Meet Barry Michaels
Whether you claim to be a Republican, Democrat, Conservative or Liberal many of us often forget we're all Americans. I believe in being honest and often preach; "if you tell the truth, you'll never forget what you said" and believe me I’ve learned this lesson the hard way. Being honest may sound trite in today’s world but I think it is essential, especially in government to earn the peoples’ trust and equally important is the willingness to take responsibility for one’s actions.
I have what most would consider a “checkered past” and have paid the price several times over. I am a convicted white-collar offender (ex-felon) who spent fifteen months of a twenty-one month sentence at the minimum security Nellis Federal Prison Camp in North Las Vegas for security and tax violations that occurred in 1992.
Being convicted does not necessarily mean being guilty but long ago I decided I couldn’t win this battle so I “productively” served my time. Looking back I can honestly say; "I believe this sentence was payback time for prior business practices that were not always above board." I believe some were due in part to my lack of knowledge of the law. This is a part of my life that I'm not proud of, but its part of my past which I've learned a very costly lesson from. To prevent others from making the same mistake, once elected I intend to propose a mandate requiring every public school student to take and pass basic classes in law and government prior to high school graduation.
During my stay at Nellis I became a constant visitor to their law library where I began to help other inmates with their legal issues and soon realized the system wasn't perfect. As I did my research I listened to other inmates who would constantly complain and I would often say; "if you don't like the law change it, but it's the law". It was then that I realized I had a special love for the law that I inherited when I began to read Supreme Court case opinions.
As a young adult I attended several New York colleges before graduating in 1969 from the Columbia Institute of Chiropractic where I earned the degree of Doctor of Chiropractic and was soon after admitted to practice in both Arizona and California. I practiced for approximately eight years before realizing my love for the world of business.
While at Nellis I promised myself upon my release I would return to school and earn a law degree. After two unsuccessful attempts to be admitted to the law school at UNLV I decided to enroll in the university where I earned BA in Political Science, followed by a Masters in Public Administration.
After taking my first political science class I realized how important politics is, and how it affects our everyday life. I guess you might say; I began my political career in ‘02 when I wrote and sponsored two Nevada Initiatives. The first would have provided more funds for K - 12 public education, while the second was to change a Nevada Statute to call for a presumption of shared parenting, rather than joint custody in issues of child custody.
For over forty years I've created and operated all types of business's, from manufacturing to advertising and in '04 I began to resurrect Family Airlines, the vision I had more than ten years ago of starting a new generation airline and one that I’m hoping will make it maiden flight this year. At about the same time I started Nevada Only, LLC., to help small businesses incorporate. The business now acts as Resident Agent to over 850 companies across the country as well as some overseas.
Having gone through many hardships in my life I realized the need for a low cost health system, one that would provide access to doctor visits that were truly affordable to everyone. In 2008 I created the non-profit 501C3 organization called MiniCare with the idea of building an “almost free” clinic in every city in the country.
I built and equipped the first MiniCare clinic at the Meadows Mall using nearly all my own funds and because of the current economy’s affect on my own business along with the lack of community and political support, the clinic has been unable to open its doors.
With all the recent talk about health care I have not been able to get any help or even a response from our political leaders and for this reason; I decided to once again run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. However this time I decided to run as an Independent after realizing how divided our country has become. Whether you’re a Democrat, Republican, Liberal or Conservative we must always remember, we’re all Americans.
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