Adriana Guzmán Fralick, the Trump-backed Republican candidate for Nevada Attorney General, is campaigning on tougher sentencing and protecting victims. But she recently called former Gov. Jim Gibbons (R) a “great guy”—despite sexual assault allegations against him.
In a Veterans in Politics Talk on Aug. 15, Guzmán Fralick said working with Gibbons is what inspired her to run for Attorney General.
“I worked for former Gov. Jim Gibbons… great guy, I worked for him on his general counsel,” Guzmán Fralick said on the podcast. “That’s when I found out how important it is to have an attorney general that’s going to work really well, hand in hand with the governor.”
Gibbons was the governor between 2007 and 2011. He gave Guzmán Fralick her first public sector role, where she provided counsel to Gibbons between 2009 to 2011. She primarily focused on challenging the Affordable Care Act, despite objections from then-Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto (D).
The Republican governor, however, was embroiled in controversies throughout his tenure, including sexual assault allegations and infidelity.
What were the allegations?
In 2006, Chrissy Mazzeo, a former waitress, alleged Gibbons walked her to a parking garage after a night of drinking, threw her against a wall and threatened her after she rejected his sexual advances.
A week later, Mazzeo alleged someone with a connection to Gibbons attempted to bribe her to change her story.
In 2008, she filed a lawsuit against Gibbons, former sheriff Bill Young, Republican political strategist Sig Rogich, and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for allegedly violating her First Amendment rights after she filed a criminal complaint against the former governor. She claimed the four conspired to discredit her allegations.
The lawsuit ended in a $50,000 settlement in 2013.
A few months prior to the litigation, Gibbon’s wife accused the governor of having an affair with a woman who had a “striking resemblance” to Mazzeo. It was later revealed Gibbons had sent hundreds of text messages to the alleged mistress.
By the end of Gibbons’ tenure, he was named as one of the country’s worst governors by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and lost re-election in the following primary.
Guzmán Fralick’s track record
Guzmán Fralick is campaigning on tougher sentencing, increased government transparency, and helping domestic abuse victims.
Despite advocating for aiding victims, Guzmán Fralick has also touted President Donald Trump’s endorsement on the campaign trail, despite Trump’s long record of alleged sexual assault and other alleged crimes.
After the primary election, the Republican nominee started to distance herself from Trump. She removed a Trump endorsement banner from her campaign website and reorganized her issues page to move her “securing Nevada’s elections” commitment lower on the website, along with her backing of Trump’s SAVE Act.
Guzmán Fralick will face off against outgoing Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D) this November in the race for Attorney General.
Nevada State Democratic Party spokesperson Asaf Grofman told The Nevadan the comments Guzmán Fralick made about Gibbons were “concerning.”
“The fact that her judgement of disgraced former Gov. Jim Gibbons is that he’s a ‘great guy’ is even more concerning for someone who wants to be Nevada’s top cop,” Grofman wrote in a statement.
Guzmán Fralick did not respond to a request for comment.
