EDITORIAL: Lombardo delivers solid, but uninspiring speech
Ronald Reagan once urged the Republican Party to broaden its appeal by “raising a banner of bold colors, no pale pastels.” Gov. Joe Lombardo doesn’t appear to be taking that advice.
On Wednesday, Gov. Lombardo delivered his second State of the State address. Like all governors do, he touted his accomplishments and laid out his plans for the upcoming session. One can tell that public speaking isn’t Gov. Lombardo’s favorite activity, but his policies deserve the most attention.
Start with the good. Gov. Lombardo directly addressed the high cost of housing in Nevada. He wisely avoided Democrats’ destructive call for rent control. He correctly pointed out that Nevada must build its way out of this problem. That starts with having more land to build on. He said he has talked repeatedly with President-elect Donald Trump about releasing more federal land.
“I have great confidence that President Trump understands and will help,” Gov. Lombardo said.
Gov. Lombardo’s best line may have been, “Imagine a world where California is tougher on criminals than Nevada. That is the reality we face today.”
That’s because California voters approved an initiative last fall that increased penalties on criminals. Gov. Lombardo called for tougher penalties on retail theft and “enhanced penalties for repeat offenders.” That’s much needed. Gov. Lombardo and Republicans will have a great issue to campaign on if legislative Democrats refuse to adopt this.
Two years ago, Gov. Lombardo promised that new education funding must be accompanied by improved performance.
“If we don’t begin seeing results, I’ll be standing here in two years calling for systematic changes to the governance and leadership in K-12 education,” he said in 2023.
That didn’t happen. What he shared about his Nevada Accountability in Education Act was little more than platitudes and buzzwords. His mention of “equity” was odd too. The goal should be excellence, not being content with all students failing equally.
Even more concerningly, Gov. Lombardo made only a passing mention of school choice. Empowering parents with the ability to leave failing schools is the best accountability measure.
Some of Gov. Lombardo’s restraint is because of political reality. Democrats have large majorities in both houses. He indirectly acknowledged that, pleading with Democrats to “work with me.” Given how they acted in 2023, that’s unlikely.
It was a bit of a paint-by-numbers speech, but Gov. Lombardo’s pastel plans would generally help Nevada. For the good of the state, Democrats should work with him to implement his agenda.