(NN&V staff report) – Decorated Desert Storm Veteran and Clark County resident Steve Sanson said he had a door slammed in his face by Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., during a trip to Washington, DC, today as part of a Vets for Freedom event.
Sanson and several other Las Vegas area veterans, including retired Air Force Col. Ed Bridges, were making the rounds of Nevada’s Congressional delegation when the incident occurred.
Bridges, a candidate for the Congressional Seat 3 seat now held by Rep. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, said the group was warmly greeted by Titus and other members of the Nevada delegation.
But Sanson, a constituent who had gone to visit Berkley in her Capitol Hill office with part of the Las Vegas group, said the treatment there was much different. While in her outer office, Sanson said Berkley came out and refused to speak or make eye contact with him, speaking instead to Terri Dunn, president of Republican Women of Henderson, who was also on the trip.
When Sanson said he brought up the subject of the veterans hospital, Berkley commented that he should have been “civil enough” to speak with her in Las Vegas. Sanson said she then suggested he make an appointment to meet with her in Las Vegas.
When Sanson said he asked about making such an appointment, Berkley replied, “I think not,” and slammed her private office door behind her, leaving Sanson and others standing in the outer office.
Efforts to reach Berkley’s staff for comment on the incident were unsuccessful.
Sanson said the animosity may stem from the fact that a group he is affiliated with, Veterans in Politics, had endorsed her GOP opponent in a previous reelection bid. Sanson said he has never been uncivil to Berkley.
Sanson said he was visiting today on issues as a representative of Vets for Freedom, and that Berkley’s behavior was inappropriate.
“I feel that she acted immature,” he said. “She didn’t act like a representative of the public.”
A spokesperson for Congresswoman Berkley declined to comment on the incident.
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