If any union was ever Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo’s biggest cheerleader, it was the Clark County Education Association. After snubbing then-Gov. Steve Sisolak in 2022 by endorsing neither gubernatorial candidate, the state’s largest teachers union — led by longtime executive director John Vellardita — worked closely with Lombardo’s office in the 2023 and 2025 legislative sessions.
It was no surprise, then, when CCEA endorsed Lombardo in 2026. More surprising was how vigorously the union campaigned on his behalf. That came in everything from the full-throated support of Lombardo’s data center policy, to a $1 million ad buy from an affiliated PAC that pilloried his opponent, Attorney General Aaron Ford, as a “career politician.”
Amid the campaign, a complicating factor: A majority of polled Clark County teachers disagreed with the union, and backed Ford, 52% to 32%.
But now, Lombardo’s lost. Ford is the governor-elect. Democrats won a supermajority in the Assembly, and will likely fall just shy in the Senate. So what will happen to CCEA’s relationship with the Democrats now steering the ship? [Nevada Independent, Las Vegas Review-Journal, KVVU, Las Vegas Sun]
- Speaking to the RJ, Vellardita demurred: “One party controls all state government. That’s not the ideal situation from our experience, but we’ll work with it.” [Las Vegas Review-Journal]
- “Working with it” will, more than anything, mean pursuing that data center plan, in essence luring data centers to Nevada while cutting school support tax abatements. In theory, it would boost the state’s education tax revenues without touching notoriously dicey political third rails. [Nevada Current]
- It’s not yet clear how that would meld with Ford’s campaign pledges, which aimed at pausing data center tax breaks and a “systemic” review of how the tax breaks work. Nor is it clear how Ford — who still backs increasing per-pupil funding — will negotiate with CCEA. [Nevada Independent, Las Vegas Review-Journal]
- But it gets to a foundational tension in Nevada politics that has tangled itself into the state’s singular gordian knot. How can the state increase education funding (which politicians acknowledge is mired in an ongoing crisis) if Nevadans will revolt against the tax increases needed to pay for it? [Nevada Independent]
- This is, in essence, Vellardita’s point. Since 2021, politicians in Carson City have had a literal roadmap (commissioned by the state Legislature, no less) to boost education funding per-pupil to the national average in 10 years. However, because the document suggests raising property tax revenues, it has since collected dust. [Nevada Independent, Commission on School Funding]
All to say: The 2027 legislative session should be a fun and interesting time had by all.
