LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Attorney General Aaron Ford made some tacos on Thursday, after defending his record on fighting Medicare fraud.
Ford donned an apron and spoke at Slanging Tacos near the Las Vegas Strip, a mom-and-pop business that began in a garage, grew into a food truck and ended up in a bar not far from the Las Vegas Strip.
Ford criticized his Republican rival, Gov. Joe Lombardo for rising costs, which has caused Slanging Tacos owner Nery Haro to raise his prices.
WATCH | Steve Sebelius catches up with Haro on rising costs
"The economy is absolutely the No. 1 issue in this race," Ford said. "Under the Trump-Lombardo economy, where the unemployment rate has been the highest, if not certainly one of the highest, in the nation for the entire tenure of Joe Lombardo. Unemployment is higher now that it was when Joe Lombardo took office."
Although the unemployment rate remains high, the state's Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation recently reported that Nevada led the nation in overall job growth. According to federal statistics, Nevada has posted a 1.8% increase in jobs.
But Ford said the economic picture is still dire.
"That's not what I'm hearing. I've spoken to people all across the state, who are saying they are going to every job site they can find. One individual said they had sent out 300 resumes and got five hits. This economy is not built for them," Ford said. "What people are experiencing on the ground is a different story."
The Lombardo campaign said in a statement that growth has picked up.
“Under Governor Lombardo’s leadership, Nevada created more than 100,000 jobs, leveraged $1 billion in investment for new attainable housing, generated $6 billion in historic economic investment, and led the nation in job growth for 11 consecutive months - and we are just getting started," the statement reads. "While Governor Lombardo has been working for Nevada families, Aaron Ford has spent more than 420 days outside of Nevada collecting a taxpayer-funded salary, leaving Nevadans behind for luxury vacations paid for by lobbyists and special interests."
Ford has previously defended his attendance at conferences and seminars sponsored by attorney general associations as helpful to Nevada.
Ford also defended his staff from more recent allegations that he's not prosecuting enough Medicaid fraud cases and that he's exaggerated the amount of money he's won from violators.
"We have prosecuted more than twice the national average of cases that are brought before us," he said. "Joe Lombardo is pitting state workers against state workers. For him to contend that the people in the Medicaid fraud control unit aren't doing their job is an attack on the very folks that are his employees."
Ford said his office has won $40.9 million in judgments in Medicaid fraud cases, but noted that's a different thing from actually collecting the money. After the attorney general's office submits its requests for payment after a judgment has been entered, the files are turned over to the state controller to be collected.
Ford said he'll keep pushing the affordability issue in future visits to small businesses, saying the race is close because of concerns about costs.
"We are in a tie ball game right now because people understand that they are in dire circumstances and they want a leader who is going to actually focus on their concerns, and that message is resonating," he said.
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