NAACP chapter elects new leader

By Timothy Pratt (contact)

Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2002 | 11:04 a.m.

After nearly two years in limbo, the local branch of the NAACP elected new leadership Saturday, fostering hope that the Las Vegas area will once again have a watchdog for minorities.

Pastor Spencer F. Barrett of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in North Las Vegas was elected president of the local NAACP, beating out two other religious leaders.

A series of internal disputes led the NAACP's national office to disband the Las Vegas branch in April 2001. A committee of 17 community leaders and members of the national organization's leadership has been working to retool the branch since then.

About 140 people voted Saturday, but vote counts for each candidate were not available, said Frank L. Berry, director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Western Region.

Barrett, 46, has been involved with the NAACP for three years. The runner-up for president, the Rev. Marion Bennett, 68, of Zion Methodist Church in North Las Vegas, has been a member of the organization for 53 years, including past stints as president.

"I think there's an idea that fresh leadership might bring new agendas to the NAACP," Barrett said.

Bennett said he was looking forward to working with the organization's new leader.

"You need old folks with vision -- but these young ones aren't tied to anything and that can be good," he said.

Bennett blamed the low turnout at the polls on "apathy and complacency" in the Las Vegas Valley's black community -- estimated at about 126,500, or about 9 percent of Clark County's population, according to 2001 census figures.

The total number of members in the local branch of the NAACP was not immediately available, officials said.

Berry, the regional director, said that the election's results showed that the organization was looking for change.

"If you look at the history of the NAACP (locally) ... they've had their share of problems," he said. "If you're looking for someone to take over the helm after more than a year of reorganizing, you don't want someone who might be perceived as having contributed to shortcomings in the past."

Barrett based his campaign on fighting discrimination in the workplace -- a key issue for voters, said Kevin Tate, who has overseen the local branch's efforts to regroup.

"His message resonated because it was based on workers and their rights," Tate said.

Most of the civil rights complaints received by the western office of the NAACP in Los Angeles since the Las Vegas branch was shut down in April 2001 have regarded discrimination in the workplace or against minority businesses, Tate said.

Debbie Conway and Claudette Wilson, who ran unopposed, were elected treasurer and secretary, respectively. The Rev. Anthony Hodges ran unopposed for second vice president. Barrett will choose the chapter's vice president.

The branch's new leadership will take office March 1.