Data Shows Joe Lombardo Blowing Off His Job As Sheriff to Campaign for Governor
A new report from the Nevada Current exposes Joe Lombardo for only showing up to his sheriff’s office roughly three times per week and missing work days to campaign for a promotion while crime spikes under his watch.
“Some suggest Lombardo has focused on campaigning at the expense of constituents,” the Current reported. “Crime has increased year-to-date through July by 3% over last year in Metro’s jurisdiction, led by a 15% increase in property crime. Robberies are up 27% year-to-date.”
According to badge swipe data from LVMPD, Lombardo has been absent from work about a third of the time, including during his campaign kickoff and the day he filed to run for governor.
“It’s pretty jarring that any leader, let alone a public official, would expect their employees to show up physically to work everyday while not doing so themselves, and while bringing in a salary exponentially higher than many ordinary patrol officers,” said Athar Haseebullah, executive director of the ACLU of Nevada. “This reemphasizes why he should resign now and focus on his political campaign if that’s the reason for the absence.”
Read key excerpts from the report below.
Nevada Current: Lombardo juggles job, campaign for governor
“I sure hope the people of Clark County know how hard I’m working,” Las Vegas Metro Sheriff and Republican gubernatorial hopeful Joe Lombardo recently told the Current. But a review of data from LVMPD indicates Lombardo is showing up at the office roughly three times a week as he campaigns for the state’s top job.
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According to the data, Lombardo entered a Metro facility 205 out of 308 work days between January 1, 2021 and March 24, 2022. He did not swipe in between June 25, 2021 and July 5, 2021, a period that includes his June 28, 2021 campaign kickoff, or from March 11th, 2022 to March 20th, 2022, which includes the day he officially filed in Carson City to run for governor.
Only three of the 1,235 recorded swipes were into police facilities other than Metro’s Martin Luther King Blvd. headquarters.
Lombardo has not responded to questions about his time off. His campaign referred questions to Metro, which did not respond. The Current has no evidence the sheriff was on the clock as he campaigned.
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“I’ve always thought if you’re a public employee you need to probably resign because there’s no there’s not a way to campaign fulltime and do your full time job,” says Sondra Cosgrove of the League of Women Voters of Nevada.
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The Hatch Act prohibits partisan political activity by individuals principally employed by agencies funded in whole or in part by federal loans or grants, including law enforcement. Governors are exempted from the law.
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Athar Haseebullah, executive director of the ACLU of Nevada says the onus is on the sheriff to be transparent about his time off.
“If he fails to do so, it’s pretty jarring that any leader, let alone a public official, would expect their employees to show up physically to work everyday while not doing so themselves, and while bringing in a salary exponentially higher than many ordinary patrol officers,” Haseebullah said.
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Some suggest Lombardo has focused on campaigning at the expense of constituents.
Crime has increased year-to-date through July by 3% over last year in Metro’s jurisdiction, led by a 15% increase in property crime. Robberies are up 27% year-to-date.
“This reemphasizes why he (Lombardo) should resign now and focus on his political campaign if that’s the reason for the absence, and leave the department in the hands of those who are working full time,” Hasseebullah said.
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