Governor Lombardo is being admonished for his ethically bankrupt actions as he tries to avoid accountability from the law, first by stacking the Ethics Commission with his own cronies, and now, questioning the constitutionality of the Ethics Commission itself. As usual, Lombardo is doing whatever it takes to protect his own interests.
Read the scathing commentary below.
Las Vegas Sun Editorial: Governor tries to outfox Nevadans, argues he’s above ethics oversight
Sunday, October 8, 2023
Key Points:
- Unfortunately, as we’ve discussed in numerous editorials in the past, Gov. Joe Lombardo too often demonstrates an inability to understand, and sometimes a dreadful unwillingness to care, about ethical issues.
- But last week, in the governor’s ongoing fight with the Nevada Ethics Commission over his abuse of his uniform and badge to raise funds for his campaign, the former sheriff reached a new low. Not only did he file a lawsuit seeking to overturn a ruling by the Ethics Commission against him, but he is also seeking a declaration that the existence of the commission is itself unconstitutional.
- Most honorable governors would encourage and support ethics commissions. Our governor wants to put himself beyond the reach of ethics watchdogs.
- According to Lombardo’s court filings, on the state government’s organizational chart, the commission is part of the executive branch. As the leader of the executive branch, Lombardo claims the Nevada Constitution gives him the sole and exclusive authority to appoint members to executive branch positions, yet that is not the way the Ethics Commission functions.
- By Lombardo’s logic, the commission can only be constitutional and only have authority over the governor’s office when the governor’s authority to control 100% of the appointments is restored.
- While playful anecdotes about the “fox guarding the henhouse” may come to mind in response to Lombardo’s arguments, we must bear in mind that the henhouse allegory concludes with the death of the hens at the hands of the fox, who escapes accountability altogether.
- Applying that allegory to the current situation results in the death of accountability and the death of institutions designed to ensure that our elected leaders serve the people rather than themselves. It also raises the specter of Lombardo using hand-picked partisan “ethics” officials — his cronies and lackeys, in other words — to launch investigations of anyone who stands in his way and to harass other public officials with phony complaints. Avoiding that is precisely why you have nonpartisan independent ethics officials. Good government demands it.
- Lombardo’s lawsuit seeks to gut an essential instrument of good governance in Nevada and should be rejected by the people and the courts alike. Meanwhile, Democrats, who now control both houses of the Legislature, should do everything in their power to restore independent ethical oversight of the government.
- As for the governor, we would call on him to join in the effort, but he’s already proven too many times that he’s not interested in ethics or oversight. It is up to the people of Nevada to hold him accountable at the ballot box.
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