Michele Fiore

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Michele Fiore
Image of Michele Fiore

Nonpartisan

Prior offices
Nevada State Assembly District 4

Las Vegas City Council Ward 6
Successor: Nancy Brune

Elections and appointments
Last election

November 8, 2022

Personal
Birthplace
New York, N.Y.
Religion
Catholic
Profession
Politician
Contact

Michele Fiore was a member of the Las Vegas City Council in Nevada, representing Ward 6. She assumed office on July 19, 2017. She left office on December 7, 2022.

Fiore (Republican Party) ran for election for Nevada State Treasurer. She lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Fiore also ran for election for Governor of Nevada. She did not appear on the ballot for the Republican primary on June 14, 2022.

Fiore completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Fiore is a former Republican member of the Nevada State Assembly, representing District 4 from 2012 to 2016. She did not seek re-election to the Nevada State Assembly in 2016, running instead for Nevada's 3rd Congressional District seat in the U.S. House. She was defeated by Danny Tarkanian in the Republican primary.[1]

Biography

Michele Fiore was born in Brooklyn, New York, New York. Her career experience includes working as a politician, actress, the founder and owner of a home healthcare services company, and film producer.

Fiore has served with the following organizations:[2][3][4]

  • Las Vegas City Council
  • Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority
  • Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition
  • Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument Advisory Council
  • Nellis Civilian Military Council Executive Board, alternate
  • Republican National Committeewoman for the State of Nevada
  • Metropolitan Police Department's Use of Force Review Board
  • Trauma Intervention Program, volunteer
  • Metropolitan Police Department's SWAT team, volunteer
  • National Rifle Association, member
  • Front Sight Firearms Training Institute, member
  • Second Amendment Sisters, member

Elections

2022

See also: Nevada Treasurer election, 2022

General election

General election for Nevada State Treasurer

Incumbent Zach Conine defeated Michele Fiore, Margaret Hendrickson, and Bryan Elliott in the general election for Nevada State Treasurer on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Zach Conine
Zach Conine (D)
 
47.7
 
482,762
Image of Michele Fiore
Michele Fiore (R) Candidate Connection
 
46.0
 
465,570
Margaret Hendrickson (Independent American Party)
 
1.9
 
19,588
Image of Bryan Elliott
Bryan Elliott (L)
 
1.6
 
16,051
 Other/Write-in votes
 
2.8
 
28,058

Total votes: 1,012,029
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Zach Conine advanced from the Democratic primary for Nevada State Treasurer.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Nevada State Treasurer

Michele Fiore defeated Manny Kess in the Republican primary for Nevada State Treasurer on June 14, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Michele Fiore
Michele Fiore Candidate Connection
 
61.1
 
134,184
Image of Manny Kess
Manny Kess Candidate Connection
 
29.6
 
65,048
 Other/Write-in votes
 
9.3
 
20,370

Total votes: 219,602
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2017

See also: Municipal elections in Las Vegas, Nevada (2017)

The city of Las Vegas, Nevada, held a primary election for city council on April 4, 2017. A general election was scheduled for June 13, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was February 3, 2017.

The city council seats in Wards 2, 4, and 6 were up for election in the primary, and the Wards 2 and 6 races advanced to the general election. Ward 6 Councilman Steven D. Ross was not eligible to run for re-election due to term limits.[5] Michele Fiore defeated Kelli Ross in the general election for the Ward 6 seat on the Las Vegas City Council.[6]

Las Vegas City Council, Ward 6 General Election, 2017
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Michele Fiore 51.08% 3,885
Kelli Ross 48.92% 3,720
Total Votes 7,605
Source: Clark County, Nevada, "2017 Municipal General Election - Official Final Results," accessed June 27, 2017


The following candidates ran in the primary election for the Ward 6 seat on the Las Vegas City Council.[7]

Las Vegas City Council, Ward 6 Primary Election, 2017
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Michele Fiore 46.08% 2,802
Green check mark transparent.png Kelli Ross 30.77% 1,871
Christine Garvey 12.14% 738
Allen Jordan 3.09% 188
Thaddeus Ynigues 2.06% 125
Adam Christian 1.56% 95
Reid Rasner 1.22% 74
Joel Jarvis 1.13% 69
Ryan Alarid 1.05% 64
Matthew Consoli 0.90% 55
Total Votes 6,081
Source: Clark County Elections, "2017 Municipal Primary Election - Official Final Results," accessed May 1, 2017

