Vito Barbieri
James Vito Barbieri II is an American politician and lawyer from Idaho. He is a Republican Idaho State Representative since 2010 representing District 3 in the A seat.
Early life, education, and career
Barbieri earned his associate degree from El Camino College and his bachelor's degree and J.D. from Western State College of Law.He practiced law in California for 20 years. Since moving to Idaho in 2004, he has operated several small businessess, including a catering business and owns an electronic cigarette store in Post Falls.
Idaho House of Representatives
Committee assignments
- Business Committee
- Local Government Committee
- State Affairs Committee
Elections
| Year | Candidate | Votes | Pct | Candidate | Votes | Pct |
| 2012 Primary | 3,147 | 57.0% | 2,373 | 43.0% | ||
| 2012 General | 14,142 | 65.7% | 7,371 | 34.3% | ||
| 2014 Primary | 3,253 | 67.5% | 1,568 | 32.5% | ||
| 2014 General | 9,470 | 65.9% | 4,901 | 34.1% | ||
| 2016 Primary | 3,250 | 67.9% | 1,539 | 32.1% | ||
| 2016 General | 17,115 | 72.2% | 6,581 | 27.8% |
On November 23, 2020, Barbieri announced that he would run for Idaho House of Representatives assistant majority leader against Jason Monks.
Controversies
Barbieri came to national attention on February 23, 2015, after asking a doctor giving testimony if a woman could swallow a camera in order to undergo a remote gynecological exam and received the answer that such was not possible as swallowing a pill will not lead it to the vagina. In response to commentary on social media about the seeming anatomical confusion, he explained his remarks: "I was being rhetorical, because I was trying to make the point that equalizing a colonoscopy to this particular procedure was apples and oranges... So I was asking a rhetorical question that was designed to make her say that they weren't the same thing, and she did so. It was the response I wanted."However, upon receiving the explanation from the testifying doctor, Barbieri's response was, "Fascinating". The exchange included Barbieri's question: "Can this same procedure then be done in a pregnancy? Swallowing a camera and helping the doctor to determine what the situation is?" Dr. Julie Madsen, MD responded: "Mr. Chairman and Representative, it cannot be done in pregnancy simply because when you swallow a pill it would not end up in the vagina." Barbieri replied, "Fascinating. That certainly makes sense."