Michele Fiore
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Michele Ann Fiore (born July 29, 1970) is an American
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
politician serving as a
justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
for
Nye County Nye County is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,591. Its county seat is Tonopah. At , Nye is Nevada's largest county by area and the third-largest county in the contiguous United States, behi ...
since being appointed to the position by the Nye County Commission in December 2022. She moved to Nye County in November 2022 after losing the race for
Nevada State Treasurer The Nevada State Treasurer is an elected office in the U.S. state of Nevada. The Nevada State Treasurer is based in Carson City, Nevada. The Treasurer is elected to a four-year term and may serve for eight years or two terms under Nevada's term li ...
in the 2022 election. She was a member of the
Nevada Assembly The Nevada Assembly is the lower house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada, the upper house being the Nevada Senate. The body consists of 42 members, elected to two-year ...
from 2012 to 2016. Fiore, who represented much of northwestern Clark County, served two Assembly terms. On December 7, 2015, she confirmed that she would not seek reelection, and would instead enter the 2016 race for
Nevada's 3rd congressional district Nevada's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district occupying the area south of Las Vegas, including Henderson, Boulder City and much of unincorporated Clark County. The district was initially created after the 2000 census. It was ...
in southern Clark County. On June 15, 2016, Fiore placed third in the primary, with 18% of the vote. She was elected to the
Las Vegas City Council Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...
in 2017 and represented Ward 6. Fiore has been a high-profile supporter of anti-government activist
Cliven Bundy Cliven D. Bundy (born April 29, 1946) is an American cattle rancher who was charged and underwent pre-trial detention for his role in the 2014 Bundy standoff. Bundy vocally advocated a philosophy opposed to what he views as federal government o ...
, and has called
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
"one of our greatest presidents". She announced on October 19, 2021, that she was running for governor of Nevada in the 2022 race, amid reports she was under
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
investigation for campaign finance matters. She is the
Nevada Republican Party The Nevada Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in Nevada. The organization has a history that goes back to 1864. The party currently controls Nevada's governorship and lieutenant governorship, which are currently held by J ...
national committeewoman responsible for fund-raising in the state.


Issues


Campus gun carry bill

Fiore is a staunch supporter of
Second Amendment The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...
rights; her 2015 Christmas card showed her family holding their guns. She sponsored Assembly Bill 148 to allow concealed firearms on the campuses of colleges and grade schools and in day care facilities. In an interview with ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', Fiore said, "If these young, hot little girls on campus have a firearm, I wonder how many men will want to assault them. The sexual assaults that are occurring would go down once these sexual predators get a bullet in their head."


Same-sex marriage and medical marijuana

Fiore is noted for having been the only Republican to vote to lift the ban on
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
and to legalize medical marijuana.


Description of treatments possible under Right-to-Try bill

Fiore was a primary sponsor of the 2015 Nevada Right-to-Try bill, legislation that allows doctors to perform medical procedures that are being used in ongoing FDA-approved
clinical trials Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietar ...
but have not achieved FDA approval for terminally ill patients who are not responding to traditional medical treatment. On a February 2014"Walk the Talk with Michele Fiore" radio broadcast
February 21, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
edition of her radio show, discussing Right-to-Try, Fiore described the cancer treatment by ''Cancer is a Fungus'' author
Tullio Simoncini Tullio Simoncini (born 1951) is a former Italian physician known for alternative medicine advocacy. He is known for the claim that cancer is caused by the fungus ''Candida albicans'', and has argued that cancer is a form of candida overgrowth. He a ...
as an example of treatments that the terminally ill could access under Right-to-Try: "If you have cancer, which I believe is a fungus, and we can put a
PICC line A peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC or PIC line), less commonly called a percutaneous indwelling central catheter, is a form of intravenous access that can be used for a prolonged period of time (e.g., for long chemotherapy regimens ...
into your body and we're flushing, let's say, salt water, sodium carbonate, through that line, and flushing out the fungus. ... These are some procedures that are not FDA-approved in America that are very inexpensive, cost-effective." On her February 21, 2015, broadcast, the theme was the concept of Right-to-Try; the bill had been introduced in the Assembly the previous week. At the top of the show Fiore raised the topic of her 2014 comments, "an issue that I have gotten a lot of questions about". She said, "I made comments about cancer that I didn't put in the proper context." She had had a friend with cancer who had made "radical improvement using a doctor out of Italy's treatment covered in his book and his book was called ''Cancer Is A Fungus'' ... it was a tumor therapy of some sort. The point I was trying to illustrate was that people like my friend ... should have the right to decide their own fate and try experimental treatments like this." She did not repeat that cancer is a fungus or that salt water could flush it out. After Fiore addressed the issue she and guest Jackie See, M.D., defended the Simoncini treatment and other alternative techniques as viable and a means by which the U.S. could lead the world medically if regulation and bureaucracy were reduced and doctors could "explor all the treatments not knowing where the next breakthrough will come from." After the 2015 broadcast, she received renewed national attention for her 2014 statements. Using
sodium bicarbonate Sodium bicarbonate (IUPAC name: sodium hydrogencarbonate), commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda, is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of a sodium cation ( Na+) and a bicarbonate anion ( HCO3−) ...
(
baking soda Sodium bicarbonate (IUPAC name: sodium hydrogencarbonate), commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda, is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of a sodium cation ( Na+) and a bicarbonate anion ( HCO3−) ...
) as a cancer treatment is espoused by
Tullio Simoncini Tullio Simoncini (born 1951) is a former Italian physician known for alternative medicine advocacy. He is known for the claim that cancer is caused by the fungus ''Candida albicans'', and has argued that cancer is a form of candida overgrowth. He a ...
and is known as the Simoncini cancer treatment. This method has not been proven, and no evidence suggests that it or treatment with salt water works, but if either were to be accepted under the bill's requirements it could be legally considered a non-FDA-approved treatment that a terminally ill patient in Nevada could request. The bill that Fiore introduced eight days before her 2015 show requires that the drug, product or device "have successfully completed Phase 1 of a clinical trial" and that it be "tested in a clinical trial that has been approved by the DA"


