Last legislative session, Joe Lombardo vetoed multiple bills that would have lowered the cost of housing across the state. Under Lombardo, Nevada is facing one of the toughest housing crises in the nation with eviction rates in Las Vegas being among the highest in the country and homelessness spiking.
The Clark County annual homeless survey for 2024 found that there are more homeless people in Las Vegas than any year since 2011. In 2023, on Lombardo’s watch, between Las Vegas and Henderson there were more than 30,000 evictions. There are an average of 70 eviction cases going through eviction court daily in Clark County and 90 percent of those cases are granted eviction.
Despite working families struggling to attain affordable housing, Joe Lombardo has continued to double down on his vetoes of Democrat-led legislation that would have lowered housing costs. He has gone as far as blaming hardworking Nevadans being evicted on them just not working hard enough:
- Lombardo said that instead of “mak[ing] an effort” to champion legislation that would lower the cost of housing, he wanted to “remove the excuse of government taking care of [renters]” and that helping keep Nevadans in their homes is just a “crutch for lack of performance of the renter.”
- He claimed that his vetoes weren’t “because I’m friendly to the landlords,” but when asked if he regretted vetoing bills that would have made housing more affordable for Nevadans, he replied, “No, I don’t.”
And to add insult to injury, a report revealed that after vetoing several bills that would have lowered housing costs for Nevada residents, Lombardo hired a chief of staff whose corporate landlord client stood to benefit directly from his anti-tenant vetoes.
Nevada State Democratic Party spokesperson Tai Sims:
“Under Joe Lombardo, the cost of housing continues to rise and he has refused to take any serious action to give working families relief. And when Democrats stepped up to ease the burden of skyrocketing housing costs, Lombardo stood in the way. Lombardo is a bought-and-paid-for politician who can’t be trusted to put the needs of Nevada families ahead of the interests of the slumlord billionaire who bankrolled his gubernatorial campaign and take necessary action to tackle the current housing crisis. While working families struggle to make ends meet, Joe Lombardo continues to pass the buck and obstruct to protect his donors’ profits instead of offering serious solutions to serious problems.”
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