Until this past week I’d never considered an FBI search warrant and a felony domestic battery charge something to trumpet on a job application, but then the Justice of the Peace position in Pahrump doesn’t come open every day.

And Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore and ousted Nye County Commissioner Leo Blundo are out to don that black robe despite their political pratfalls and criminal controversies. They are among the more radioactive of the 15 applicants vying to replace the late Pahrump Justice of the Peace Kent Jasperson, who died in August. The Nye County Commission, minus Blundo, is scheduled to meet Tuesday to vote on the appointment to a position that pays about $80,000 a year. A law degree is not a requirement.

Blundo’s legal experience includes a pile of speeding tickets and multiple arrests, including a felony domestic battery charge stemming from a March 28 dustup with wife Melissa Blundo at the couple’s Pahrump home. Sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene of a dispute in progress with the commissioner mouthing off and complaining that his bag containing $77,000 in cash and a Glock pistol were missing.

You didn’t ask, but I’ll tell you that the commissioner’s job pays approximately $28,500 a year. So, what was a lowly rural county commissioner doing with all that cash?

After Blundo claimed it came from his business, presumably a restaurant registered in his name, a sheriff’s deputy asked that same question.

Blundo’s answer: “It’s nobody’s fucking business what I do.”

Classy.

Melissa Blundo claimed he put his hands to her throat and held her down against her will. She has since written a letter supporting him for the JP’s position. Sound crazy? It’s just another day in Blundoland.

The case bounced from Nye to Esmeralda County, where in November that county’s District Attorney and Special Prosecutor Robert Glennen III dismissed the charge without prejudice, meaning it can be refiled. Glennen admitted some of the witnesses had become uncooperative. He has told reporters that he plans to refile the case.

In his lengthy filing with the county, which included 42 letters of support, a document dismissing the felony charges against him, and a missive laying out his plans if he is appointed, Blundo also included a Pahrump Valley Times article in which he contends his many speeding tickets somehow helped prepare him for the duty of justice of the peace.

“I said it publicly that I’ve had many speeding tickets under the book, so I’ve been a defendant,” Blundo said. “If you ask the general public, a lot of people have had those interactions – and that’s fine, because they are learning experiences. But when you go to court, what kind of experience do you have there?”

Following that thread of logic, his domestic battery case also helped get him ready to dispense justice. For that matter, so did his 2020 arrest for voting to approve CARES Act funding that personally benefited him. The state attorney general’s office declined to prosecute.

By his measure, he’s well qualified to be a fair and impartial member of the judiciary.

Then there’s Fiore, who also couldn’t resist including the fact that the FBI served a search warrant at her home in 2021 as part of a campaign financing investigation.

In her tenure on the city council, Fiore has sparred with her fellow commissioners – especially Councilwoman Victoria Seaman – and lost her mayor pro-tem position after making racially insensitive comments.

Fiore lost the state treasurer’s race to incumbent Zach Conine in November by less than two percentage points and not surprisingly dominated the voting in conservative Nye County. In typical trashy fashion, after losing the election Fiore slimed critic and former Nevada Republican Party Chairwoman Amy Tarkanian in comments aired widely on social media.

Now there’s someone who’ll make the community proud.

Far from being disqualified for their public embarrassments and brushes with the law, Blundo and Fiore are considered the frontrunners for the position, according to Nye County sources. That puts them ahead of a list of applicants that includes former Nye County Sheriff Sharon Wherly, court and law enforcement veterans, practicing attorneys, and one man who has already attended the National Judicial College in Reno and sat as a part-time JP.

The job of justice of the peace is an important one, especially in rural communities. Good JPs not only determine whether felony cases are bound over for trial, but they handle innumerable misdemeanor, small claims, evictions, temporary protective orders and traffic cases. The good ones are trusted in and out of the courtroom by their neighbors.

It's often been said that people get the government they deserve. I think we’re about to be reminded of that in Nye County.

John L. Smith is an author and longtime columnist. He was born in Henderson and his family’s Nevada roots go back to 1881. His stories have appeared in Time, Readers Digest, The Daily Beast, Reuters, Ruralite and Desert Companion, among others. He also offers weekly commentary on Nevada Public Radio station KNPR.