Accountability According to Grant Denton?

When Grant Denton talks about accountability in his recent This Is Reno opinion, it’s hard not to laugh — not because accountability isn’t important, but because the people who have been asking Denton for accountability since May 2024 know how little of it they’ve received.

Those were the women who spoke out publicly about concerns surrounding the Karma Box Project Executive Director. Since then, many say they have been dismissed, ignored, or pushed aside by the very community leaders who claim transparency and compassion as guiding principles.

So let’s start with a simple question:
How exactly does Grant Denton hold himself accountable?

Because the public hasn’t seen much evidence of it.

Denton writes proudly that his organization helps people experiencing homelessness “move toward stability and self-sufficiency through outreach, resource connection, and recovery programs.” That sounds admirable. But where are the verified numbers?

How many people have actually transitioned into stable housing?
How many have remained sober or employed?
How many have moved into long-term self-sufficiency?

Those metrics matter — especially when the work is being funded, directly or indirectly, by taxpayer dollars in Washoe County.

Instead, Denton chose to write his opinion piece largely to explain away the recent arrests of three individuals associated with Karma Box Project — individuals hired specifically because they had “lived experience.”

His response?

“We are not going to stop hiring people with lived experiences. We are not going to apologize for believing in change.”

That statement may play well in a feel-good nonprofit narrative. But it ignores the very real question taxpayers are entitled to ask: Where is the risk management when public money is involved?

No one is arguing that people with lived experience cannot change. In fact, many people wholeheartedly support second chances. But when those hires lead to repeated arrests or allegations, the issue isn’t redemption — it’s responsibility.

Because once public funds enter the equation, this stops being a social experiment and becomes a matter of public liability. What if the Karma Box Project employee who was shooting a gun on 6th Street had actually hit someone. Would the county be being sued, you better believe it.

Washoe County government owes its citizens an explanation. If the county is aware of ongoing problems within programs connected to Karma Box, what safeguards are in place to protect the public?

County leaders are quick to warn about legal exposure in other areas. Commissioner Alexis Hill has famously argued that the county must approve certain developments — particularly those backed by campaign-contributing developers — because otherwise the county could face lawsuits. Which is what she did on the dais supporting Sierra Reflections, thus shafting the residents of Washoe Valley. But her vote was to protect the county, so why not protect the county from being sued because of Denton?

If potential lawsuits are a reason to approve controversial development projects, then the same logic should apply here.

What happens when someone hired into a publicly funded outreach program harms someone while on the job?
How long before the county faces a lawsuit because it ignored warning signs?

These are not hypothetical questions. They are the kinds of questions responsible governments ask before problems escalate. And three arrests within three months show the problem with Karma Box Project has escalated.

And then there’s the curious irony surrounding Denton’s This Is Reno piece. We enjoy Bob Conrad’s sense of humor.

The article featured Denton alongside Dana Searcy, the former administrator overseeing the Nevada Cares Campus — including the Safe Camp.

Searcy was there one day… and gone the next.

No public explanation. No detailed statement from the county.

But behind the scenes, we’re told there was an internal review regarding Searcy conducted at the county. An investigation. And yes — an outside attorney was reportedly involved.

Commissioner Mike Clark might find it interesting to ask County Manager Kate Thomas or Patricia Hurley a few questions about that investigation and who conducted it. You know, what law firm got paid more taxpayer dollars.

Because the public deserves transparency about what’s happening inside the programs designed to address homelessness in Washoe County.

And if accountability is truly the goal — as Grant Denton claims — then that accountability should apply to everyone, not just the critics.

After all, when taxpayer dollars are involved, the public isn’t asking for miracles.

They’re simply asking for answers and accountability - none of which Denton is giving us. This wasn’t an opinion it was a public relations press release.