With his job at Las Vegas City Hall at risk in an ongoing investigation by the city auditor, Assemblyman Wendell Williams told reporters and about two dozen supporters Thursday that he's asking "for forgiveness, if it is warranted."
But as they stood in the shadow of the Martin Luther King Jr. statue at the Clark County Community Center in North Las Vegas, Williams and leaders of some local black groups lashed out at the media and Williams' critics, alleging that racism is driving the allegations against him.
The event -- covered by about 10 members of the media and two note-taking employees of the city auditor's office -- was meant to be a show of support for the Democratic lawmaker, who has been dogged by alleged ethical breaches and possible financial misconduct that his backers claim are part of a campaign to destroy his career.
Across the street, people washed their cars and listened to hip-hop and soul music while speakers around the statue, in the fashion of a religious revival, harangued the media for a "modern lynching" to calls of "amen" and "tell it, brother."
Williams was defiant and his supporters angry, saying they saw little evidence of the presence of justice.
"The reason we are so sensitive to this issue is because ... we have seen terrible things happen," said the Rev. Jesse D. Scott, former head of the Las Vegas NAACP.
Scott read from a list of black leaders he said have been "crucified" by the media or shunned by the system, from Charles Kellar, a civil rights attorney who passed the bar exam in 1960 but fought Nevada for five years before the result was accepted by the state, to Las Vegas City Councilman Frank Hawkins, who was dogged by ethics issues in the 1990s and lost his seat, and finally Williams, a city of Las Vegas employee under fire for alleged time card violations.
And he called for a thorough investigation of every member of the Nevada Legislature.
"All kinds of money is coming from all kinds of places," he said. "We want the records of everybody exposed."
After several speakers, Williams, who said he was on a day off from his city job, was surrounded by reporters, who fired questions at him.
Would he have done anything differently?
"A lot of things I could have done differently," he said, without admitting any wrongdoing.
"I ask for, if it's warranted, forgiveness," he said.
He said he would look forward, not back. His constituents, he said, "still expect me to take the lead in public service."
What about his 2001 time cards, which indicated he used 208 hours of sick leave during the time the Legislature was in session?
"I was on a special assignment for the city of Las Vegas," he said. He would not disclose what it was, other than to say that it brought millions of dollars to the city and was something for which he had documentation. He also said that the 2001 time cards were filled out by supervisors after he signed them.
Does he still think, as he has said, that he really worked the time noted in his 2003 time cards, despite the fact that he agreed to pay back the city about $6,700?
"It's something I think about," he said of the agreement. He said he did it because his supervisor brought the time cards to him and said "at a cold glance, this looks bad." He said he was given specific assignments, which he carried out.
Does he feel he was unfairly treated by the media and city?
Yes, he said: "The overreaction was self-evident ... Clark County said it wouldn't do anything without an investigation. I was disciplined without an investigation."
After he agreed to pay the city back about $1,800 because of what city officials called excessive use of his municipal cell phone, and before the city completed its investigation into his 2003 time cards, Williams was given a two-week suspension.
He also turned to coverage of Assembly Speaker and Henderson Deputy Chief Richard Perkins, who received about 19 hours a week in municipal salary while the Legislature was in session this year.
"The slant there is, he is innocent until proven guilty," said Williams, who said the coverage of him was the reverse.
Did he want his job back as chairman of the Assembly Education Committee, which was stripped by Perkins as the list of allegations against Williams grew?
"How dare anyone remove me from a committee, and take away the rights of my constituents?" he said, answering in the affirmative. He also indicated he would run again, citing the support he's received in his district.
Williams said his lawyer is looking into whether his civil rights were violated by what he called constant leaks to the media about the investigation into his 2003 time cards, and other issues. "I'm definitely going to pursue that. My privacy was violated," he said.
Joanna Wesley Winn, who said she was a registered Republican and a friend of Williams, interjected during one of his answers that "he has always put this community first."
After Williams spoke to reporters, Winn said she wondered why more elected officials were not present to support him.
She mentioned Assemblyman Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas, who worked with Williams at the city until early 2002. His time cards indicate about 190 hours of sick leave taken during the time the Legislature was in session in 2001, and city officials have said those will be reviewed along with Williams'.
"I'm disappointed he isn't here," said Wesley Winn, who ran as a Republican against Arberry in 2002.
Arberry was not available for comment.
Two members of the city auditor's office, who are reviewing the city's investigation of 2003 time cards and are looking at the 2001 time cards, were in the audience taking notes during the rally.
City Auditor Radford Snelding said they attended the rally because "we knew we were working on this particular project, we knew Mr. Williams would make some type of particular statement, and we wanted to hear what he had to say."
Williams, 53, first was elected to the Assembly in 1986, representing District 6, a heavily Democratic district that straddles U.S. 95 and includes neighborhoods near the Spaghetti Bowl. He has been reelected to eight two-year terms, usually by wide margins because of nominal opposition.
Most of Williams' constituents are black. About 9 percent of Clark County's population is black.
Williams rose quickly through the Nevada Legislature's leadership ranks, becoming chairman of the Assembly Education Committee in 1991. He has since added the title of Assembly speaker pro tempore, the second highest position in the lower chamber.
Known for taking up civil rights issues and the plight of the poor, Williams has taken on many of Southern Nevada's leading government establishments, including Metro Police and the Clark County School District.
The event to support him took place within a context of racism, real or perceived, that goes back to the advent of gambling in Las Vegas. In a March 1954 issue of the magazine Ebony, some longtime black residents of the city said when gambling was legalized in 1931, many gamers came from the south and brought racial prejudice with them. The article called Nevada "The Mississippi of the West," a title invoked by Williams' supporters Thursday.
Blacks were not allowed on the Strip, other than as entertainers or house staff, until 1960, when it was desegregated following threats of massive protests and a mediation by Sun founder Hank Greenspun.
Many still live in the part of town known as West Las Vegas, and the corner of Martin Luther King and Carey was a fitting location for the rally. A block down the street, men in suits and ties handed out copies of "The Final Call," the newspaper of Rev. Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam.
Duke Mohammed, a leader of Nation of Islam Mosque 75, said Thursday that "when you go after the leaders, you go after the community."
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