JOE LOMBARDO: Let’s return to civility and our shared Nevada values

When I took office last January, I spoke about the concept of The Nevada Way — the idea that we, as Nevadans, never give up, never give in and never stop dreaming. Over the past year, I’ve seen The Nevada Way embodied across our state time and time again.

From Elko to Washoe or right here in Clark County, I’ve seen Nevadans show resilience, ingenuity and innovation at every turn. Traveling our state and meeting so many outstanding Nevadans has made me deeply proud to be your governor.

But this holiday season, as we reflect on the past year and look expectantly to 2024, I am still filled with grief over the recent tragedies that have upended our state.

This month, I attended a vigil alongside hundreds of community members at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, to honor the lives of the three professors who were killed in a horrific attack on campus.

Days earlier, I spoke at the funerals of two heroic Nevada State Police officers who were killed in the line of duty by a drunken driver on Interstate 15. Just weeks before that, I called the parent of a Rancho High School student who was attacked and killed by eight fellow students in a fight after school.

Each of these tragedies weighs on me — not just as governor — but as a dad, grandfather and Nevadan.

These incidents have reiterated the paramount importance of mental health, school and campus safety, and criminal justice, which the state has worked to address this year.

In 2023, we expanded mental health funding, instituted accountability standards and new safety measures in our schools, and enacted strict penalties and sentences for offenders who jeopardize public safety.

But these tragedies are not just policy issues — these are issues that reflect the heart of who we are as Nevadans. Now more than ever, we must all take accountability for demonstrating our state’s values of kindness, decency and integrity in our own lives.

We must take responsibility for demonstrating these values to our neighbors and communities, but most importantly, to our children.

Demonstrating these values could simply look like ensuring your children arrive at school and teaching them to behave appropriately when they do, choosing to drive safely, and treating neighbors and co-workers with grace, understanding that many Nevadans fight unseen battles.

Demonstrating these values, particularly kindness, could entail getting involved in a nonprofit organization in your community. Communities In Schools, Dads In Schools, SafeNest, Opportunity Village and Three Square are just a few examples of the organizations I’ve had the opportunity to visit and see the impact of their work firsthand.

In my previous role as the sheriff of Clark County, I saw the negative impact that we can have on each other all too often. Violence, crime and disrespect are choices, and we can always choose to be better to one another. In order to make Nevada truly one of the best states in which to live, we must all recommit to our shared values of kindness, decency and integrity.

President George Washington once famously called on citizens to cast aside “slight shades of difference” to unite in our common cause and shared values as Americans. Washington’s words are just as timely today as they were more than 200 years ago.

This is a call to return to civility and to return to the values that built our state.

Now is the time to soften our hearts, treat one another with kindness, live with decency and uphold integrity. If we can do that, I’m confident that our state will continue to lead The Nevada Way for generations to come.

Joe Lombardo, a Republican, is governor of Nevada.