Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Election 2022:

Governor-elect Lombardo’s pledge of transparency goes by wayside at victory speech

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Steve Marcus

Dr. Tony Alamo introduces Nevada Governor-elect Joe Lombardo at Rancho High School Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. Lombardo beat incumbent Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak.

Governor-Elect Joe Lombardo Thanks Supporters

Nevada Governor-elect Joe Lombardo speaks with supporters at Rancho High School Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. Lombardo beat incumbent Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak. Launch slideshow »

This photo Monday inside an auditorium at Rancho High School comes from an event where Republican Gov.-elect Joe Lombardo was to deliver his victory speech.

Despite the rows of empty seats, a reporter from the Sun was told by Lombardo campaign director Elizabeth Ray that the event was at capacity and didn’t have space for us to cover the address. A Sun photographer was allowed into the auditorium.

The Lombardo campaign, which organized the event, also didn’t credential the Nevada Current online news site.

The Sun’s news coverage of the gubernatorial election was honest, accurate and thorough. It included an investigation that debunked false claims made by Lombardo supporters — and apparently Lombardo himself — about corruption during the COVID-19 crisis.

The editorial boards of the Sun and Current have been critical of Lombardo, the Clark County sheriff who narrowly defeated incumbent Gov. Steve Sisolak in last week’s midterm elections.

Lombardo has refused to entertain questions by Sun reporters, or sit down with the Sun editorial board, for months. Both the Sun and the Current were also denied access to the GOP’s election night watch party at Red Rock Resort with the same excuse: There wasn’t any space.

“This is the second time in a week the governor-elect used the ‘there is no room’ excuse to bar a Sun reporter from covering him. There must always be room for a reporter to ask questions of the government,” said Brian Greenspun, the Sun’s editor and publisher. “But of course, what Lombardo is really saying is there is no room in his mind for anything but the easiest of questions.

“This is all about the governor-elect holding a grudge. However, by trying to retaliate against my newspaper for aggressive news coverage and an editorial board that supported Gov. Sisolak, he is hurting the residents of Nevada by disrespecting them, and disrespecting the office he is about to hold.”

Lombardo, the candidate, can pick and choose which outlets to accept interview requests from, said Stephen Bates, a UNLV professor specializing in the First Amendment. Lombardo also didn’t speak with the Sun throughout the campaign cycle, with Ray either ignoring calls or opting to send a written statement.

Only time will tell if his intentional denial of access continues once he’s in office.

“It seems like a terrible idea and a terrible precedent to set,” Bates said. “It suggests, maybe, that as governor he won’t stand behind open government, which we knew from his time (in charge of) Metro.”

Lombardo’s campaign claimed the Sun didn’t RSVP to Monday’s event, which isn’t accurate. We attempted to contact the candidate numerous times starting Friday evening when the election was called for Lombardo. But, as has been the case when dealing with Lombardo and his campaign, our calls and emails weren’t returned.

“I’m sorry,” Ray told Sun reporter Casey Harrison at the media check-in Monday. “I know this is inconvenient.”

Lombardo’s dislike for the Sun isn’t new, as he is on record saying he wants to put the newspaper out of business.

Stephen J. Cloobeck, a deep-pocketed Democratic donor, reached out to Lombardo on July 29 to detail his new media company. After Cloobeck explained Factz.com intends to be a “purple” online news site, Lombardo messaged back, “Well that would be fantastic if we can get there. Maybe start by putting Brian Greenspun out of business. I would like to talk to you about it?”

Appalled at the suggestion, Cloobeck shared the texts with the Sun.

Lombardo on multiple occasions has told Sun reporters that he was unhappy with the publication because of its editorial board’s stance — opinion pieces, which are separate from news reports — calling him “cowardly” for refusing to answer reporters’ questions. His recent actions suggest that even after winning his race, Lombardo still harbors fears of Sun inquiries.

“Excluding disfavored news outlets … is a petty move that projects weakness,” said Richard Karpel, executive director of the Nevada Press Association. “And when it’s done by government officials it violates the First Amendment.”

Hugh Jackson, editor of the Nevada Current, said the Lombardo campaign had gone out of its way to exclude its reporters from coverage. The Current also doesn’t get press releases from the campaign, he said.

“Most concerning going forward is the prospect that as governor Lombardo, his office and publicly financed executive branch government offices under his purview will refuse to provide the Current and other media organizations with public information,” Jackson wrote in a statement.

The Sun instead listened to Lombardo’s address on a livestream. He didn’t take questions after the speech.

“So as (part) of the agenda,I will not be taking questions from the press,” Lombardo said. “But I will provide an opportunity here in the future to address any questions you may have, and full transparency, which I intend to lead by.”

His intentions to lead by full transparency notwithstanding, Lombardo is not getting off to a good start, Greenspun said

“Governor-elect Lombardo asked the voters to let him lead. Yet in his first acts, he is suggesting that his version of leadership has to do with personal vendetta. We need to be on guard against such things in public life,” Greenspun said.

He continued, “Gov. Sisolak lost this election because he made the hard choices of leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared to those difficult and politically-damaging decisions, Governor-elect Lombardo’s decision to take questions from all reporters should be a piece of cake.

“Nevadans voted for Governor-elect Lombardo in hopes he would be a responsible leader who doesn’t engage in revenge or grant special favors to supporters. He is already acting like they made a mistake.”