The Nevada Ethics Committee found Joe Lombardo violated Nevada ethics law and he’s now forced to pay the state $5,000. While on the trail in 2022, Lombardo repeatedly featured his taxpayer-funded sheriff’s uniform and badge in campaign materials but, as Lombardo was warned, state statute strictly prohibits public employees from using government resources for political gain. Despite Lombardo making his law enforcement background his entire campaign, he decided he is above the law.
After requesting to postpone an ethics hearing in July 2023 to stack the commission with his own appointees — even replacing a Republican member with one he had personal ties to — and attempting to abolish the ethics committee altogether through litigation, Lombardo’s team admitted that he used his law enforcement uniform and badge for his own political gain — a clear violation of state law prohibiting candidates from using government resources for their personal campaigns.
Nevada State Democratic Party spokesperson Kate Sosland:
“Law and order is nothing but a campaign slogan for Joe Lombardo. In an attempt to avoid accountability after using his government-issued uniform and badge for personal political gain, Lombardo postponed his ethics hearing, stacked the commission with loyalists, and even tried to abolish the ethics committee altogether. The bottom line: Nevadans deserve a leader who doesn’t act above the law.”
Read more below:
Nevada Independent: Lombardo, ethics commission settle long-running dispute over use of sheriff’s badge, office
Key points:
- The long-running saga surrounding Gov. Joe Lombardo’s use of his Clark County sheriff’s badge and uniform during his first campaign for office finally ended Tuesday with a settled agreement finding the GOP governor had not purposefully violated ethics law and would be assessed a $5,000 payment.
- The proposed agreement was approved by the eight-member body charged with enforcing Nevada’s ethics laws on a vote of 5-3. The agreement acknowledged that media and opponents also used depictions of Lombardo in his sheriff’s badge or uniform during the campaign cycle, and Lombardo used the accouterments of the sheriff’s office while campaigning for a separate public office.
- Lombardo has 90 days after the finalization of the agreement to make the $5,000 payment.
- The commission can fine up to $5,000 for a first willful violation of state law, $10,000 for a separate willful violation and $25,000 for a third violation. The legal analysis imposed a fine for each time Lombardo’s campaign posted an image, published a video or used imagery of Lombardo wearing his uniform, badge or gun in campaign materials. When combined, the recommended fines totaled more than $1.6 million.
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