Lombardo is Just Another Lying Fascist

It was a sad day. After an effective Governor, Steve Sisolak, led my state of Nevada through Trump’s devastating pandemic, he was defeated by a Trump lackey, Joe Lombardo.

Lombardo is now seen in ads for developers and as an advocate for private and charter schools

Here’s why “The Truth Lives Here.”

I moved to Northern Nevada in 1986 from North County San Diego. I plan to die here. I feel very fortunate to have lived in three extraordinary places. At the age of five my parents moved from Lewiston, Idaho, where I was born in 1946, to Los Angeles, California. We, my maternal grandparents, and one of my uncles caravaned to a city which promised good jobs.

In 1977, just after the birth of my daughter, I moved my family to San Diego’s booming north county after accepting a job offer.

After a divorce, and a new marriage, I left California for the Reno, Nevada, area in 1986. I worked in my profession as a hairstylist, but a year later entered into the gambling industry.

I worked with men and women from all over the world, and learned even more about my chosen home and the beautiful part of Nevada. We have four distinct seasons and of course the Sierra Nevada Mountains and Lake Tahoe to our west.

The most important thing I learned was that Nevada is one of the poorest states in the west. The average income is barely above poverty level. The greatest problem, created by the wealthiest citizen in our state, and investors from neighboring California is housing. Single family homes were the first to be overpriced for most residents, but now apartment rents have become inaccessible for most. Some casino workers share very small houses or two-bedroom apartments with one and sometimes two additional families.

There is a serious move to begin ‘rent control’ in Nevada. This has worked well in other states, most notably New York.

However, greedy developers are paying Lombardo to be their “front man.” They are claiming that the answer to this serious problem is not price control, but more building. This will harm most Nevadans while increasing the wealth of developers and builders. Lombardo is lying to the people he is expected to serve for personal, financial gain.

Trump is making efforts to end our nation’s public school system. He is attempting to make private and charter schools the only choice for our nation’s young men and women.

Lombardo’s ads use children claiming that they were bullied, etc., etc., and they should have a choice about which school they should attend.

Personal example. I attended parochial school for my first 10 years. There were no Black children in my elementary school, and only a single young Black man in my high school.

I begged by mother to allow me to attend a public high school for my last two years. I had better teachers overall, and had friends who were Black, Hispanic, Jewish, and a few Asian Americans. I learned more about my country in two years than I had in the previous 10.

Once again, Lombardo is lining his bank account with money from those who operate private and charter schools.

Education is not solely about reading, writing, math, and science. It is learning about everything we will encounter in our lives.

Op-ed by James Turnage