GOP gubernatorial nominee and Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo says he’d demand the federal government to offer subsidies to farmers growing almonds and alfalfa, as well as other water-intensive crops across the west. He also says he’d rally behind getting a larger share of the Colorado River’s water for Nevada after the expiry of the compact in 2026.
Incumbent Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak—Lombardo’s opponent in November’s midterms—says that the state cannot decide how much water gets allocated, since the Colorado River lies within federal jurisdiction, and that simply advocating for more water would not suffice.
The Department of the Interior announced measures in August for the year 2023 which call for Nevada to give up 8% of the allotted water it receives from the river, in light of the continuing drought. This has made the water rights battle a peak issue for elected officials to contend over.
“Where we failed is the negotiation of the CRC, the Colorado River Commission, and our ability to adjust mitigation or mediation of failed allocations for participating states,” Lombardo said. “We’re in dire need because we’re farming in the desert, and I think that’s a failed concept.”
A Sisolak v. Lombardo debate which was scheduled to happen in Reno next month got canceled last week, which means the forum where Lombardo made the previously mentioned statement was among the few times the contenders will be appearing together, the next being a town hall forum slated for Sunday in Las Vegas.
The two took turns answering inquiries, and the event featured over 400 attendees from the NCA, the SNHBA, and the ABC. Mitch Fox, who presides the Nevada Broadcasters Association, was master of ceremonies at this hour-long event, and he posed pre-written questions which came from the trades groups ranging from the right-to-work status to vocational training.
Sisolak maintained that all states within the Colorado River Compact must find ways to come together and add water to the river, because the two-decade drought in the west might not be reversible thanks to climate change.
“If anyone believes that you can call other governors and the White House to get some more water from the Colorado River, I’d be happy for you to make that phone call with me because I’ve worked on this issue for over a decade,” said Sisolak, “This is not a drought that we are facing anymore, I think it’s climate change. It’s not going to come back, and we’re not going to work our way out of this drought.”
A poll by Emerson College in September found that both candidates were at 40%, at under three weeks till the midterms.
“Being the leader of my industry, I’m going to be very confident and I’m going to be very supportive of whichever candidate comes out of this because our life and our livelihood depends on it,” said Nat Hodgson of the SNHBA, who added he prided the unison the trade groups showed. “So all they are going to get from me is support. I just want to be invited to the table.”
Lombardo and Sisolak concur on many issues at the surface level. When the emcee asked them about the water levels of Lake Mead and what measures could be taken to bump up Nevada’s water allocation from the Colorado River, both were in agreement that the quickly depleting water level of the former was a huge challenge for the state.
But even though Lombardo supports agencies such as the SNWA and says it helped in shaping Las Vegas into one among the model cities when it came to water conservation, the state still needs to do more in terms of negotiating a larger amount of water out of Lake Mead. The Colorado River Compact stipulates that the Silver State will get around 300,000 acre-feet each year, which amounts to around 4% of the total water share.
Both Lombardo and Sisolak also said they supported an increase in affordable housing, and when asked what they intended to do with the 500 mil allocated federally to help affordable housing, responded as follows.
“We’re not going to have problems spending it by 2025. We’ve got an abundance of applications for affordable housing,” said Sisolak, and added that the state needs over 80,000 affordable units in order to meet demand. However, even the federal money only allows Nevada to build about 2,000.
The two contenders agreed that they would support purchase of more land from BLM, which is a federal government branch that owns upwards of 80% of Nevada’s land. Lombardo also said he would push the state delegation to Congress to negotiate from the state’s side so that land could be bought at a lower price from the feds.
“It’s a big elephant, and we’re going to have to take small bites over time with it,” Lombardo said. “(But) land is the issue, in my opinion.
Lombardo said that in order to lighten the costs faced by prospective home buyers, he would aim to expand Nevada’s economy so that rising interest rates and inflation could be checked. Rent control, he said, is something he’s against as a way to ease renter burden.
“I think that’s a failed concept,” he said.
Sisolak drew attention to issues among the young adult population, specifically those who have either graduated from school recently or gotten into the workforce, and are struggling with buying their first home. Sisolak said that getting a high-paying job like Lombardo mentioned is a good start, but also said that sections of the population are getting priced out by other homebuyers who have more money on hand.
Both Lombardo and Sisolak said that under their leadership, the state would manage to remain as a right-to-work state, which means that for getting hired, it wouldn’t be mandatory to join a union. What the two mainly diverged on was project labor agreements, which happen to play the role of a pre-hiring collective bargaining agreement laying out Ts and Cs regarding specific projects.
