Kendall Stagg Collection (MS-00447)

Born September 17, 1976, Kendall Stagg was one of Nevada's youngest openly gay politicians. He attended the University of Nevada, Reno, where he was elected president of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Student Union and in 1998 organized the first National Conference on Gay and Lesbian Studies on campus that drew more than 200 participants from throughout the country and was also one of the co-founders of Reno’s first Gay Pride parades in 1999. During the conference, Stagg made political contacts that encouraged him to run for public office. In 2000, Stagg challenged Dan Gustavson in Nevada Assembly District 32. Stagg received endorsements and funds from the Nevada Trial Lawyers Association, the teacher's union, the AFL-CIO, Nevada Faculty Alliance, firefighters, Citizens for Justice, the State Council of Senior Citizens, the Nevada State Employees Association, and Washoe County Administrators, among others. Both the Reno Gazette-Journal and Sparks Tribune endorsed Stagg over Gustavson. Ultimately, Stagg lost the election, but drew 42% of the vote. In 2002, Stagg ran for the Reno City Council in Ward 4 but lost in the primary.

Source:

Kendall Stagg oral history interview, 2002 January 11. OH-01754. Oral History Research Center, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.