PRESS RELEASE
Lombardo Says He’s Powerless to Address Affordability After Making it His Entire Campaign in 2022
As Nevadans struggle to afford basic necessities amidst the cost-of-living crisis created by Joe Lombardo and Donald Trump, Lombardo’s message to them is that they shouldn’t expect help from him anytime soon. In new reporting, Lombardo was caught on tape saying he can’t do anything about affordability — voters’ number one issue this election. Since Lombardo’s “commanding officer” took office for the second time, the average Nevada family has paid $3,300 more for goods and services.
The contrast in this governor’s race couldn’t be clearer. As Governor, Aaron Ford will lower costs for Nevadans. Lombardo, on the other hand, whines that he is “powerless to address affordability” while complaining that his six figure salary isn’t enough. Lombardo blocked legislation that would lower housing costs, expand paid family leave, guarantee free school meals, and cap prescription drug costs.
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Nevada Current: Lombardo says he’s powerless to address affordability
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo says there’s nothing he can do about affordability and warns claims to the contrary are “bullshit.” The governor, a Republican, faces a reelection challenge in November from Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford. Polling has the race tied or Lombardo slightly ahead.
Lombardo’s comments came at a meet and greet with veterans in Las Vegas in early July when an attendee asked the governor about his plan to address Nevada’s high grocery and housing costs. The economy is a key issue for voters.
[Lombardo’s campaign spokesperson Halee Dobbins] would not say why Lombardo, in 2022, tied Sisolak to the national economy, but is giving himself a pass.
“Lombardo is part of the MAGA agenda,” Magnus notes of the governor’s support for Trump’s initiatives, such as the war in Iran, even as the president’s policies hurt Nevadans. “He has the ear of the president.”
Since Trump took office for the second time, the average Nevada family has paid $3,300 more for goods and services, says a new report from the Joint Economic Committee Minority.
But critics assert Lombardo’s housing initiative, a boon for developers, subsidizes 5,000 homes (scaled back from 16,000) for middle-income buyers, and does not address the state’s critical shortage of low-income housing – which Lombardo relies on the federal government to provide. Nevada is short approximately 80,000 low-income units.
Additionally, Lombardo has twice killed legislation that would have limited the number of homes corporations can purchase – a significant factor in the home flipping that drives up prices for buyers.
The governor’s agenda, those critics say, has made life tougher for lower-income Nevadans. Lombardo, they contend, is out of touch with regular folk – evidenced by his behavior during a traffic stop in May, and his assertion to a television reporter last week that he doesn’t “get paid very much.”
Among Lombardo’s vetoes:
a measure that would have expanded paid family and medical leave for government workers, and mandated that private employers with at least 50 employees provide leave;
legislation that would have provided free school meals following the expiration of pandemic funding;
a bill that would have strengthened tenant protections by including safety and health standards in the definition of habitable housing;
another tenant protection measure that required landlords to spell out all fees, and prohibited assessing application fees on minors. The bill would have temporarily capped rent for seniors and Social Security recipients through December of this year; and
a bill that would have prohibited the sale of prescription drugs for more than the Medicare-established price.
Magnus, meanwhile, is not holding her breath for Lombardo to come around. “He knows there’s a problem with affordability. He’s had two (legislative) sessions to do something about it.”
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