Carson City, NV (AP) - Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak rebuked comments made about his wife by a rural county commissioner who alleged that her Chinese ancestry should raise suspicions as the state retightens restrictions to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The governor on Monday said that the remarks were racist and called on Republican officials to denounce them.
Nye County Commissioner Donna Cox said Tuesday that Sisolak’s wife, Kathy Sisolak, had family in China profiting from selling pandemic-related items, echoing a recurrent conspiracy theory espoused by anti-Sisolak, anti-mask mandate activists.
“She is Chinese. And you put two and two together. ... Is there any better reason in the world to want to do a mask mandate? That’s a direct conflict of interest. I think maybe he should step aside. He shouldn’t even be involved in this,” she added.
Cox also referenced “Agenda 21” — a 1992 United Nations planning paper that some conspiracy theorists in the Patriot Movement falsely claim substantiates designs to establish a totalitarian “New World Order.” After her remarks, the commission decided to flout Sisolak’s statewide mask mandate for indoor public spaces.
Kathy Sisolak was born in Ely and grew up in Las Vegas, where her father worked as a card dealer. She later worked as a public sector consultant, founding the firm Hobbes, Ong & Associates. She began dating Steve Sisolak in 2013 and they were married in 2018, according to the governor’s website.
“I am furious after hearing vile, blatantly racist comments made against my wife — a Nevadan who has dedicated her life to making our state a better place. There is no room for this type of hateful speech from anyone, especially not from an elected official,” Sisolak said in a statement. “Kathy and I, along with so many others, have worked hard to fight back against the anti-Asian racism brought on by misinformation regarding COVID-19, but comments like these only take us backward.”
Cox did not respond to request for comment, nor has the Nevada Republican Party.