VICTOR JOECKS: What Lombardo realistically can and can’t accomplish

Being elected and being able to enact your agenda are two different things. Joe Lombardo supporters need to understand this.

On Monday, Gov.-elect Lombardo laid out his vision for Nevada. It was largely fantastic, including calls for school choice and greater public safety. It’s a hopeful sign that Lombardo will fight for conservative priorities instead of stabbing Republicans in the back like Brian Sandoval did.

Unfortunately, there aren’t Republican majorities in the Legislature to pass Lombardo’s plans. Democrats probably will have a supermajority in the Assembly and be one vote away from that in the Senate. With a supermajority, the Legislature can pass tax increases and override vetoes.

Keeping this in mind, here’s what Lombardo should prioritize and what success would look like.

Start with improving school safety. In 2019, the Legislature passed a bill mandating restorative justice instead of punitive measures for violent students. For years, the Clark County School District has also been trying to limit the number of suspensions and expulsions, too. Previously, students were automatically suspended or expelled for injuring a teacher. Now, the school has to give that student a “plan of action based on restorative justice.”

Coddling dangerous students instead of punishing them hasn’t worked. Violence at schools has exploded since this bill passed. It’s gotten so bad that even the Clark County Education Association has expressed concerns.

If Democrats aren’t willing to change this, Lombardo needs to make them own it. Hold news conferences in front of schools that endure violent attacks. Appear with teachers and union officials talking about how educators fear for their safety.

Similarly, he should push for revisions to the bill Democrats passed in 2019 gutting penalties for criminals. In Nevada, theft isn’t a felony until the value of what’s stolen reaches $1,200. That’s worse than the $950 threshold in California. Nevada’s bail system also needs to keep repeat offenders off the street. Again, success is either a policy change or Lombardo aggressively branding the Democrat legislators as opposing public safety.

Education matters to Lombardo. Propose an aggressive school choice measure and let voters see the clear contrast between Republicans and Democrats on that issue. Restore Read by 3. Push to remove limits on new charter schools and break up the Clark County School District. Take school choice to the voters if Democrats won’t agree to help students.

Call for a gasoline tax holiday. Let the Democrats own high gas prices if they refuse. Relatedly, Lombardo needs to stop Nevada from limiting the sale of gasoline-powered cars.

Hold the line on spending. Don’t expand pre-K, which hurts children and will make the teacher shortage worse. Veto bad legislation. He or his team need to recruit quality legislative candidates for the 2024 election cycle.

The mundane stuff matters, too. Lombardo needs to fill his team with conservatives. Clean house at DETR and make state government competent again. Be honest with the public when something goes wrong.

Sometimes policy success is a multiyear process. Lombardo’s supporters should be pleased if he stops bad legislation while drawing clear contrasts on public safety, school choice and gas prices.

Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on Twitter.