NAACP election brings more controversy

Jace Radke

Monday, Jan. 11, 1999 | 11:09 a.m.

Saturday's NAACP general election yielded the branch a new president in former state Assemblyman Gene Collins, but it also created more of the seemingly endless controversy that has recently plagued the chapter.

Collins won the branch's presidency with 137 votes to the Rev. Jesse Scott's 115 votes, but both Scott and Louis Overstreet, whose name was removed from the ballot by the national office, say they plan to file complaints about the election.

"I've collected over 100 signatures in protest of the election," Overstreet said. "I'm protesting the disenfranchisement of a large number of voters, the failure to certify me as a candidate and the fact that notice was not given to the membership 10 days prior to the election."

The national office has said that Overstreet did not become a member of the local chapter of the NAACP in time to run in this election, but Overstreet has disputed the claim and produced what he says is a membership list that proves he had a right to run.

In addition, 252 members voted in Saturday's election out of the 1,200 eligible voters in the chapter's membership list. Overstreet and others have questioned if the branch's membership list is complete.

Scott would say only that he will be filing a complaint regarding the election with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's national office within the week. Overstreet said he expects to file his complaint today or Tuesday.

Alfred Wiggs, who ran unopposed for treasurer, said Sunday he will support any protest by Overstreet or Scott and that he will not serve in Collins' administration.

"I believe that there were some disparaging remarks made by Collins and Tarsha Crockett toward Mr. Overstreet and the Rev. Scott," Wiggs said. "They really offended me and I will not serve in that type of administration."

Tarsha Crockett beat Catherine Hoye to become secretary.

Wiggs would not elaborate on what types of remarks were allegedly made.

For the other posts, State Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, beat out incumbent first vice president Kawiim Kawee, while second vice president went to Collins' son Lou Collins, who ran unopposed.

Ida Gaines, Brenda Kirkpatrick, Mozella Scott and Sam Smith, all off whom won executive board seats on Saturday, have joined with Kawee and Hoye in support of Overstreet's protest against the election, Kawee said.

Collins said that Scott and Overstreet have the right to protest.

"It says in our bylaws that both individuals have the right to file a protest," Collins said. He pointed out that the national field secretary, Mark Clark, regional director Frank Berry and tri-state president Edward were at the election, "and had their been a problem, they would have corrected it on the spot."

Despite the protests, which Collins said he was hearing about for the first time Sunday night, Collins said that the leadership of the branch will make the chapter something to be proud of.

"We have an excellent group in place," Collins said. "We have a great group of people and we are going to move forward. We are not going to address anything that happened yesterday, because it's in the past. We are going to take the NAACP to a level that the community and the valley can be proud of."