Friday, Oct. 24, 2003 | 5:45 a.m.
WEEKEND EDITION Oct. 24 - 25, 2003
Over the course of his legislative career, Assemblyman Wendell Williams, D-North Las Vegas, has made his mark in areas of police conduct, education and protections for disenfranchised residents.
One of his early major battles on issues of law enforcement occurred in 1991 when the Nevada Legislature passed his bill requiring police agencies that allow choke holds of suspects to properly train officers in the use of that restraining technique.
But it was only a partial victory for the lawmaker. He had sought an outright ban of choke holds except in life-threatening situations after the 1990 death of casino employee Charles Bush, who died in a struggle with a Metro detective who placed him in a headlock.
Williams was also a primary mover of a 1997 law that created the Metro Citizen Review Board to monitor police activity. And he authored a 2001 law that required the state to study traffic stops to curtail alleged racial profiling by police.
"It is very difficult to imagine any activity more American than driving a car," Williams said in 2001. "When this activity is compromised, it is very painful."
The study concluded that a higher percentage of blacks and Hispanics than whites were handcuffed, leading Metro to announce that its officers would undergo diversity training this fall.
"Although I haven't always agreed with him on issues, I don't see him as anti-police," David Burns, president of the 1,800-member Nevada Conference of Police and Sheriffs, said. "The general rank-and-file officers don't have an opinion on him one way or the other."
On the education front, Williams has constantly complained about the underfunding of schools, including those attended by children in his district. As a former teacher, he is one of the Legislature's staunchest supporters of the the Nevada State Education Association, which represents teachers. And he has opposed efforts to split up the Clark County School District, although he has criticized the way it spends money.
In 1993, the Legislature passed his bill instructing Nevada's Board of Regents to make sure that student-athletes were working toward their degrees. This was in response to reports that University of Nevada, Las Vegas athletes were retaining their eligibility by taking useless courses.
Williams, in 1997, called for abolition of the state Board of Education, charging that it failed to improve public schools.
"The state board is obviously out of touch with what is going on, especially from a visionary standpoint," he said at the time. The board remains intact.
More recently, Williams campaigned to rebuild aging schools in West Las Vegas and elsewhere in the valley.
"I've had bills passed to rebuild 16 schools," Williams said. "I'm very proud of that because it is the only time the state has been involved in the replacement of schools. These schools were unsafe. They had asbestos and poisonous paint. They had exposed wiring. And many of the schools weren't hooked up for computers."
He has also called upon the state to support free remedial summer school for struggling students, and accused the Clark County School District of mishandling a $3.5 billion school bond fund.
Schools Superintendent Carlos Garcia, who has been personally criticized by Williams, said the lawmaker is "pro-teacher and pro-education."
"At times he has been rather critical of us, but on final balance he has been supportive," Garcia said. "Sometimes his criticisms have been personal rather than dealing with the district as a whole. But when we needed him to come through he has put aside the personal issues and has come through."
Less kind was former state Board of Education member Jan Biggerstaff, who said she believes Williams "could have done more for education." She said she didn't think the lawmaker has done enough to put children first when it comes to education.
She cited Williams' attempt to undermine the board at a time when it was attempting to set student standards. Biggerstaff said that because of Williams the state hired outside consultants to do the same work, "which cost a great deal of money."
Williams sponsored legislation that established polling places at senior citizen housing developments, secured funding for tutorial services at Doolittle Community Center for disadvantaged youths and authored a law that placed state regulations on check-cashing businesses that he said were charging customers as much as 20 percent in fees.
Gary Peck, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, praised Williams' efforts to aid the poor.
"The assemblyman has been a consistently effective voice for people who, far too often, don't have any meaningful representation in the Legislature," Peck said. "He has been a consistently zealous advocate not only for racial justice but social justice."
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