NEA-SN

The Las Vegas branch of the NAACP criticized Gov. Joe Lombardo on Wednesday over remarks in which he said he “marginalized other communities” during his law enforcement career, calling the comments “deeply troubling, but hardly surprising.” A news website focused on Black audiences, TheGrio, obtained audio of Lombardo’s remarks and posted it with a story Wednesday. In the recording, Lombardo said that when people get “two feet into” whatever they do in life, they “tend to marginalize other communities.” He said most of his career had been in law enforcement and added, “I marginalized other communities as a result of that mindset.” He did not specify which communities he meant. He went on to say that his transition to governor “opened my eyes to the rest of the world” and that “there’s a lot of good people out there in the world.” He said everyone has internal biases and that a leader must “step back and realize you have personal biases and open your arms to everybody.” According to TheGrio, Lombardo spoke July 2 at a closed-door meeting with military veterans, where he was asked how his leadership philosophy had evolved from his time as a police officer and military officer to his role as governor. The veteran who asked the question began by saying that advancing in his own military career had required letting go of parts of himself.