LAS VEGAS, NEV (Sept. 24, 2024) – Silver State Equality, Nevada’s statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights advocacy nonprofit, today announced the endorsements of six statewide and local candidates for the November general election including Nevada State Assembly candidates Venise Karris (District 10); Cinthia Moore (District 11); Erica Roth (District 24), and Joe Dalia (District 29), in addition to Shondra Summers-Armstrong who is running for Las Vegas City Council Ward 5 and Nevada Board of Regents, District 1 candidate Carlos Fernandez.
“We are thrilled to endorse these LGBTQ+ and pro-equality candidates,” said André C. Wade, State Director for Silver State Equality. “With attacks on LGBTQ+ Nevadans increasing, it is imperative we elect representatives who will lead the charge for full, lived equality. This election, we are endorsing LGBTQ+ and pro-equality allies across the state, including in districts like Washoe County, where attempts have been made recently to ban books and openly discriminate against LGBTQ+ students. Silver State Equality is working to protect transgender youth and their families, defend abortion access and reproductive freedom, preserve access to gender-affirming care, advance racial justice, enact common-sense gun safety laws, reform our broken immigration system and create a world that is healthy, just and fully equal for LGBTQ+ people and all Nevadans. Silver State Equality is proud to support these pro-equality leaders.”
Nevada State Legislature / State Assembly
District 10: VENISE KARRIS
Fighting for working-class families, Venise Karris was a journeyman wireman for 27 years, helping to build the Las Vegas Strip from New York New York to Fontainebleau. She served as a member of the Executive Board for IBEW Local 357 and as a steward for nearly seven years. Karris is a founding member of the Women’s Committee for IBEW Local 357 and was a member of the Volunteer Action Committee – a joint venture between NECA/IBEW. A resident of District 10 for more than 28 years, Karris will be an important voice for all Nevadans, especially middle-class families and the LGBTQ+ community, in the Nevada State Assembly.
District 11: CINTHIA MOORE
As a Latina immigrant whose family moved to the Las Vegas valley more than 30 years ago, Cinthia Moore understands the challenges facing Nevada’s immigrant and first-generation communities. Running in the same district where she grew up and is now raising her son, Moore is a staunch environmental justice advocate working in coordination with the Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition. As a Nevada State legislator, she will work to expand opportunities for working families through better schools, better jobs and better healthcare; protect reproductive freedoms, and will continue to fight for those who have been overlooked. Moore is exactly the type of legislator needed in Carson City.
District 29: JOE DALIA
An attorney with experience in AI and privacy law, a small business entrepreneur, a husband and father of three daughters, Joe Dalia knows from childhood experience what it is like to grow up in a financially struggling middle-class family in Southern Nevada. Passionate in his belief that Nevada is a state that hasn’t realized its full potential yet and the power of working-class families, as a Nevada Assemblyperson, Dalia will advocate for K-12 education improvements including funding. support for small businesses and start-ups, a diversified economy while safeguarding union jobs amidst technological advancements, and upholding essential rights, such as reproductive freedom.
District 24: ERICA ROTH
A civil rights attorney who grew up in Carson City, Erica Roth knows that policy must be created by and for the people it impacts. Whether she was advocating for consumer protections and housing justice in rural Nevada as a legal aid attorney, defending protesters in court as a trial deputy public defender, drafting Nevada’s 2022 Executive Order protecting and expanding abortion access following the Dobbs decision as Nevada’s Deputy General Counsel, or as a lobbyist, going toe to toe with Republicans as they worked to unwind criminal justice reforms in the last legislative session, Roth’s experience will make her a powerful voice for the LGBTQ+ community and all Nevadans as she speaks truth to power in the Nevada State Legislature. Outside of her work as an advocate, Roth sits on the board of Planned Parenthood Votes Nevada; she serves as Chair of the Democratic Women of Washoe County, Chair of the Rules and Bylaws Committee of the Washoe DEMS, and she is an executive board member of Emerge Nevada.
Las Vegas City Council
Ward 5: SHONDRA SUMMERS-ARMSTRONG
A community advocate, activist and experienced legislator, Shondra Summers-Armstrong knows how governmental and bureaucratic entities operate and how to navigate them successfully to benefit Nevadans. Summers-Armstrong, a former long-time management analyst with the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, first won her seat in the Nevada Assembly in 2020, serving two terms prior to announcing her candidacy for City Council. During her time in the Legislature, Summers-Armstrong was instrumental in passing measures that expanded healthcare services, increased renters’ protections and addressed affordable housing needs. As a City Councilperson, she will bring her unique experience in creating collaborative solutions to address her constituents struggles with housing, community safety, homelessness and jobs.
Nevada System of Higher Education / Board of Regents
District 1: CARLOS FERNANDEZ
As a community leader, executive director of the Nevada chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and a graduate and former employee of the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Carlos Fernandez will bring personal knowledge and experience to the Board of Regents. Since graduating from UNLV, Fernandez has worked as a lobbyist with the Vegas Chamber, as a program manager at UNLV, and as a solutions analyst with Foresee Consulting. During his work with the Chamber, Fernandez advocated for the proposed constitutional amendment to remove the Board of Regents from the Nevada Constitution “as a crucial step towards ensuring that the governance of higher education in Nevada remains transparent, responsive, and fully accountable to the public and the state legislature,” he said. If elected, Fernandez’s top priorities are to increase accessibility to higher education and to improve student success, campus safety and workforce preparedness in academic programs.
For a complete list of Silver State Equality’s endorsements and endorsement process and guidelines, please visit silverstateequality.org/elections.
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As Nevada’s statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization, Silver State Equality brings the voices of LGBTQ people and allies to institutions of power in Nevada and throughout the U.S. Silver State Equality strives to create a world that is healthy, just and fully equal for all LGBTQ people. Silver State Equality is a Nevada-based program affiliated with and supported by Equality California and Equality California Institute, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization. More information at SilverStateEquality.org.
