Hambrick says Fiore may take legal action

CARSON CITY — Assembly Speaker designate John Hambrick, R-Las Vegas, said ousted Taxation Committee Chairwoman Michele Fiore may be preparing legal action against him after he took her out of her leadership positions last week.

Speaking on the Alan Stock radio show on KDWN-AM in Las Vegas, Hambrick said he has the support of at least 17 of 25 of his Republican caucus members, and added he will not step down as speaker designate.

Hambrick, who replaced Fiore with a more moderate member of the caucus to serve as chairman of taxation, said also that there could be defamation actions pursued against Fiore as well for comments she made on Stock’s show last week.

In a statement released through her spokeswoman Lisa Mayo-DeRiso, Fiore said she has never talked of or threatened legal action.

“These statements by Assemblyman Hambrick on Alan Stock this morning are false,” Fiore said.

Fiore has yet to comment publicly on her most recent ouster, which occurred Thursday, and included her position as majority leader.

Fiore criticized Las Vegas Republican Monte Miller, and two caucus/campaign consultants, Nathan Emens and Cory Christensen, for efforts to oust her from leadership. She made the comments Dec. 16 as part of a response to concerns raised about tax liens filed against her home health care business that records show total more than $1 million.

In a Facebook post after she made the comments, Hambrick defended all three, and called the remarks “truly regrettable and an embarrassment to our caucus.”

“I believe, and I have been advised, that one or more of the individuals that she named will most likely be seeking advice of counsel and going forward for some type of defamation,” he said on the show. “I believe Assemblywoman Fiore may be seeking counsel to file suit against me for my decision.

“And now there is apparently going to be some consequences all around,” he said.

Emens said Monday he is considering all options following Fiore’s statements, which he called 100 percent false.

“It was flat out slander and not very becoming of a legislator,” he said.

Emens said Hambrick was right to replace Fiore as majority leader as well, saying he has the power to make the change and needed to do so because Fiore is incapable of uniting the caucus, only causing further divides.

Miller and Christensen could not be reached for comment on Monday.

Hambrick acknowledged that he did remove other conservative members of his caucus from the Taxation Committee, including Victoria Seaman and Brent Jones, both conservatives who are not supportive of tax increases. He did not elaborate on why they were removed.

Hambrick last week appointed Assemblyman Derek Armstrong, R-Las Vegas, a tax attorney, to lead the Taxation Committee. He is a freshman.

The complete Assembly committee assignments have not yet been released.

Hambrick minced no words when he was asked about why he reversed course the first time, reinstating Fiore as chairwoman of taxation the day after removing her from the post.

“I was inundated with emails, phone calls, texts, you name it, from a very hostile group,” he said. “And to be very candid, Alan, I wasn’t prepared for it.”

Fiore tried to make it a gender issue, which it wasn’t, he said.

But Hambrick said he simply caved in because he was unprepared.

“I never asked for this job,” he said. “But it fell on me.

“I do not intend to step down,” Hambrick said. “Nor do I believe there will be sufficient votes to remove me as speaker.”

During the interview, questions were raised as to whether Hambrick had the authority to remove Fiore as majority leader, a position to which she was elected by the caucus. Hambrick said the caucus will meet Jan. 5 in the capital after the inauguration of Gov. Brian Sandoval to a second term, at which time that question will be resolved.

Hambrick said there is a lot of work ahead to address issues facing the state as everyone prepares for the Feb. 2 session, where taxes will likely be a top issue.

Sandoval has said he supports more spending for public education, and Hambrick has said he will support higher taxes for education despite having signed a “no tax” pledge.

But Hambrick said education reform has to be part of any plan for increased funding, saying he supports a voucher program and merit pay for teachers.

Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900. Find him on Twitter: @seanw801.