Controversies


Gun use against law enforcement

In March 2016, Fiore was interviewed by the
Las Vegas Sun The ''Las Vegas Sun'' is one of the Las Vegas Valley's two daily Subscription business model, subscription newspapers. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group. The paper published afternoons on weekdays ...
. When asked about her support of militants involved in the
occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge On January 2, 2016, an armed group of far-right extremists seized and occupied the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon, and continued to occupy it until law enforcement made a final arrest on February ...
earlier that year, she said, In April 2016, Fiore was interviewed for the KLAS 8 television show "Politics NOW". Discussing whether the 2014 armed resistance against federal agents was justified (the agents were in
Bunkerville, Nevada Bunkerville is a census-designated place in Clark County, Nevada, United States. The population was 1,303 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the census-designated place of Bunkerville (which may not c ...
, to confiscate cattle owned by rancher
Cliven Bundy Cliven D. Bundy (born April 29, 1946) is an American cattle rancher who was charged and underwent pre-trial detention for his role in the 2014 Bundy standoff. Bundy vocally advocated a philosophy opposed to what he views as federal government o ...
because of defaulted grazing fees), she said, In May 2016, the Nevada Association of Public Safety Officers sent a letter denouncing Fiore's statements, concluding, In response, Fiore told KTNV 13 Action News that her original statement referred to federal
Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...
agents, not local police. She described BLM law enforcement agents as "wannabe cops" and the BLM as "a bureaucratic agency of terrorism that terrorized Americans, especially ranchers." When pressed about the meaning of her previous statement, she said,


Involvement in the Bundy standoff

In April 2014, Fiore was interviewed by
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
's
Chris Hayes Christopher Loffredo Hayes (; born February 28, 1979) is an American political commentator, television news anchor, activist, and author. Hayes hosts ''All In with Chris Hayes'', a weekday news and opinion television show on MSNBC. Hayes also ...
and by
Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
's
Sean Hannity Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of ''The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commentar ...
about the armed confrontation at
Bunkerville, Nevada Bunkerville is a census-designated place in Clark County, Nevada, United States. The population was 1,303 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the census-designated place of Bunkerville (which may not c ...
, between law enforcement officers and
Cliven Bundy Cliven D. Bundy (born April 29, 1946) is an American cattle rancher who was charged and underwent pre-trial detention for his role in the 2014 Bundy standoff. Bundy vocally advocated a philosophy opposed to what he views as federal government o ...
and his supporters. The interviews were shared thousands of times on social media. Fiore said, "The federal government should not show up with guns to collect on a debt" and called for the termination of "whoever ordered this to be done."


Statement about wanting to shoot Syrian refugees herself

On November 21, 2015, on her weekly AM radio program on
KDWN KDWN (720 AM) is a commercial radio station in Las Vegas, Nevada, owned and operated by Audacy, Inc.. The station pronounces its call letters as "K-Dawn." The station's studios are located in the unincorporated Clark County area of Spring Vall ...
, Fiore explained why she had not signed a Nevada Assembly Republican caucus letter that called for a review of federal safeguards before Nevada would resettle Syrian refugees. She said, "We didn't know anything about the letter, nor did we get invited to be on the letter." She went on, "He's like, 'The Syrian refugees.' I'm like, 'What, are you kidding me? I'm about to fly to Paris and shoot 'em in the head myself.' I mean, I am not OK with Syrian refugees. I'm not OK with terrorists. I'm OK with putting them down, blacking them out. Just put a piece of brass in their ocular cavity and end their miserable life. I'm good with that." On December 7, 2015, she told the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
, "I was not talking about the refugees." She added, "I do not want Syrian refugees in our state, period", and said that she did not trust the refugee
vetting Vetting is the process of performing a background check on someone before offering them employment, conferring an award, or doing fact-checking prior to making any decision. In addition, in intelligence gathering, assets are vetted to determine th ...
process to screen out terrorists.


