Assistant sheriff may join race for top Metro job

By Jackie Valley

Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013 | 6 p.m.

A new candidate might be emerging in the race for Clark County sheriff.

One of Metro Police’s top leaders, Assistant Sheriff Joseph Lombardo, is in the “exploratory” stages of considering a run for sheriff in the November 2014 election, political consultant Jim Ferrence said Thursday.

A Facebook page promoting Lombardo’s candidacy appeared briefly Thursday before disappearing, and a website has been created should Lombardo decide to enter the race, Ferrence said. Lombardo will announce his decision either way in the coming weeks, he said.

Lombardo joined Metro in September 1988 and steadily rose through the ranks before becoming assistant sheriff in October 2011. As assistant sheriff, he oversees the law enforcement services group, which includes the technical services division, professional standards division, information technology bureau and radio systems bureau.

In July, Sheriff Doug Gillespie appointed Lombardo to serve as chairman of Metro’s Critical Incident Review Process, which includes the Use of Force Review Board, made up of civilian and department members.

Former Assistant Sheriff Ted Moody previously served as chairman, but he retired from the department in July after Gillespie saved an officer’s job against the recommendation of the Use of Force Review Board.

In September, Moody announced his candidacy for sheriff.

If Lombardo enters the sheriff race, he would join a handful of other contenders, including Metro Capt. Larry Burns, who oversees the Bolden Area Command.

Metro Officer Laurie Bisch, who also announced her candidacy for sheriff in September, has withdrawn from the race and thrown her support behind Burns.

Bisch, who ran for sheriff in 2006 and 2010, posted this message to her Facebook account last week:

“I would like to thank all of you for your many years of support as I ran for the Office of Clark County Sheriff! I am now diligently working to help Captain Larry Burns win the 2014 election for Sheriff. I can assure you, Captain Burns is a great leader who (will) lead the LVMPD to new heights.”