“Clark County Sheriff and Republican gubernatorial hopeful Joe Lombardo continues to dance around the issue of vaccines.”

Jellyfish Joe is at it again, criticizing vaccine mandates as a candidate for governor despite implementing a vaccine mandate for new officers as Clark County Sheriff. Joe Lombardo has already been under fire for playing political games with vaccines after he was caught removing a photo of himself getting vaccinated from his campaign Flickr. As he attempts to navigate an increasingly competitive and chaotic primary, Lombardo has consistently taken both sides on key issues since launching his campaign—from taxes and immigration to defunding the police. 

Read more about Lombardo’s jellyfish ways below.

Nevada Current: Lombardo was for vaccine mandates before he was against them

April Corbin Girnus
January 7, 2022

Key Points:

• Clark County Sheriff and Republican gubernatorial hopeful Joe Lombardo continues to dance around the issue of vaccines.

• A recent fundraising letter sent by his campaign to potential donors states that first-term Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak must defend an “indefensible record on taxes, spending, crime, inflation, felons’ rights, mask and vaccine mandates.”

• And as the head of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Lombardo implemented a vaccine requirement for all new hires.

• “I think it’s my duty as the administrator of the Police Department to protect those employees, and therefore we make it a mandate for them to have the vaccine in order to be a member of the Police Department,” Lombardo told the Review-Journal in August.

• The Metro mandate was implemented prior to the State of Nevada employee mandate.

• On the physical campaign trail, Lombardo has said he will not enforce vaccine mandates at the state level and said that experienced police officers are smart enough to make up their own mind about receiving a vaccine. His online campaign presence remains largely silent on the issue of vaccines.

• As reported by the Current in July, Lombardo’s official campaign Flickr page quietly removed a photo that appeared to show him receiving a COVID-19 vaccination at University Medical Center. Lombardo has said previously that he was one of the first people in Southern Nevada to receive the vaccine. He has also called the low vaccination rate of police officers “unacceptable.”

• In the fundraising letter, which was sent prior to 2021 fourth quarter reporting deadlines, Lombardo also describes himself as a “no-nonsense conservative” who doesn’t “play political games.”

• “I’ve never been someone who will change my positions to win an election,” the letter continues.

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