Endorsements

Fiore received endorsements from the following in 2017:



Campaign themes

2022

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia
Released Mar 17, 2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Michele Fiore completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Fiore's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

I am a mother, grandmother, City Councilwoman, student, and lover of freedom and the American dream. I have been in public finance for ten years, private finance for 35 years. I've worked on our Nevada State Budgets and the City of LV budgets for the past decade. I opened my first successful company in 1987 and have had companies for 35 years, investing, making payrolls, and responsibly caring for other people's money. I have the experience and knowledge of how all levels of state and local government work to be an outstanding success in this position. I intend to hire the best qualified people available, establish operational and reporting standards, hold everyone accountable for executing the plan and reporting to the people of Nevada our results. There is no room for mistakes or delays because every cent of Nevada’s money is important.
  • I plan to bring fiscal responsibility and transparency to the State Treasurer's office. I will be a fiduciary for the people of Nevada and invest state funds for the complete benefit of the citizens of Nevada. I will create a transparent dashboard online for all Nevadans to see the performance of their investments. I will create educational opportunities for our students and businesses to improve our pathetically low national graduation rate. I will increase the state efforts to find and return unclaimed property that I administer. I am the best suited to deliver on all of these promises.
  • Nationally, Nevada is 44 of 50 in graduation rate. That is shameful. I will expand the educational opportunities to all, but especially older adults to improve their education, complete their degrees and improve their own standard of living.
  • As Administrator of Unclaimed Property, I will expand efforts to find and deliver any unclaimed funds to the proper owners. I will employ the latest technology to find and deliver all unclaimed funds I can identify. I truly am a servant of the people and wish nothing more than helping our citizens recover what is rightfully theirs.
My two most passionate concerns are transparency of government spending and adult education.

Currently there is government spending with little or no oversite funneled to friends and family under the radar. Those transactions are generally not in the best interest of Nevada and its citizens. I will make all state transactions (within the limits of our laws) viewable to the public as there is no better disinfectant than sunshine.

Nevadan's need and want to improve their lives. The best way is to improve your education, which can lead to better employment and opportunities. Improving your education adds skill and confidence to your life, delivering a less stressful existence.
The Nevada State Treasurer is in charge of investing the states money in a sound and prudent way. Neither politics or personal preference should interfere with those strictly business decisions. All transactions and investment decisions should be transparent to our citizens to ensure the trust of this responsible is never lost.
Currently Donald Trump has been the epitome of putting Americans first. His policies and actions were entirely focused on improving the lives of everyday Americans and restoring the our economy to world class leaders. Government can make such a difference by just staying out of the way of the entrepreneurial spirit of this great county,
Being a servant of the people plain and simple. If the interest of the people come first, all other decisions are easy.
To be a true fiduciary and ensure the money of Nevadans is proper managed.
Investing millions of dollars for the people of Nevada is a humbling responsibility. I will find and hire the best advisors possible and hold them accountable for results. I am also passionate about adult education and unclaimed funds.
This job not only requires experience in politics but the wisdom to turn those experiences into decisive actions. "Trust but verify", "Inspect what you expect", and "Hire good people and get out of their way" are just a couple clichés that come to mind when experience for this job is scrutinized. I have the broad-based experience to excel at this position and do an outstanding job for the people of Nevada.
The skills of a CEO to set a course and routinely ensure that results meet the expectations of the people of Nevada.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2017

Fiore's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

As your city councilwoman, I will fight to…
  • Stem Las Vegas’ exploding crime rate
  • Restore lower taxes and create pro-growth economic policies
  • Eliminate laws that hinder economic growth and job creation
  • Limit the damaging effects of state regulations upon the private sector
  • Improve financial transparency of government entities
  • Defend our Second Amendment rights
  • Encourage job creation
  • Ensure that taxpayers get the most for each dollar spent by government
  • Improve education outcomes in schools
  • Keep our parks great

CRIME
My principle campaign pledge is to support the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in reducing crime across the valley.

I will work with every interested party to ensure that the police have the resources they need to fight crime effectively. It is unacceptable that crime doubled in the Valley between 2015 and 2016. Collaborating together toward a steep reduction in our crime rate will be my first priority on the city council, if elected.

