LAS VEGAS (AP) - A recall effort launched against a Las Vegas city councilwoman after she was accused of making racially divisive comments at a Republican convention has failed.
A group called “Expel Michele” filed a notice that it intended to circulate a recall petition in June against Councilwoman Michele Fiore but the group failed to collect and submit more than 1,900 signatures due Wednesday, t he Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Molly Taylor, the group’s founder said the coronavirus made it difficult to hire people to collect signatures.
Fiore has stepped down from her role as mayor pro tem but said it wasn’t because of the allegations. Fiore, who is white, declined to describe what she said at the convention, which took place amid nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice.
The Clark County Republican Party condemned what it called “racially charged” and “irresponsible” comments from Fiore. The party’s chief of staff said attendees described the councilwoman making comments supportive of law enforcement and using an expletive while criticizing affirmative action as she described a scenario in which she lost a job to a black person.
Recall organizers also cited Fiore’s effort to convert a historic hay barn at a park into an event center as a reason for the recall.
Fiore’s office released a statement Wednesday describing the recall group as “partisan antagonizers” whose “baseless claims against her fall deaf upon the ears of the voters.”
Under the recall process, Fiore was allowed to contact voters who signed the petition and ask them to remove their name. Her office says her campaign team did reach out to those who signed but did not release details on how many signatures were removed.
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