EDITORIAL: ‘I’m Joe Lombardo’ — oh, my!

They don’t call political campaign time the “silly season” for nothing. Take the news this week that Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, was recently pulled over for a minor traffic violation but was not given a ticket after identifying himself to the officer who initiated the stop.

Watergate this is not.

Yet to hear some Nevada Democrats tell it, you would think the governor had been busted for driving intoxicated down the Strip at 125 mph and then tried to bribe the cop who pulled him over.

“Lombardo was caught using his position of power to avoid accountability after breaking the law and being pulled over by a Metro police officer trying to do their (sic) job,” reads a statement from the Nevada State Democratic Party that borders on parody.

The Democratic Governors Association, looking to shill for Aaron Ford, the governor’s opponent in November, also felt the need to weigh in with its own overwrought observation. A video of the stop “is more proof that Joe Lombardo is a corrupt and out-of-touch politician who thinks he can play by a different set of rules than everyday Nevadans,” the association huffed. All righty, then.

Here’s what happened, according to reports and the officer’s body camera: On May 15, Gov. Lombardo — a former Clark County sheriff — was driving with his wife to the airport when he made a right turn on a red light near the Mandalay Bay. A Metro officer spotted the governor’s Ford pickup and concluded that the vehicle had failed to come to a complete stop before making the turn. The patrol car’s flashing lights appeared in Gov. Lombardo’s rearview mirror.

The two men exchanged pleasantries when the officer approached the vehicle. As the cop began to explain the reason for the stop, the governor identified himself. “I’m Joe Lombardo,” he said. The officer replied “I’m aware” and told Gov. Lombardo that a rolling right turn on red had caught his attention. The governor responded, “Come on, man,” and the cop retreats. “You are good to go, sir,” he said. “Appreciate you. Have a good day.”

Yes, it would have been optimal if Gov. Lombardo had let the encounter play out rather than dropped his name, thus opening himself to critics. But encounters such as these happen every day on local streets. It’s not unusual for officers to issue warnings for minor traffic offenses or opt not to write citations. “If he wasn’t the governor, no one would care about the hundreds of other stops that are done the same way,” said Steve Grammas, president of the union that represents Metro officers.

“Breaking the law” and “corrupt”? Let’s stop the hyperbolic nonsense and focus on real issues.