2016 holiday photo

In December 2015, Fiore sent her constituents a 2016 calendar that included a family Christmas portrait under the month of December featuring her immediate family all holding guns, and her grandchildren, one of whom was holding what appeared to be a handgun.Grinberg, Emanuella.
Nevada politician wishes you a Merry Christmas -- with guns
" CNN.com. 2015-12-06. Retrieved 2015-12-09.
The photo went viral on
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
and drew criticism for depicting a small child holding a weapon.


IRS investigation

In December 2014, it was reported that the
Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...
(IRS) had filed dozens of tax liens totaling about $1 million against Fiore and her home healthcare businesses, Always There 4 You and Always There Personal Care. The liens against the businesses involved unpaid employee payroll taxes. In response, Fiore stated, "I am one hundred percent in compliance with IRS, period." Fiore blamed her ex-husband, who at one time acted as her accountant, and a former employee who stole from her while at the same time sent fraudulent documents to her current accountant to hide the embezzlement. The fallout from her issues with the IRS led to her being removed as majority leader and chair of the Assembly Taxation Committee. Fiore was reinstated to her former position less than 24 hours after her removal. It was reported that she reacted to the removal by saying there was a war on women in the Assembly Republican Caucus. "It was a total misquote," Fiore said. "Nevada Republicans are not waging a war on women. We have a group in our caucus that are waging a war on conservatives."


Voiding of home healthcare license

On November 3, 2015, the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services's Bureau of Health Care Quality and Compliance (HCQC) voided Fiore's license to operate Always There 4 You, a home healthcare service. Always There 4 You and another Fiore-owned home healthcare service, Always There Personal Care, received about $6 million (net) in
Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...
reimbursements between 2011 and March 2015. Although in Nevada an unannounced inspection of such companies' business records is required to be completed every 18 months, in 2013 and 2015 health department inspectors were blocked several times from reviewing Always There 4 You's records. They were denied access by office staff, by Fiore's mother, and by Fiore. In July 2015, after receiving a formal warning, Fiore met with health department officials in "a so-called conciliation process that essentially gives Fiore one more chance to comply". Fiore said the meeting was "productive" and she was "prepared to welcome inspectors in the future with coffee and doughnuts." In September 2015 an inspector found the Always There 4 You office dark and its door locked, with no notice posted on the premises explaining why. In October 2015 the Bureau sent a certified letter requesting clarification and again reminding Fiore that her license could be suspended or revoked. Fiore did not reply. On November 3, after officials arrived to find another business moving into the office location, the Bureau administratively closed the Always There 4 You license and notified Fiore. That night, Fiore issued a press release "regarding allegations that her home health care company was shut down by the government." "With the signing of a Notice Of Dissolution last week, I have completely closed my home health care business. While the media will try to tell you that my business was shut down by the government, I would like to lay that rumor to rest." The next day, the press release contents, under the title "You're Fired, State Inspectors!" and addressed to "Friends", were published on Fiore's website. "You're Fired, State Inspectors!" reproduces an article titled "When 'They' Win, We All Lose," written for a local magazine the month before, which begins, "By the time you read this, my home health care business will be a memory ... It happened because 'They' won." In "You're Fired" Fiore disclosed that she had been closing down her business for eight weeks. Always There 4 You was officially dissolved November 9, 2015.


Remarks at 2020 Clark County Republican Party convention

Fiore was accused of having made "racially charged remarks" at the June 6, 2020, Clark County Republican Convention. The Clark County Republican Party released a statement criticizing her remarks.


Blue Lives Matter March

After the unrest and riots resulting from the
murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's n ...
, conservative talk show host
Wayne Allyn Root Wayne Allyn Root (born July 20, 1961) is an American conservative television and radio host, author, activist, conservative political commentator and conspiracy theorist. He is the host of two new television shows, daily at 7 PM ET on Lindell TV ...
organized a
Blue Lives Matter Blue Lives Matter (also known as Police Lives Matter) is a countermovement in the United States advocating that those who are prosecuted and convicted of killing law enforcement officers should be sentenced under hate crime statutes. It was ...
march on Las Vegas Blvd scheduled for June 13, 2020, of which Fiore was to be a co-host. A flyer was circulated with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's emblem displayed across the bottom. The next day, the City of Las Vegas issued a statement saying the event was not officially sanctioned. The Metropolitan Police Department issued a statement reading, "The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department recently learned of a planned rally for Blue Lives Matter that used images of our badge on their flyers. While we uphold the first amendment right for all groups to peacefully assemble, we did not authorize permission for the organizers to use the LVMPD badge as the department was not part of the planning of this event." The event was postponed the next day and Las Vegas NAACP President Roxann McCoy said in a news release, "The NAACP Las Vegas is appalled that Las Vegas, Nevada City Council members Mayor Pro Tem Michelle Fiore, Councilwoman Victoria Seaman, Councilman Stavros Anthony do not care to understand Black citizens of Las Vegas and the injustices we constantly endure."