PARKS AND RECREATION
Las Vegas enjoys world class public leisure facilities that provide an array of amenities to enhance the quality of life. I will work diligently with my colleagues on the Las Vegas City Council to ensure that we maintain our parks and recreation facilities at the highest caliber while ensuring the most efficient and transparent use of taxpayer dollars.

CITY SERVICES
The government should be accountable to the people and work toward improving the quality of life in our community. You can count on me to work tirelessly to improve utilities that touch the residents of Las Vegas, including garbage removal, water and energy supplies.

I will always support measures that are fiscally responsible and work with colleagues on the city council to bring an even greater degree of transparency to the workings of City Hall.

JOBS
As a business owner, I have employed more than 1,800 Las Vegans over the life of her business. I believe Las Vegas can and should be a leader in emerging industries that will create good paying, stable jobs.

I have worked with leaders across the political spectrum to promote economic development in Nevada. I have partnered with Labor Unions, the business community, nonprofit groups and other elected leaders to bring jobs and reinvestment to Nevada and has worked to bring new and expanded business to Las Vegas. “I will continue to support and work with leaders to bring jobs to Nevada that help our community truly get back to work.”

PRO-BUSINESS
I know first-hand the challenges of being a business owner in Nevada and will always work to reduce the regulation and taxation that hinders Nevada’s job creators and business development.

Nevada has transformed from the model for a business-friendly state to a state that many businesses avoid because they can’t predict what the tax and regulatory climate may be in the future. I will never support measures that undermine businesses’ confidence in Nevada.

While in the legislature, I opposed Question 3 (also known as the “Margins Tax”) and the Commerce Tax. I have received A-ratings from the Nevada Policy Research Institute for both of her terms, in large part because of my unwavering commitment to fiscal accountability and government transparency.

EDUCATION
Our children are our future, and we need to ensure they receive the best education possible. If elected, I will continue to support meaningful reforms that keep more money in the classroom and give parents more input in their children’s education in whatever capacity I can.

Every parent should have the ability to choose the educational option that meets their child’s needs. I support Education Savings Accounts as a way to make sure money isn’t the obstacle in the way of student achievement.

Nevada students are diverse and need a diversity of options in education. Charter schools have demonstrated they provide a higher quality academic environment, so parents can prepare their child for a better future. I will support legislation to increase the number of charter schools and their ability to access resources I will oppose measures that force federal criteria on Nevada schools. Our workforce is unique, and our high school graduates’ needs are very different.

SECOND AMENDMENT
I agree with the Nevada Constitution, “Every citizen has the right to keep and bear arms for security and defense, for lawful hunting, recreational use and for other lawful purposes.” I fully support the rights our Second Amendment guarantees under the United States and Nevada Constitutions and I will oppose all efforts to limit our access to guns for self-defense or any other lawful purpose.[34]

—Michele Fiore's campaign website, (2017)[35]

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the following would be Fiore's priorities for the city council if elected: "Ward 6 safety with focus on police and fire resources, reducing bureaucracy for business owners and developers at City Hall, work with school leaders to help enhance education."[36]

2016

Fiore's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

  • Taxes : I don't just promise to vote against tax hikes. I have actually voted against them repeatedly. Earning me both a conservative rating of over 92% and the title "The Taxpayers Best Friend" by the conservative think tank NPRI (Nevada Policy Research Institute). When I tell you I will oppose tax increases, I mean it.
  • Jobs: Once again I have a proven record of opposing burdensome, and unnecessary regulations which cripple Nevada businesses and kill job creation. I will take that same proven record to Washington DC and do the same.
  • Education: I have sponsored and fought for legislation that reformed our education system, and empowered parents with the finest school choice program in the country. I will take that fight to Washington and work to wrest control from them and fight to return our tax dollars to Nevada where they belong.
  • Second Amendment: There is no bigger supporter of the 2nd Amendment then I am. Whether successfully working to end the Blue Card gun registration program as well as fighting alongside sexual assault survivor Amanda Collins to give women the right to defend themselves wherever they are. My support has gotten me an A+ rating from the NRA and their endorsement in past races. I will always fight for your right to bear arms.[34]
—Michele Fiore's campaign website, (2016)[37]

2012

Fiore's campaign website highlighted the following issues:[38]

As your Assemblywoman, Michele’s priorities are to:

  • Excerpt: "Restore lower taxes and create pro-growth economic policies."
  • Excerpt: "Eliminate laws that hinder economic recovery."
  • Excerpt: "Limit the damaging effects of state regulations upon the private sector."
  • Excerpt: "Improve financial transparency of government entities."
  • Excerpt: "Defend our Second Amendment rights."
  • Excerpt: "Encourage job creation by tying new jobs to tax incentives."
  • Excerpt: "Ensure that taxpayers get the most for each dollar spent on education."
  • Excerpt: "Put patients and their doctors in control of medical decisions."

