Lombardo named vice chair of Western Governors’ Association

Joe Lombardo took the vice chair role after the Western Governors’ Association annual meeting at Stein Eriksen Lodge in Deer Valley, Utah, held June 30 through July 2.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green became chair on July 1 and will lead the group’s yearlong Health Beyond Healthcare initiative, which aims to improve mental health outcomes by expanding access to care while also addressing broader social and environmental factors.

The Western Governors’ Association was established in 1984 and represents the governors of 22 western states and territories. Its current policy areas include community and opportunity, energy and environment, health and public safety, land management, and state-federal relationship. Western governors regularly weigh in on federal lands, drought, wildfire response, infrastructure, housing and health care access, and those issues hit rural Nevada more directly than the state’s urban core.

The association’s 2026 policy resolutions include permitting, missing and murdered Indigenous persons, veterans, broadband connectivity, rural development, western agriculture, disaster preparedness and response, housing, and federal lands and royalties. Its annual-meeting agenda also included energy, wildfires, disaster recovery, permitting, health care, broadband and the Farm Bill, a mix that mirrors the practical concerns of counties where development, utility service and public land access can hinge on state-federal decisions.

Western Governors’ Association executive director Jack Waldorf, who became the group’s sixth executive director in 2023, said Lombardo’s commitment to the region and his pragmatic approach stood out. Green said he looked forward to working with Lombardo and continuing the association’s tradition of bipartisan collaboration.