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Crisp Salute

July 15, 2015 by  
Filed under Community

Tributes pour in as Assemblyman Harvey Munford prepares to exit the Nevada Legislature.

Assemblyman Harvey Munford

Las Vegas’ historic Westside community was recently the site of an emotional gathering at the home of Assemblyman Harvey Munford, who will exit the state legislature next year due to term limits.

An overflow crowd packed the house, as everyone from legislators to everyday residents of District 6 paid tribute to Munford’s accomplishments over 12 years of representing the city’s historically black section. Las Vegas Black Image Magazine attended the event, and several attendees shared thoughts on a lawmaker whose impact on Nevada will be felt for generations to come.

Commissioner Lawrence Weekly

Assemblyman Munford has really left his footprint in this community. It’s because of his passion. He is soft-spoken; but if you really sit down and drill down to what he is talking about, there is a lot of passion and vision for the community. That’s his legacy. There will be a void in the legislature with his departure, but one thing about Assemblyman Munford is that he is an educator. So, personally I don’t think he is done yet. How about that?

Until our community gets it, in terms of collectively working together and not in silos, there will be challenges. You know what they say: “If you keep doing what you have done, you will keep getting what you got.”

We have to establish a unified voice and unified resources, and Assemblyman Munford’s leadership and advocacy are essential to helping us bring things together. I am optimistic that it is possible. I will never use the term, “It can’t be done.” We have seen other people do it. Why can’t we?

Thank you Assemblyman Munford, for your leadership and service. Twenty-sixteen may be his farewell to the Assembly, but it will also be hello to the next journey.

State Sen. Kelvin Atkinson

Assemblyman Harvey Munford is considered a statesman. Everyone respects him for that. He has been able to bring knowledge to the table, as someone who has been an educator and taught children in our community. The Nevada legislature is tough right now. With term limits, we lose a lot of institutional knowledge. We will lose some of that when Assemblyman Munford is no longer in the legislature.

One of Assemblyman Munford’s focuses is economic development, and that serves as a main driver for many of us. I was so happy to be able to get $35 million in highway funding passed, because we hadn’t been able to do it before. We are trying to get our people into some of those jobs.

Assemblyman Munford will be missed in the legislature. We will all be able to lower our necks a little, because we are so accustomed to looking up to him.

State Sen. Aaron Ford

Assemblyman Munford obviously has had a long and distinguished career in public service. His dedication to education and social justice issues is unparalleled over the 12-year time period he has been there.

He will certainly be missed, and I am glad that he was able to get his multicultural education bill passed — because that is a legacy that will live on. But above all, what will be missed is his presence and ability to interact and work with anyone in the legislature. That is something we should all emulate.

Assemblyman Harvey Munford

This gathering, for me, is a joyful crowning tribute — not only for my time in the legislature as an assemblyman for District 6, but also for all the people who I have known since I first arrived in Las Vegas in 1966.

This is very humbling, and it almost makes me sad that I am leaving the legislature in 2016. A lot of people are sharing their ideas about my future. I am still contemplating that, and haven’t yet made up my mind about my next political undertaking. I will be talking it over with my family. We will see.

Some people think I am done with the Assembly, but actually I am still representing District 6 until November 2016. I have another year-and-a-half to serve, and I still have a lot of work to do.

I have been trying to achieve reform in the prison/correctional system and education, as well as trying to develop economic development opportunities for families that will result in jobs.

Creating employment opportunities is everything for families in our community, such as those who live in Marble Manor and in Sherman Gardens. They have to have the opportunity to get jobs. When William H. “Bob” Bailey was a business owner in the Historic Westside community, along with others like him, black people could almost walk outside their front door and get a job within their neighborhood. The number-one thing for our progressive community future is that we all need to work together. I have never turned my back on anyone.

I have taught school for 38 years — and as an advocate for education, I am not a believer in throwing a lot of money toward education. I believe a good education starts at home. When your children leave the house in the morning to go to school, they have to have the support and encouragement of a parent or guardian. And when they come home after a day in school, they need to receive the educational reinforcements.

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