EDITORIAL: For Clark County sheriff

Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie surprised the valley’s political establishment last year when he announced he would not seek a third term as chief of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant Sheriff Joe Lombardo faces former Capt. Larry Burns in this fall’s election to replace Sheriff Gillespie.

Mr. Lombardo has spent 25 years with Las Vegas police, rising through the ranks from patrol officer to Sheriff Gillespie’s right-hand man. A Rancho High School graduate, Mr. Lombardo has lived here since 1976. Mr. Burns worked for the department for 27 years, moving up to SWAT commander, executive lieutenant and captain, leading the Bolden Area Command before retiring last December. He’s a 34-year Las Vegas resident.

Mr. Lombardo advanced to the general election by placing first in June’s nine-person primary, getting 36 percent of the vote. Mr. Burns advanced by finishing second at 29 percent.

Mr. Lombardo is highly qualified for sheriff. He has two degrees from UNLV, served in the Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserves, and graduated from the FBI National Academy. That said, we have concerns about his role as the department’s representative in last year’s contract negotiations with the Las Vegas police union. Those negotiations did not follow state bargaining requirements, eliminating what little transparency exists in the arbitration process. The talks effectively kept both elected stewards and the public from knowing what offers were considered, which side prevailed and how an arbitrator justified his ruling: a one-year award that boosted overall police compensation by $11.6 million in salary and benefits.

The charismatic Mr. Burns is also a worthy candidate for this position. However, the fact that he has the full support of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association is not a good thing. Last month, the officers’ union announced the hiring of Bryan Yant, the disgraced officer who almost single-handedly inspired major reforms in the department’s use of deadly force policies. Further, the latest edition of Vegas Beat, the union’s magazine, bragged about how the union influences its chosen candidates. The article stated, “Politicians desperately seek our endorsement and support, and, in turn, we use them to achieve our goals.” The union’s clear expectation is that Mr. Burns, who is accepting financial support from individual officers as well as the union, will return the endorsement favor in kind.

Those issues aside, voters in Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County will choose between two qualified candidates. Mr. Burns did an excellent job leading the inner-city Bolden Area Command, improving morale and implementing a community policing philosophy. Mr. Lombardo, however, holds more leadership experience, training and education, and he’s the more likely of the two to sustain the changes brought about regarding the use of deadly force and holding officers accountable.

The Review-Journal endorses Joe Lombardo for Clark County sheriff.