It was a big week for Joe Lombardo. Bathed in the spotlight and the acclamation of his first State of the State address, Nevada’s 31st governor couldn’t keep the smile off his face.

Who could blame him?

In just months he’s gone from being a popular Clark County Sheriff headed into retirement and likely a lucrative and leisurely corporate security job, to becoming the chief executive of a state whose post-pandemic coffers are bursting with an unprecedented budget surplus. 

The historic moment enables Lombardo to play the role of a belt-and-suspenders Santa Claus, doling out gifts to friend and foe alike while playing the fiscal guardian of a state that not long ago was in the throes of a pandemic-driven recession.

After touting that his budget “not only lowers the tax burden for working families and businesses, but it also reserves more than $1 dollar in savings for every new dollar in general fund spending,” he added that it also reverses pandemic-related spending cuts “and addresses long-overdue investments in people, programs, and facilities. But it does so responsibly.”

He saves, he spends, he saves some more. He pleases just about everyone at one time or another. On this State of the State night, the governor gets to have it both ways.

After running as a law-and-order Republican and borderline Trumper in the 2022 campaign, at times he sounded like a Democrat celebrating talk of pay raises for state employees, sweeping K-12 education spending increases including adding more teachers, boosting mental health services, and even investing in Nevada’s infrastructure. Wow. That’s a lot of checkbook love.

Then he easily transitioned into in the state’s fiscally responsible sheriff by announcing an enormous increase to the state’s Rainy Day Fund, feeding school choice programs, while socking away $730 million in the Education Stabilization Account, selling off public lands, “reforming” the state’s election process, and suspending gasoline taxes and chopping business taxes.

“No sunsets. No court decisions. No gimmicks,” Lombardo said. “Just plain old fashion tax cuts that allow Nevadans to keep more of what they earn.”

After touting using $412 million in one-time funds for building improvements and a budget that he promises will save taxpayers $160 million in bond interest payments, he added, “In simple economic terms, we’re buying with cash instead of credit.”

And there’s plenty of cash to consider. It sounds like he also plans to squirrel away a fortune in the rainy day and education accounts. That surely gave pause to some Democrats who have bigger dreams for a state mired in mediocrity in so many areas.

He might have raised eyebrows and pulses by announcing the Nevada Way Fund, a $315 million account to be used for “transformational economic development” and doled out by a commission led by the governor and legislative leaders from both parties. If recent history is any indicator, expect some shiny corporation to receive a development windfall it might not need.

Lombardo spun it another way: “The Nevada Way Fund simply reaffirms that we never stop dreaming and that we are fully prepared to act on those times when market opportunity and new capital merge.” 

It’s no wonder there were so many clap lines, some of which Lombardo telegraphed. In a general sense, his speech included something for almost everyone. Applause crashed like waves around him, even if at times he appeared to be encouraging the approbation.

Some things are hard to fix, but easy to address. Among many: the dangerous personnel deficits at the Nevada Highway Patrol and the state prison system. Pay raises and increased training are a start. And someone in authority must act to address the safety and security of the correctional facilities. It’s a preventable scandal that threatens to erupt into a national embarrassment.

Here's another one: With so much money in the state’s hands and a vibrant economy getting stronger by the day, the public’s attention has understandably turned away from the structurally challenged Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. The state’s unemployment office traditionally goes from bureaucratic afterthought to a remake of the Alamo whenever there’s a mass layoff. Talk about deferred maintenance.

Lombardo in his address made much of setting partisanship aside and working together. Forgive him. It’s one of those things that governors have to say or risk being called names in the press. In his case, it’s also wise because of the legislative challenges he’s about to face.

From my seat in the grandstands, I still wonder whether this lifelong member of law enforcement, a person steeped in the military form of leadership, will be able to make the transition into working as part of a government with three separate branches. But it’s sure going to be fascinating to watch.

If he can keep smiling through the approaching political pain, there are plenty of places where reasonable compromise will translate into ground gained for Nevadans. I have it on good authority that Republicans and Democrats alike are pretty tired of seeing the state trail most of the nation in education, public health, and safety and quality of life issues.

Just to be safe, I suggest you hold your applause until the end.

John L. Smith is an author and longtime columnist. He was born in Henderson and his family’s Nevada roots go back to 1881. His stories have appeared in Time, Readers Digest, The Daily Beast, Reuters, Ruralite and Desert Companion, among others. He also offers weekly commentary on Nevada Public Radio station KNPR.