Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore responds to a question after stepping down as mayor pro tem during a news conference at Las Vegas City Hall Tuesday, June 16, 2020. Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman listens at right.
Published Tuesday, June 16, 2020 | 5:20 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, June 16, 2020 | 6:45 p.m.
Michele Fiore is stepping down from her position of mayor pro tem on the Las Vegas City Council amid allegations of racially charged comments during the Clark County GOP Convention two weeks ago.
Mayor Carolyn Goodman pegged Stavros Anthony to be elevated to the position, which is second-in-command on the council. Anthony, on the council since 2009 and its most veteran member, previously held the position. Anthony’s appointment needs to be ratified by the council.
Fiore didn’t admit to wrongdoing but says discussion surrounding the alleged comments was bad for the council and influenced her decision to step down from the leadership post. Last week, Councilman Cedric Crear asked Goodman to remove Fiore as mayor pro tem.
Fiore allegedly made remarks critical of affirmative action, and the Clark County GOP released a statement labeling her views as “clearly inappropriate” and “counter to the thoughtful remarks of every other speaker and counter to the beliefs of the Clark County Republican Party.”
At a news conference at City Hall Tuesday, Fiore was asked repeatedly if she said “white lives matter.” Fiore refused to respond to the question but said she stood by what she said at the GOP convention.
Fiore said she was resigning to devote more time to healing the racial divide in communities.
“I’m passing the obligations of being mayor pro tem back to our mayor so that I can freely address these important issues and create real resolve rather than just listening to the rhetoric,” she said.
Fiore also said she was re-elected as Republican national committee woman for the next four years and would devote more of her time to that role.
“I’ve got five more months to make sure we get four more years of Donald J. Trump. I’d like to tell the rioters and bad actors across the city and the nation that they have made my job a lot easier because the majority of Americans do not like riots. They do not like mayhem, and they do not like this divide,” Fiore said.
Fiore has no plans of stepping down from representing Ward 6 in northwest Las Vegas on the City Council, she said.
Goodman said she was surprised by Crear’s letter but had not come to a decision regarding Crear’s request before Fiore decided to step down.
Crear said in a statement that the announcement wasn’t a cause for “celebration.”
"It’s truly unfortunate it has come to this, but there is no place for divisiveness and bigotry at City Hall,” he wrote on Twitter. “I am more committed than ever to fighting systemic racism in all its forms, and I know we can count on the Mayor to appoint a replacement who shares that same commitment.”
Crear had also complained about a statement Fiore made at a June 3 council meeting.
Talking about demonstrations sparked by the death of a man in police custody in Minnesota, Fiore said “protesting does not give you the right of beating up white people,” Crear recounted.
“During this highly volatile time in our country, it is beyond irresponsible to make such a biased statement. It adds kerosene to an already explosive fire and serves only to divide,” Crear said in his letter.
Goodman says she doesn’t consider Fiore to be racist. She said Fiore has been nothing but loyal and giving as she’s served the city, having “a willingness to roll up her sleeves and just really get in there and do what’s required.”
Fiore was elected to represent Ward 6 on the City Council in 2017 and was coming up on a year of serving as mayor pro tem in July.
