PARTY LINES: What’s in a name? Top cop needs bold call sign

The most recent gubernatorial campaign TV ad from Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo hits (almost) all the right notes.

Capitalizing on Lombardo’s 30-year career as a Metropolitan Police Department officer, the ad asks viewers the classic question: Who do they want to be in charge in times of trouble?

“The next time there’s a crisis, at school or in your neighborhood, who do you trust to protect your family?” the narrator asks, after the camera flashes briefly to Lombardo’s golden, seven-pointed sheriff’s badge. “Who do you want answering the phone? A corrupt politician looking for headlines? Or a proven leader?”

One of the reasons the ad is effective is that Lombardo has actually received those calls, when an officer has been hurt or killed in the line of duty, during a major incident and certainly on Oct. 1, 2017, the date of the country’s worst mass shooting. (Ironically enough, he worked very closely with then-Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak during those tragic days. Now, the men are rivals as Sisolak seeks re-election to the governor’s office.)

The underlying assumption of the ad is that somebody who has led a large law enforcement organization is ready for anything, prepared to clip on his badge, holster his weapon and command his troops to restore order and safety in times of chaos and violence.

It’s the same reasoning behind a very similar ad that aired during the 2008 election by Hillary Clinton, who contrasted her government experience with the relatively inexperienced then-Sen. Barack Obama. The “3 a.m. phone call” ad hit similar themes.

“It’s 3 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep,” that ad began. “But there’s a phone in the White House and it’s ringing. Something’s happening in the world. Your vote will decide who answers that call. Whether it’s somebody who already knows world leaders, knows the military, someone tested and ready to lead in a dangerous world. It’s 3 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep. Who do you want answering the phone?”

As it turns out, they wanted Obama. But that’s beside the point.

Lombardo’s ad does fall down at one point, however, when he actually answers the phone and announces, “This is Joe.”

What? This is Joe?!

When you’re the head of the largest law enforcement agency in the state, you definitely need to have a bolder way of answering calls than that! You’re the top cop in the most populous county in Nevada, not an IT tech on the Geek Squad at Best Buy!

Why not something like “Go for Lombardo?” Or the more casual, “Yo, it’s Joe.”

Or maybe use your title: “Sheriff Lombardo.” Or a badass call sign, such as “Metro One” or, as in the military tradition for commanding officers, “Metro Actual.”

In Los Angeles, the police chief has a radio call sign, “Staff One.” His counterpart over at the sheriff’s department is identified on the air as “Car One.” Lombardo needs something like that.

At the very least, he should use a gravelly growl, like the one Clint Eastwood employed in the film “In the Line of Fire,” when U.S. Secret Service Special Agent Frank Horrigan would pick up the phone and just say, “yeah.”

Other that that, good ad!

Flag on the play

The Republican State Leadership Committee is up with a football-themed ad that accuses legislative Democrats in Nevada of following the “Biden Playbook.” And you know what’s in President Joe Biden’s playbook, right? If you guessed “higher taxes,” you were right!

“More taxes during a recession? That’s the wrong play for Nevada. Let’s beat Nevada Democrats this November,” the ad says.

Among the higher taxes cited in the ad were increases in payroll taxes and DMV fees. But it has to be noted that what Democrats actually voted for were bills to continue those levies at their existing levels, not to increase them. But the Nevada Supreme Court found that even extending taxes at their current levels produced revenue that the government would not have received otherwise, and thus counted as a tax increase.

But wait! Since Democrats failed to meet the required two-thirds threshold to pass those bills, they were ruled unconstitutional and never went into effect. Penalty: Loss of down.

Another knock on Democrats: A 2019 bill that allowed local jurisdictions to raise taxes on diesel fuel, presuming local officials could muster two-thirds at the local level. That’s a favored tactic in Carson City to avoid directly taking responsibility for a tax increase while at the same time allowing local officials to do what they need to do in their jurisdictions. So while technically, legislative Democrats (who controlled both chambers in 2019 and 2021) didn’t raise taxes, they allowed for taxes to be raised.

Then again, several Republicans voted to support that bill, so you can’t hang that all on the Democrats or the “Biden playbook.”

Back at it

Steve Wynn was one of the pioneers of political involvement on the part of casino bosses in Nevada. He established a quality political operation at the company then know as Mirage Resorts, in order to ensure issues important to him and the industry were addressed.

Wynn is long gone from the company he founded, but that doesn’t mean Wynn Resorts isn’t still involved in politics. In fact, the company announced this week that it was supporting the ranked-choice voting initiative that will appear on November’s ballot as Question 3.

The company donated $250,000 to the Nevada Voters First PAC, which got the measure qualified for the ballot. If approved by voters this year, it will return to the ballot in 2024, and if approved again, go into effect in 2026.

Under the measure, any voter – regardless of party – could vote in a primary. In the general, candidates would be ranked by voters according to preference; if none got to 50 percent, the lowest-performing candidate would be dropped and second-choice votes reallocated to other candidates until an eventual winner reached 50 percent.

“The role of government is to help move our society forward, which requires long-term vision, common-sense policies and the ability to compromise,” said Wynn Resorts Ltd. CEO Craig Billings in a statement. “Polarization and extreme partisanship only serve to hold us back. Ranked-choice voting offers an effective way for voters to select candidates whose policies represent the greatest good for the greatest number of citizens.”

Endorsements update

The Human Rights Campaign PAC has endorsed Democratic incumbent state Treasurer Zach Conine for re-election. “We’re confident that if re-elected to office, Conine will continue to push for economic policies that support all Nevadans, including the LGBTQ+ community,” the group said in a statement. “Equality is on the ballot this November, and voting for Conine helps ensure that Nevada remains an inclusive state.” … The Retail Association of Nevada usually favors the Republican Party in endorsements, backing Lombardo for governor and Stavros Anthony for lieutenant governor. But the group departed from that tradition in races for three constitutional offices, choosing Democrat Cisco Aguilar over Republican Jim Marchant for secretary of state; Conine over Republican Michele Fiore for state treasurer; and Democratic former Assemblywoman Ellen Spiegel over Republican Assemblyman Andy Matthews for state controller.

Contact Steve Sebelius at SSebelius@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253. Follow @SteveSebelius on Twitter.