Committee assignments

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Fiore served on the following committees:

2013-2014

In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Fiore served on the following committees:

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Campaign finance summary


Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.


Michele Fiore campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2022Nevada State TreasurerLost general$740,966 $0
2014Nevada State Assembly, District 4Won $379,810 N/A**
2012Nevada State Assembly, District 4Won $168,383 N/A**
2010Nevada's 1st Congressional DistrictLost $86,736 N/A**
Grand total$1,375,895 N/A**
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Nevada

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Nevada scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.










2016

In 2016, the Nevada State Legislature did not hold a regular session.


2015


2014


2013



Noteworthy events

Federal wire fraud conviction (2024)

In October 2024, a federal grand jury convicted Fiore of six counts of federal wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.[40]

The conviction stems from a July 2024 indictment that alleges Fiore raised donations to build a memorial for police officers who died in the line of duty, but instead of using the funds for the memorial, Fiore spent the funds on personal expenses, including rent and her daughter’s wedding.[41][42]

After she was indicted, Fiore was suspended from her position as a justice of the peace.[43]

Fiore was initially scheduled to be sentenced January 6, 2025, but the sentencing was moved to March 10, 2025.[44][40] At the hearing on March 10, Fiore submitted a motion to receive a new trial based on her belief that the prosecution failing to meet their legal burden, and there were errors committed by her former attorney. Her sentencing has been moved to April 14, 2025 as Judge Jennifer Dorsey resolves the motion.[45]

Comments about Syrian refugees

On the December 5, 2015, episode of her show, "Walk the Talk," Fiore said:

I'm about to fly to Paris and shoot 'em in the head myself. 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.[34]
—Michele Fiore[46]

The comments, which some interpreted as referring to both refugees and terrorists, prompted University of Nevada, Reno, graduate student Hannah Etchison to start a Change.org petition calling for Fiore's resignation from the Nevada Assembly. According to the Reno Gazette-Journal, Fiore later specified that her comments were intended to refer only to terrorists but also that she opposed resettlement of Syrian refugees in the state.[46]

Mediating the 2016 Oregon standoff

In February 2016, Fiore served as an intermediary between federal agents and a group of anti-government activists who were occupying the Mahleur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. Led by Ammon Bundy, whose father, Cliven, was at the center of a similar standoff in 2014, the activists had seized the refuge on January 2, 2016, to protest the federal land arson convictions of two local ranchers.[47][48]

Fiore flew to Oregon on February 10, 2016, to advocate the release of Ammon Bundy and other occupiers who had been taken into custody. She became involved in negotiations to end a standoff between the FBI and the last four occupiers remaining at the refuge when she landed at the Portland airport. The Oregonian reported that the remaining occupiers asked to speak with her and that she helped convince them to surrender to authorities the following morning. All four occupiers were in custody by about 11am on February 11, 2016.[47][48]

