Kasina Douglass-Boone to get Assembly appointment

With less than a week before lawmakers convene in Carson City for a special legislative session to address the state’s massive budget shortfalls, one of the 63 seats in the Legislature still remains vacant.

But that’s likely to change next week.

The Clark County Commission is expected to appoint a candidate to fill the vacancy in Assembly District 17 during its meeting on Tuesday, according to the meeting agenda. The seat was previously held by Tyrone Thompson, who died suddenly after falling ill in May of 2019.

Just one person applied to fill that vacancy: Kasina Douglass-Boone.

Douglass-Boone, a Western High graduate, is a longtime employee of the Clark County School District where she’s worked for more than 20 years in numerous roles. She’s currently a social worker for the district.

She recently ran unsuccessfully for Clark County School Board Trustee, finishing third in the 2020 primary race for District B.

Douglass-Boone could not be reached for comment Thursday.

By law, in filling a vacancy the commission must appoint someone who is of the same party as the previous office holder, in this case a Democrat.

Gov. Steve Sisolak announced Wednesday that a special legislative special would convene on July 8 to address the state’s $1.3 billion budget hole for fiscal year 2021 that is the result of the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing shutdown of businesses, including casinos, for roughly two months.

Lawmakers could also address other issues involving criminal and social justice reform during the special session. That could potentially include police reforms, which other state’s have taken up recently in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a Black man killed in Minneapolis police custody, and the subsequent protests that happened across the nation.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.