contacting her employer. Thankfully, he was not taken seriously. Even so, she still fears further retaliation and would not let me include her name.
This is a pattern for Kelley, to seek revenge on those who critique him in his public position. A UNR professor of education was another who questioned Kelley’s behavior following a school board meeting on July 28. Kelley has long used his personal account to campaign by employing relationship marketing and, like myself and this professor, many of these critiques occurred on Kelley’s personal post.
After leaving his comment, Kelley not only blocked the professor but the following day contacted HIS dean as well at UNR. The school board was contacted and Kelley was forced by the board to apologize. This professor also still fears retaliation that may affect his position.
Court documents confirmed that Scott Kelley used an alias, David Jeffrey or djeff1199, both of which were connected to accounts on Facebook and Twitter. Those accounts engaged in intimidation tactics on school board stories, criticism of local politicians as well as Nevada Department of Corrections (Scott Kelley’s private employer) stories where he was either defending the district or attacking citizens for public comment.
The Facebook account was deleted (including another for Darryl H Larsen that Kelley has also been linked to) just days before the This Is Reno story broke, but the Twitter account remained until mid-September where he was seen to be responding to Nevada Department of Corrections posts in April of 2020.
Under the @djeff1199 account — which again was confirmed in court documents to be one of his aliases — he responded as “David Jeffrey” to concerns about COVID-19 within the prison and told one young woman whose brother had died that her “Baby brother aka dirtbag, his dying a good thing” and that the “staff at NDOC…deserve a hero’s award.”
Kelley’s behavior goes far beyond his confirmed GPS stalking of his wife or the teen-centric porn which Kelley was alleged to pursue. There is a pattern of behavior there that should NOT be in the proximity of our children OR their parents. His abuse of the public in general makes him unfit for both the endorsement of the Nevada Democratic Party or for the position of returning to the board from which he was asked to resign.
In November, the board deserves someone who will not threaten you for your disapproval or opinions on board matters and that choice MUST be Jeff Church.
Michelle is a native Nevadan that grew up in Reno and living in Sparks/Spanish Springs since 1996. She has over 20 years experience as a community volunteer and leader with several organizations including four years on the Nevada State PTA executive board and two years as a member of the WCSD Parent Involvement Council. She has written articles for state and national PTA as well as two local magazines. She now works from home, is a full-time caregiver to her mom, fundraises and still volunteers for local charities and organizations, wife of one, mom of two amazing kids- cheer mom and mom to a college student.
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