See also


External links

Footnotes

  1. 1.0 1.1 The New York Times, "Nevada Primary Results," June 14, 2016
  2. Michele Fiore, "About Michele," accessed March 29, 2017
  3. Facebook, "Michele Fiore," accessed March 29, 2017
  4. Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 2, 2022
  5. Las Vegas Review-Journal, "Political Newcomer Joins Field for Las Vegas City Council Seat," January 18, 2017
  6. Las Vegas, Nevada, "Candidate Filing List," February 3, 2017
  7. Las Vegas, Nevada, "Candidate Filing List," February 3, 2017
  8. Las Vegas Review-Journal, "Firefighters Union Endorse Fiore for Las Vegas City Council," March 13, 2017
  9. Michele Fiore for City Council Ward 6, "Fiore Endorsed by Las Vegas Laborers' Local 872," March 13, 2017
  10. Michele Fiore for City Council Ward 6, "Endorsed by the NRA," accessed March 29, 2017
  11. Michele Fiore for City Council Ward 6, "Big Endorsement News!" accessed March 29, 2017
  12. Michele Fiore for City Council Ward 6, "Get Involved Tonight!" accessed March 29, 2017
  13. Michele Fiore for City Council Ward 6, "Michele Fiore Endorsed by Assemblyman Harvey Munford," March 10, 2017
  14. Clark County Election Department, "Candidate Filing in Clark County," accessed March 19, 2016
  15. AP, "Republican State Sen. Michael Roberson running for Congress," July 8, 2015
  16. Reno Gazette-Journal, "Nevada's Tarkanian announces bid for Congress," July 13, 2015
  17. Las Vegas Sun, "President of conservative think tank NPRI joins House race," July 20, 2015
  18. CBS Las Vegas, "4 GOP Candidates In 3rd District," July 20, 2015
  19. Twitter, "Michelle Rindels," August 10, 2015
  20. Ballotpedia Staff, "Email correspondence with Barry Michaels," January 19, 2016
  21. Ballotpedia Staff, "Email correspondence with Steven St John," January 3, 2016
  22. Associated Press, "Democrat Jacky Rosen launches bid for Rep. Heck's House seat," January 26, 2016
  23. Ballotpedia Staff, "Email correspondence with Ballotpedia staff," March 5, 2016
  24. Nevada Secretary of State, "2016 Master Statewide Certified List of Candidates," accessed September 7, 2016
  25. Nevada Secretary of State, "2014 filed candidates," accessed April 8, 2014
  26. Clark County, "Candidate filing," accessed April 8, 2014
  27. Nevada Secretary of State, "Nevada Primary Election 2014," accessed June 10, 2014
  28. Nevada Secretary of State, Nevada General Election 2014: Official Results," accessed December 20, 2014
  29. Nevada Secretary of State, "2014 Official Statewide General Election Results," accessed April 30, 2015
  30. Nevada Secretary of State, "2012 Primary Candidates," accessed May 6, 2014
  31. Clark County, "2012 Primary Candidates," accessed May 6, 2014
  32. Washoe County, "2012 General Election candidates," accessed May 5, 2014(Archived)
  33. Nevada Secretary of State, "Official Results of the 2012 Primary Election," accessed April 23, 2014
  34. 34.0 34.1 34.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  35. Michele Fiore, "Michele Fiore on the Issues," accessed March 29, 2017
  36. Las Vegas Review-Journal, "Las Vegas City Election Packed with Candidates in Each Council Ward," March 17, 2017
  37. Michele Fiore - Congress District 3, "Proven Record Section," accessed April 3, 2017
  38. Fiore for Nevada, "The Issues," accessed October 19, 2012
  39. Nevada State Legislature, "Session Information," accessed July 3, 2014
  40. 40.0 40.1 AP News, "Republican Michele Fiore pleads guilty to federal wire fraud in Nevada," accessed October 15, 2024
  41. U.S. Department of Justice, "Former Las Vegas City Councilwoman Charged in Charity Fraud Scheme," accessed October 15, 2024
  42. Scribd "USA v. Fiore Indictment" accessed October 15, 2024
  43. Nevada Judicial Discipline Commission "Certified Copy of Order Suspending Respondent from Exercise of Judicial Office with Salary" accessed October 15, 2024
  44. Michele Fiore suspension extended, new sentencing date set, KTNV," December 20, 2024
  45. Courthouse News Service, "Former Las Vegas councilor asks for new trial after wire fraud conviction," March 10, 2025
  46. 46.0 46.1 Reno-Gazette Journal, "Petition calls for Fiore's resignation after head-shot comments," accessed December 9, 2015
  47. 47.0 47.1 The Oregonian, "Nevada Lawmaker Michele Fiore Thrust into Role as Oregon Standoff Negotiator," February 23, 2016
  48. 48.0 48.1 The Washington Post, "Michele Fiore, the Gun-toting, Calendar-posing Politician Who Negotiated the Ore. Occupiers’ Surrender," February 11, 2016

Political offices
Preceded by
-
Las Vegas City Council Ward 6
2017-2022
Succeeded by
Nancy Brune
Preceded by
-
Nevada State Assembly District 4
2012-2016
Succeeded by
-