| Friends,
Did you catch my special
commentary in the Las Vegas Review-Journal this morning? You can read
the full text below. Thank you so much LVRJ for allowing me to share my
thoughts regarding the libelous personal attacks that have taken place
over the past few weeks.
I look forward to getting
to work for the people of Assembly District 4 and Nevada. We have a
great opportunity to make meaningful reforms that will continue
Nevada's comeback for years to come.
I look forward to your
feedback.
Yours
truly,
|
|
By
MICHELE FIORE
SPECIAL TO THE LAS VEGAS
REVIEW-JOURNAL
January 12, 2015
Being an elected official is one of the greatest honors I’ve accomplished in my life. To be able to work in the Nevada Assembly with exceptional people and handle legislation that affects the lives of Nevadans is an incredible experience, and one which I believe will enable me to help protect the liberties and rights of the people who elected me. The position is also accompanied by media exposure that otherwise would not be afforded to me. Not only is my work as an assemblywoman reflected in the news, but recently, my personal life and business matters have been in the headlines. While I know, as an elected leader, I open myself up to public scrutiny, I do expect the media to be truthful. Unfortunately, that has not been the case with the recent flurry of reports. Every day, a significant amount of time that I could and should be devoting to the goals for this upcoming session is instead interrupted by handling press, social media and attacks on my integrity, business and affairs. Libel about me has been front-page “news,” and my communication lines are bombarded with requests to interview and comment on things completely unrelated to moving Nevada forward. Inaccurate and misleading reports regarding tax liens with the IRS have permeated multiple news channels, but reporters haven’t ever consulted my tax accountant or me personally to verify facts and my plans to make things right. My own peers have gone straight to the media to offer their purported “findings,” without ever consulting with me face-to-face to verify what was actually happening. And the entire “war on women” issue was something I never actually said, yet for some reason, it’s everywhere, along with my name and picture. It is unfortunate that serving the public politically comes with these types of challenges, which some want you to believe come with the territory. To them I want to say: I did not agree to this territory. The purpose of being an elected official is getting things done, not constantly defending yourself against your own party. The speaker designate has chosen to strip me of my chairmanship of the taxation committee and unilaterally remove me as the majority leader, against all Assembly procedure precedent. He has taken my majority leadership office away, and according to some of my colleagues, he will take similar actions against them if they don’t fall into line. As part of a group of 25 Assembly Republicans, I will not jeopardize the position, credibility and efforts of my colleagues. They all worked very hard to get elected, and the Republican win needs a solid chance to govern, analyze and adopt the legislation we were elected to support. I do not need praise, approval or sympathy, and I will not compromise my conservative values or ideology. There are very few men in history who have been without enemies. One of my favorite quotes is from Laurel Thatcher Ulrich: “Well-behaved women rarely make history.” Part of my passion for entering politics is to do the right thing, get the facts straight, ensure that truth is represented and pass laws that make life better for Nevadans, while respecting their individual freedoms. I’m aware that common sense seems to have gone out of style a long time ago, but I think it will make a strong comeback in the 78th legislative session. However, everything comes down to honest, fact-driven communication and having the integrity to confront each other so that things can get done. Generating hearsay helps no one. Nothing positive ever comes from failing to communicate directly with the source. What does work is the commitment to work together to find solutions that benefit others. I don’t know any of my elected peers, Democrat or Republican, who ran their campaigns on raising taxes, expanding government and taking citizen freedoms away. Out of 42 members of the Assembly, it only takes 15 votes on the floor to kill any tax or budget increase bill. So regardless of whether I am majority leader, I am the assemblywoman of District 4, and my vote will always be to reduce taxes and government, protect the people of Nevada, ensure a great quality of life and guarantee that Nevadans’ personal freedoms and liberties are not infringed upon. |
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