Capitol storming reaction

Days after the storming of the United States Capitol, Fiore attended the Republican National Committee's winter meeting on
Amelia Island Amelia Island is a part of the Sea Islands chain that stretches along the East Coast of the United States from South Carolina to Florida; it is the southernmost of the Sea Islands, and the northernmost of the barrier islands on Florida's Atlantic ...
, Florida, where she told the ''New York Times'', "I surely embrace President Trump."


Elections

*2010 Fiore first ran for
Nevada's 1st congressional district Nevada's 1st congressional district occupies most of Nevada's largest city, Las Vegas, as well as parts of North Las Vegas and parts of unincorporated Clark County. Before the 1980 census, Nevada was represented by a single at-large congres ...
in the June 8 eight-way
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...
, but lost to perennial candidate Kenneth Wegner. *2012 When Republican Assemblyman Richard McArthur ran for
Nevada Senate The Nevada Senate is the upper house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of U.S. state of Nevada, the lower house being the Nevada Assembly. It currently (2012–2021) consists of 21 members from single-member districts. In the previ ...
and left the Assembly District 4 seat open, Fiore was unopposed in the June 12 Republican primary and won the three-way November 6
general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
with 14,239 votes (53.11%) against Democratic nominee Kenneth Evans and Independent American candidate Jonathan Hansen. *2014 Fiore, now an incumbent, faced her first reelection challenge from Democrat Jeff Hinton, a former
U.S. Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...
and current schoolteacher. Fiore won by nearly 25 percent. *2016 Fiore decided to give up her assembly seat and run for election in the open 3rd congressional district. She came in third behind perennial candidate and businessman Danny Tarkanian and State Senator Michael Roberson. *2017 With City Councilman Steve Ross retiring, Fiore ran for Ward 6 in northwestern Las Vegas, about half of which overlaps with her old assembly district. Though municipal elections in Nevada are nonpartisan, Fiore framed the contest as a referendum on political ideology in an area where Republicans outnumber Democrats. Fiore faced a crowded field, including the retiring councilman's wife, Kelli. Fiore led with 46% of the vote in the first round. In the second round, Fiore defeated Kelli Ross, 51%–49%. She was named mayor pro tem of the City Council on July 3, 2019. *2020 Fiore was reelected as Republican National Committeewoman in June by a vote of 220 to 27. She stepped down as Las Vegas City Council Mayor Pro Tem on June 16 to focus on the country’s racial divide following a couple weeks of controversy after the Clark County Republican Party rebuked “racially charged” remarks she made at the group’s convention.


Committees

*Assembly Commerce and Labor *Assembly Judiciary *Assembly Legislative Operations and Elections *Assembly Transportation


2022 elections

On October 19, 2021, Fiore announced her candidacy for
governor of Nevada A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
in the 2022 Nevada gubernatorial election. On March 17, 2022, she withdrew from the gubernatorial race to run for
Nevada State Treasurer The Nevada State Treasurer is an elected office in the U.S. state of Nevada. The Nevada State Treasurer is based in Carson City, Nevada. The Treasurer is elected to a four-year term and may serve for eight years or two terms under Nevada's term li ...
in the 2022 election. On November 8, 2022, Fiore lost the general election to incumbent Democrat
Zach Conine Zachary Beare Conine (born October 20, 1981) is an American attorney, businessman and politician from the U.S. state of Nevada. He is currently the Nevada State Treasurer. Biography Conine was raised in New York. He graduated from Cornell Unive ...
.https://www.rgj.com/story/news/2022/11/14/republican-michele-fiore-loses-bid-nevada-treasurer-zach-conine/10697433002/


References


External links


Official page
at the
Nevada Legislature The Nevada Legislature is a bicameral body, consisting of the lower house, the Assembly, with 42 members, and the upper house, the Senate, with 21. With a total of 63 seats, the Legislature is the third-smallest bicameral state legislatur ...

Campaign website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fiore, Michele 1970 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Las Vegas City Council members Living people Republican Party members of the Nevada Assembly Politicians from Brooklyn Women state legislators in Nevada