LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Gov. Joe Lombardo defended himself from Democratic attacks that he's made things harder for renters and those seeking affordable housing in Nevada.
In an exclusive interview Tuesday, Lombardo rebutted attacks levied by Democrats at a news conference last week, in which they said the governor "bears the responsibility for Nevada's housing crisis, full stop."
Lombardo estimated his administration had built 5,000 new affordable housing units since he was sworn in to office in January 2023. He said the state infrastructure bank had put $420 million toward affordable housing as well.
He also repeated his demand that the federal government free up more federal land on the outskirts of Las Vegas for development, land that could be traded for parcels closer to the city center where affordable homes could be constructed. Last month, during a presidential visit, Lombardo released a letter he'd written to President Joe Biden on the subject.
Asked about a veto of a bill that would have allowed renters late on their payments to stay in their homes as long as they had applied for pandemic assistance, Lombardo said it was time for that program to end.
"One, it's become a crutch for lack of performance of the renter or occupant and figuring out a way to pay your rent or pay your mortgage or whatever it may be," Lombardo said. "And I believe it's a misuse of the court system and innundating the court system and relying on the inefficiency of the system or the inability to process the volume of information that comes from that.
"Plus," Lombardo added, "the pandemic relief had come to an end. It was time to force people to remove the excuse of 'hey, government's taking care of me and so I'm not going to make an effort."
Lombardo said the perception is that landlords are well-off enough to absorb the losses while they wait for delinquent tenants to get current on their rents. "That's not the case," he said. "You know, it's a fallacy to think the margins are so big that you can absorb things when the margins are actually minuscule."
Democrats also slammed Lombardo last week because he'd been supported by Budget Suites owner Robert Bigelow, who gave directly to the governor and to PACs supporting his candidacy during the 2022 campaign. But Lombardo said Bigelow had never tried to cash in on his support by asking him to veto a housing bill.
"No absolutely not, absolutely not," Lombardo said. "And that's very frustrating for them to make that leap. And when I say by 'them' Democrats, to make that leap. There's an assumption dark money, you know, that that's having an influence on my decisions on vetoes. Not one iota."
