Jim Hartman: Hyper-partisan Ethics Commission sanctions Lombardo

In a split 4-2 decision on July 25, the hyper-partisan, now weaponized, Nevada Commission on Ethics voted to censure and fine Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo $20,000 for wearing his sheriff’s uniform and badge while campaigning for governor.

The Commission on Ethics consists of eight members, only two of whom are Republicans. Four members were appointed by the Democratic legislature and two were appointed by Democrat former Gov. Steve Sisolak.

This began in October 2021 when Mathew DeFalco, a Democrat lawyer closely associated with then-Gov. Sisolak, filed a purely politically-motivated complaint with the Ethics Commission accusing Lombardo of illegally wearing his police uniform and badge in photographs used by his campaign.

DeFalco twice asked the commission to withdraw his complaint, which he personally did not write. But, on both occasions the commission refused to allow him to withdraw it.

In May, Ethics Commissioner Damien Sheets, a Democrat appointed by Sisolak, was so outraged by the process he resigned in protest.

In his letter of resignation, Sheets called the investigation into Lombardo “unacceptable” and wrote that though the commission is “suppose to investigate complaints without bias, prejudice, or preference, the Commission’s recent actions have shown it has little desire to do so.”

The commission’s decision to self-initiate a complaint beginning shortly after Lombardo announced his candidacy for governor “appeared to be nothing more than a politically motivated hit job,” Sheets wrote.

The Ethics Commission’s Executive Director, Ross Armstrong, is a Sisolak sycophant with a partisan axe to grind. His heavy-handed gross overreach was aimed at derailing Lombardo’s candidacy.

While the complaint arises out of nothing more than 34 postings of four photographs depicting Lombardo in his sheriff’s uniform and badge on his campaign website and social media, Armstrong proposed slamming Lombardo with an astounding fine of $1.665 million.

The fine sought was 67 times higher than the highest fine ever imposed by the commission ($25,000); it was nearly 10 times the governor’s annual salary.

Armstrong also threatened Lombardo with impeachment – just months after Nevada’s voters elected him in the 2022 gubernatorial election – based on the same photographs.

The commission asserts the images of Lombardo in his uniform gave him an “unwarranted advantage” in his campaign for governor. Certainly not among “defund the police” voters.

Sisolak himself launched a major advertising campaign attempting to discredit Lombardo’s record as sheriff while depicting him in uniform.

And what about all the advantages then-Gov. Sisolak had of incumbency, including utilization of the “accoutrements” of the governor’s office (jackets, pins etc.) to boost his campaign?

Without any clarity in state law, the Lombardo decision marks the latest ruling in a string of cases where sheriffs have used their uniforms and badges in campaigns.

The commission has been inconsistent and erratic in their decisions.

For example, in 2016 Elko County Sheriff Jim Pitts running for re-election used a picture of himself in uniform on his campaign website. No violation found. However, Douglas County Sheriff Dan Coverley wore his uniform while endorsing Adam Laxalt in 2022. Violation found.

Prior to the complaint against Lombardo, the commission never deemed a sheriff’s use of his uniform and badge in a political campaign to be a willful violation or ever imposed any civil penalty.

In Lombardo’s case, the commission adopted an unprecedented finding of willfulness, imposed a $20,000 civil penalty and censured the governor.

Lombardo has the right to appeal the commission’s decision through the state court system. But, the attorney fees for his defense are likely to be hundreds of thousands of dollars.

This complaint wasn’t about “ethics.” It was all about politics.

Meanwhile, Lombardo got good news in the July Morning Consult poll ranking U.S. Governors.

Lombardo ranked 20th with 57% approval, ahead of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and with very low negatives (26%). Solid marks in a poll considered “the gold standard.”

E-mail Jim Hartman at lawdocman1@aol.com.