Whenever Kenji Otto has his hat in the ring for an elected or appointed local position, members of the community want others to know about his past racist Tweets they verify with previous screengrabs, some directed to Nevada alum and civil rights leader Colin Kaepernick, his overall aggressive political tactics and why he should not be chosen.
One resident wrote us: “I am a super worried resident in Washoe County that has been scared to speak up in fear of retaliation. However Kenji Otto is running for county clerk and this scares so many people. When he was on the North Valleys CAB, old tweets of his were brought to light and they are absolutely awful.”
We reached out to Otto and his campaign but didn’t hear back. His campaign website says he has “a History as a “Fixer” of government brokeness [sic].” His detractors point to a past of bullying and outrageous social media.
Two other Republicans have filed for the County Clerk position Randy Amestoy and current office holder Jan Galassini. Amestoy doesn’t have a website we could find, but Galassini has one which seems much more detailed per the nature of the clerk position. “Goals for the future include technological improvements, continuing to preserve historical records for future generations, creating document filing efficiencies, and improving digital access to all Clerk’s Office records,” is an example of her stated goals.
We emailed Galassini for comment on the Otto situation but didn’t hear back.
When he was on the North Valleys Citizen Advisory Board other community members pleaded for his removal for months, saying it was impossible to find any common ground with him.
At a June 2020 Washoe County Board of Commissioners meeting, Jeanne Herman defended him, while also announcing his resignation. Herman is also on the Operation Sunlight right wing list of “Nevada candidates to support.”
“I found this gentleman to be extremely American,” Herman said of Otto at the time. “He is a half Japanese person and I never experienced any racist attitudes about him. He’s worked hard in doing what he did. He’s worked so hard that he had a stroke and now has resigned from the CAB and I think he’ll be a great loss and we’ll miss him.”
Another Republican on the Board Bob Lucey struck a different tone. Commissioner Lucey said there should be a way to remove appointed people from boards if it’s verified they have posted “things of intolerance on social media.” Democrats on the Commission Board backed Lucey in their own comments.
A recent post on the Say No to Creating an Unincorporated Town of Cold Springs on Facebook indicates: “Just a heads up, the main person that pushed to turn Cold Springs into an unincorporated town is now running for county clerk. Those that have had a history with Kenji can vouch for why this is so alarming. He is once again bringing up forming the unincorporated town out here on nextdoor, even after it failed miserably in Red Rock. Please, for the sake of our county, Do not vote for Otto.”
Minutes from a July 2021 Washoe County meeting indicate: “Mr. Kenji Otto displayed a document, a copy of which was placed on file with the Clerk. He opined that Nevada had been taken over by the Marxist government. He believed the Nevada Democratic Party intended to replace elected officials with Marxists.”
He’s also been involved in efforts to turn Cold Springs into an unincorporated town, according to members of the community, repeatedly going door to door in this endeavor.
There were also public community comments in September 2020 when Otto had been put forward by the Herman camp to be on the Washoe County Board of Adjustment District 5, which has “responsibility for reviewing and approving variances and special use permits for the unincorporated portions of the county.”
In public comments, his intimidating conduct and racist social media were brought up again as his application was removed. With the backing of Operation Sunlight and the mobilization which was seen for Herman’s attempt to change local voting rules, seen by many as discriminatory, residents fear Otto might have a chance to win the clerk position at the ballot box.