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StumbleCharlie Waterman, a fighter and a believer
Friday, April 18, 2008 | 2:01 a.m.
If Charlie Waterman died of a heart attack, it must have been massive.
No one I have known in two decades-plus covering Nevada politics had more heart than Waterman, who controlled the Clark County Democratic Party for that long. You have heard of people who relish a good fight Waterman reveled in the hurly-burly of combat, whether it was maintaining his party chairmanship, eviscerating a Republican or standing up for a cause.
Waterman, derided often in recent years as part of the dinosaur caucus of the party, was an anachronism even before he stepped down in 2005. Most political bosses these days are akin to bank managers, responsible for watching over money funneled through the party by candidates and special interests, and not expected to make any waves. They are supposed to be puppets of the elected elite, talking only when their ventriloquist masters allow them to do so.
Waterman was no puppet. And boy, did he make waves.
I think I am safe in saying that no one who knew Charlie Waterman friend or foe did not at one time or another want to kill him. He didn’t have just a gigantic heart; his liver and gallbladder were sizable, too, judging by his often bilious nature.
That he lived to be 79 is remarkable considering he seemed to be perpetually pugnacious he would fight about anything and he would stand up to anyone. And he absolutely hated to lose.
His longtime friend and fellow big-hearted Democrat, Harriet Trudell, recalled an incident at the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, so long ago that Randolph Townsend, now a GOP state senator, was still a Democrat.
“Every morning the boys would go out and run,” Trudell recalled Thursday. “And (longtime activist) Naomi Millisor was asked to pick the best legs. She picked Townsend. Charlie didn’t talk to her for two years.”
It was that kind of irascible irrationality that made Waterman so endearing and so frustrating for so many. One of those was Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who sent out this statement Thursday:
“I was saddened to learn of the passing of Charlie Waterman. In addition to a long, distinguished career as an attorney, Charlie dedicated his life to building the foundation of the Clark County Democratic Party. As a longtime friend, my thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time.”
I laughed out loud when I read that because Waterman drove Reid batty. The senator tried many times each time unsuccessfully to oust Waterman from the chairmanship of the party in favor of someone more pliable. Indeed, when I began covering politics in 1986, Reid and other establishment figures were trying to insert an attorney (now an assemblyman) named Tick Segerblom into the job. But Waterman, using every trick in his ample playbook, held on to the post.
That’s why when I read CityLife reporter Emmily Bristol’s fine piece on Waterman’s retirement three years ago, I also laughed audibly at this line: “His next challenge? Taking the backroom juice-jobs out of politics and bringing back politics based on philosophy.”
Now that is funny. No one orchestrated a backroom juice-job inside the Democratic Party better than Waterman. But he also was not involved in politics just to elect candidates he was a true believer in liberal causes and some might say (I bet Reid would) that he lost sight of the goal at the ballot because he became so consumed with the internecine warfare.
Waterman was the anti-Michael Dukakis it was about ideology, not competence. Pragmatism was not in the Waterman lexicon.
But believe he did. There was no gray area for the gray-maned silver fox. Waterman would eviscerate anyone who said or wrote anything favorable about a Republican or a GOP policy. (He once wrote a scathing letter to the editor about something I had written. It was brutal.)
As Trudell remembered, Waterman believed in social justice and insisted the Democratic Party was the only vehicle to achieve that goal.
“One day he came in screaming at me,” she recalled. “His face was contorted because they were trying to abolish the inheritance tax. He was screaming that we had become a country ... to serve the ultrarich.”
Waterman was fighting until the end the last time I saw him he was at the disastrous county convention Feb. 23, battling for the rights of some delegates who believed their credentials had been unfairly denied. He looked as feisty, as spry, as ever.
Waterman’s heart may have stopped Thursday. But it will forever beat in the body politic of the Clark County Democratic Party.
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What a wonderful man. He loved his family, his country and his party; not necessarily in that order. Charlie, you were one of the good ones who still believed, still cared and still understood. You will be missed.
Charlie Waterman was everything that has been written today and so much more - words seem inadequate.
He was a Navy Veteran and believed that, next to the Social Security Act, the G.I. Bill was most effective legislation to benefit our society and he was a tireless advocate for fully funding the V.A. and taking care of our Disabled Veterans.
It was Charlie Waterman that took me aside and invited me to lunch, where he opened his heart, offered his decades of experience and advice and mentored me (and thousands of other advocates and activists over nearly four decades) - his spirit will live on through all of us!
It was under Charlies authority as Clark County Chair that he appointed me to Found and Chair the Clark County Democratic Veterans & Military Families Corps Caucus - and he helped build it state-wide. But, it never would have happened without his vision, blessing and support - every Democratic veteran (all veterans for that matter) are indebted to his legacy forever!
Charlie wasn't just about winning elections, he was all about running candidates that were, like him, true philosophically and soundly grounded Democrats, and winning on our issues in order to serve the people - it was always about those less fortunate and especially those who were disabled and not able to care for themselves - and he was right to fight the good fight, time and again - always, never, ever giving up!
You're right Jon, he hated to lose and he hated barely winning almost as much - Charlie wanted to decimate his political foes with overwhelming landslide victories and psychologically humiliate them from ever thinkng about running for public office ever again - it was all about knocking the Republicans stone cold out once and for all!
Charlie didn't just talk the talk, then sit back and warm a chair while others did the work - he would talk to anyone that would listen about his choice of candidates and the issues, and walk, and knock on doors, and talk some more, and put up signs - he knew what it took to do the hard work of building a competent field organization and getting out the vote - he was a true poltical master at every level!
Charlie Waterman was a lover, a fighter, and a man's man!
When Bush got elected, I remember him saying "This guy will be worse than Nixon!" I thought a moment and replied, "Oh Dear God, no one could be worse than Nixon?" And Charlie replied, "Mark my words - Bush, Cheney, Rove, Rumsfield and Rice will nearly destroy this country!" At the time I remember thinking to myself, WOW, this guy is extremely passionate - looking back, Charlie Waterman was right - AGAIN - as always!
The Clark County and Nevada Democratic Party have lost one of the greatest citizens in it's history - and we shall all be far, far poorer without him.
Although I can't say I knew Mr. Waterman well, I was always glad to have the opportunity to watch him in action in court. Given that he practiced law for three years longer than I've been alive, I am thankful that I was able to see him as a role model for how an attorney ought to act. My thoughts and prayers go out to his wife and family during this tough time. While it may be of small comfort, I--and I think scores of other attorneys and courthouse personnel--will never forget him.
charlie waterman, a formidable force to be reckoned with, appeared in my world during a bus trip to tonopah for a central committee meeting.
a plethora of adjectives to describe charlie readily spring to mind, irascible, committed, principled, pragmatic, acerbic, tender, intelligent, observant, and man more as well as being imbued with the courage to unhesitatingly be the quintessential poster child for living the courage of one’s convictions.
in january, a friend of mine, thor hesla, was killed in afghanistan. he and charlie were very much alike in their fearlessness, wanting to leave the world a better place and his ineffable esse quam videri. at thor's memorial a poem was read that brilliantly sums up the person known to all as charlie waterman:
I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end.
He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough to consider
What’s true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.
So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life’s actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?
© 1996 Linda Elli
for me, i shall not mourn his passing. rather, i choose to celebrate a person who led by example.
pax vobiscum,
Cherie Welch