- Immigration: After downplaying Metro’s role in immigration enforcement and going out of his way to clarify that he did NOT have a zero tolerance policy at an event with the NAACP, he later bragged about deporting thousands of immigrants in front of a Republican audience and tweeted about his zero tolerance policy.
The Nevada Independent: “Lombardo has taken differing tones when describing his immigration actions on the campaign trail.”
- Metro’s immigration enforcement policies: After ending the 287(g) program in 2019, Lombardo said in a statement that Metro is only after “the worst of the worst.” Yet, Lombardo instructed officers the very next day to help point ICE to undocumented immigrants jailed for nonviolent crimes.
Las Vegas Review Journal: “But local immigration advocates say Metro’s policy toward nonviolent offenders runs contrary to Lombardo’s public position. They also say the department’s record-keeping practice is nontransparent.”
- Abortion: Lombardo is anti-choice. That’s all we know. While his opponents are eagerly moving to the right to appeal to the conservative base, Lombardo’s lips are sealed on this critical issue as he tries not to blow his chances if he were to make it to the general election.
- Vice misconduct: After a judge went public with concerns about the vice unit–while it was already under investigation by the FBI for alleged sexual relationships with prostitutes–Lombardo tried to have the judge removed from Metro cases…but instead of following Nevada statute and filing an affidavit, he met with the Chief Judge behind closed doors in an attempt to cover up Metro’s misconduct.
Nevada Current: “‘Having these public officials using their power to go completely outside of the normal government process…is incredibly problematic,’ Rebecca Gill, director of UNLV’s Women’s Research Institute and an associate professor of political science, said in an interview.”
- Defund the police: After making it clear he supports defunding the police, Lombardo switched gears and made fighting against calls to defund the police the crux of his campaign.
Associated Press: “Lombardo has both embraced the phrase and used it as a cudgel against the left as he competes in a Republican primary while running a force of some 5,000 officers in the Las Vegas metro area.”
- Vaccines: After mandating that new LVMPD officers are vaccinated, Lombardo was caught removing photos of himself getting the vaccine from his campaign flickr.
Nevada Current: “As the head of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Sheriff Joe Lombardo isn’t an anti-vaxxer. But as a gubernatorial candidate, he might not mind if you think he is.”
- Taxes: Despite using a nonexistent potential income tax to fear-monger and promising to veto any new taxes, Lombardo himself has pushed for a higher sales tax.
Las Vegas Review Journal: “In the governor’s race, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo, a Republican, has declared he will veto any tax increases sent to him by the Legislature. But not too long ago Lombardo was advocating strongly in favor of a sales tax increase in Clark County.”
- The Big Lie: After admitting there was no evidence of fraud in the 2020 election, he still touts a plan for election reform, peddling fears to appeal to the base.
Las Vegas Sun Editorial: “Lombardo has ducked and dodged on the Big Lie on the rare instances he has taken questions, initially saying he had seen no evidence of voter fraud but then posting on his campaign site that expanded voting access last year “increased voter fraud,” while offering zero evidence.”
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