OPINION: Data centers will draw out the real differences between Lombardo and Ford

He's Joe Lombardo. And he's a one-term governor.

Despite that winning smile, law enforcement background and all the gaudy millions heaped on his re-election campaign, Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) lost in a blowout to Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford (D). At this point, Lombardo's wealthy backers are surely mumbling to themselves about their man being caught in a political "tsunami," as if it was all some kind of natural disaster.

Republicans were trounced by the Democrats for tangible reasons that no amount of deceptive advertising or revisionist history will overcome. This country is hurting and Republican leaders have long refused to admit it. That's not a weather report. That's a character flaw.

We've all seen the storm warnings: High fuel and grocery prices, an irresponsible and costly war with Iran, bullying tariffs that have damaged our nation and our standing in the world, a staggering level of cronyism and corruption, a creepy fealty toward Russia's Vladimir Putin and an immigration crackdown that harms our own citizens and violates human rights. 

Nevadans have been doing a lot more than — what was the expression? — feeling "a little pain."

It all leads back to President Donald Trump's (R) doorstep, of course. The delusional Trump asked Republicans to imagine he was on the ballot, but Democrats and a large swath of other voters didn't have to be asked. The result was historic and gave this state its first Black governor in the bilingual Ford, the first Democrat to win the bright-red 2nd Congressional District in dynamic Latina Teresa Benitez-Thompson and bold blue checkmarks up and down the ticket.

Lombardo had his share of victories in his single term, but his administration's best efforts were undercut by Trump's actions. With that understood, it was Lombardo's inability or unwillingness to stand up to the great dissembler in the White House that helped sink his campaign. His failure to demonstrably push back on behalf of all Nevadans attached him to Trump's wrecking-ball ways.

Lombardo is not alone in that distinction. With a few exceptions, the GOP nationally is a shambles thanks to its misguided loyalties. In Nevada, MAGA sycophants led by state Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald sucked up without regard for Trump's dangerous incompetence and increasingly erratic behavior.

I'm not sure what Lombardo will do with the little time he has left in office. But I know one thing he shouldn't do, and that's press ahead with his September executive order that addressed AI data center development in the state.

His unabashed support for data center development is undisputed. Calling him a cheerleader is putting it kindly. His interest in putting up "guardrails" to further development during an election year smacked of pandering politics.

That's no great sin. It at least showed that he was paying attention to the issue in a state whose citizens — like a majority in America — have a serious distrust of the industry's economic promises, the environmental impacts of the developments and the juicy tax abatements they enjoy.

This citizen concern transcends political affiliation and geographic location. Rural Nevadans are wary that big developments will overwhelm their power infrastructure, use up precious water resources and create few jobs once the construction job is finished. In Northern Nevada, the city of Reno has already paused its development push.

Down south in Boulder City, Mayor Joe Hardy weighs the potential property tax benefits of a data center for a community with financial challenges with the potential environmental and quality-of-life concerns. Growth pays the bills, but he says he believes communities potentially impacted by these behemoths should have their voices heard in a full vetting of the issue beyond just ballot measures.

And that will take time — the kind Lombardo doesn't have.

Hardy adds that the idea of continuing to hand out tax abatements is nonsense.

"The AI companies, they're actively looking for sites to put their places," Hardy says. "To say, 'Let's give them an abatement for coming,' well, I don't think we need to give an abatement to encourage them to come."

He has heard the growing concerns in the rural energy community. They wonder if the Governor's Office of Economic Development is rewriting and rushing its Nevada Community Impact Commitment form through the process. 

In a moment of understatement, the mild-mannered Hardy says, "I think the discussion is not soup yet."

At this point in Lombardo's term, having an industry insider making changes to the working draft of the document isn't likely to inspire confidence in the independence of the process.

Boosting the public's jaded view of the data centers and those abatements will take time — and a willingness to listen to the governor's office. Time isn't something Lombardo has to spare.

So, it's a simple request, really. Pause the process and pass it to the incoming governor. I'm not sure he'll view it as a gift. As a state legislator, Ford sponsored and voted for data center legislation at a time their potential impacts weren't so controversial. During the campaign, Ford said that, as governor, he would pause the abatement tax breaks and seek increased oversight of the tech gold rush.

It might just provide the first real test of the incoming Aaron Ford administration in a historic time in Nevada.

John L. Smith is an author and longtime columnist. He was born in Henderson and his family's Nevada roots go back to 1881. His stories have appeared in New Lines, Time, Reader's Digest, Rolling Stone, The Daily Beast, Reuters and Desert Companion, among others.