Fiore claims free speech rights ‘under attack’

Las Vegas Councilwoman Michele Fiore on Wednesday said her First Amendment rights were “under attack” as she called for the release of a full video of her recent speech to the Clark County Republican Party convention, where county GOP officials accused her of making “racially charged” comments.

In a post on Twitter, Fiore called county Republican Party Chairman David Sajdak “a pandering idiot” and offered an apology “if anyone in the CCRP is offended by the word ‘ass’ or my New York Style.”

“I have a plan of correction set up. I’ve instructed my staff to put a swear jar in my office,” the tweet said, adding: “I promise I will work on my public language. Pinky swear.”

Click here for the video: https://t.co/jBLBS76wYk pic.twitter.com/jkHPMPf52i

— Mayor Pro Tem Michele Fiore (@VoteFiore) June 10, 2020

The county GOP on Monday rebuked Fiore for “racially charged remarks” made during its convention in Las Vegas on Saturday, but it did not specify what she is supposed to have said other than that her words were “irresponsible, insensitive and inaccurate,” and ran counter to other speakers and the values of the party.

Not racist, says one; another ‘appalled’

Niger Innis, a black conservative activist and spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality who was at the event, said Wednesday that he recalled Fiore objected to affirmative action and said something similar to, “If my white ass is qualified for a particular job, and your black ass is less qualified, then my white ass should get the job.”

Melissa Blundo, wife of Nye County Commissioner and Republican congressional candidate Leo Blundo, attended the convention to hear her husband speak.

“If this white girl proves to be smarter than your black asses then I deserve the job,” Melissa Blundo remembered Fiore saying.

She said some people clapped and others, like her, were “completely appalled.”

The controversy comes at a time when protests are being held nationwide, including in Las Vegas, to condemn police brutality and systemic racism in response to the killing of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody.

But Innis, who was the convention’s keynote speaker, defended Fiore, including her comment that “white lives matter.” It is being wrongly portrayed as racist and taken out of context, he said, adding that she also said that black, Asian, Hispanic, blue and all lives mattered. He said that it must be understood that the convention was the first time local Republicans had gathered in any significant fashion since the shutdown and there was frustration over the effect to the economy and small businesses.

Against that backdrop, Innis said Fiore simply argued for a policy that is gender and race neutral, in place of affirmative action, and in essence she was promoting a focus on the content of a person’s character.

“I told Michele what she said was sloppy; it was unartful,” he said. “But was it racist? Hell, no.”

Dozens of phone calls

But late Monday, Richard MacLean, the party’s chief of staff, said he estimated the party had received more than 100 calls expressing dismay over the comments, including from Republicans who were in attendance and GOP lawmakers who were not.

MacLean said he did not hear the comments firsthand, but he said that it had been reported to him in those phone calls that Fiore was speaking about support for law enforcement. He said he heard she then pivoted to her opposition of affirmative action, leading her to raise a hypothetical scenario about losing a job to a black person, in which she said something loosely to the effect of, “I would lose my job to their black ass.”

The county GOP called upon Fiore to apologize to those in attendance and the community at large, while the state Republican Party said Fiore, who is also the Nevada GOP national committeewoman, denied making racially charged comments and that it would investigate the claims.

Sajdak, whom Fiore slammed in her tweet Wednesday, said her continued name-calling is not professional and her comments did not align with the convention’s messaging of unity.

“If I’m pandering to my membership by protecting my membership and protecting fellow Republicans, then I’m guilty as charged,” he said. “That’s my job.”

Not backing down

In addition to calling for a full video of her convention remarks to be released — MacLean said the party did not record the event, but attendees might have — Fiore pointed to a previous instance when she used the word “ass” publicly: As an assemblywoman, she told Republican Chris Edwards to “sit your ass down” during a contentious Assembly floor session, prompting several fellow lawmakers to protest that she was out of order. Fiore later apologized to Edwards.

In her tweet, she shared a link to the Assembly video, which was edited with music and ended with a stylized photo of Fiore and the words, “THUG LIFE!!!!” transposed over it.

“At least there’s a video,” she wrote about that incident in the tweet. “I just might be hanging out with the wrong crowd.”

Innis said he has advised Fiore to remain firm and, while he understood that the county GOP had a responsibility to issue a statement and ask Fiore what she meant, seeking an apology “might be a step too far.”

Fiore has not returned text messages and voicemails to speak about the matter, including on Wednesday.

Contact Shea Johnson at sjohnson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @Shea_LVRJ on Twitter.