Silver State Times

What grade does Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak deserve for his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic in the state?

Nevada Policy Institute Vice President and Policy Director Robert Fellner said the Democratic governor failed — and his errors caused serious damage to the state and its economy.

“The governor did not think enough of Nevadans to make their own decisions and instead chose to follow the path of lockdowns and forced school closures — which did little to nothing to stop the spread of COVID, while imposing incalculable harms on the most vulnerable, particularly children,” Fellner told Silver State Times. “Lockdowns and travel restrictions are going to devastate areas that are highly dependent on tourism, like Nevada. So, Nevada was always going to fare the worst once the governor made the unconstitutional decision to impose indefinite lockdowns.”

Robert Fellner | Nevada Policy Research Institute

Recent reports indicate that a majority of Nevadans approve of Sisolak's COVID response, but University of New Hampshire Researchers recently released a study showing Nevada had the third-largest net job shortfall as of May 2021, behind only Hawaii and New York. Nevada’s accommodations and food-services industry was hardest-hit and remains approximately 26% below pre-pandemic employment levels, compared to 13.9% nationally.

Other industries in Nevada hit hard by pandemic-related lockdowns include arts, entertainment and recreation, which is down 24.4%; information, down 13.6%, and educational services, down 10.9%. These figures are higher than national averages in these industries.

“Science-based recommendations, rather than mandatory orders and lockdowns, would have been a better approach,” Fellner said. “The vulnerable should have been protected and prioritized for vaccination. That healthy government employees who were not even working were offered vaccines before those aged 60-65 is unconscionable and speaks to the politicized nature of the governor’s response.”

Nevada’s May unemployment rate was 7.8%, two points higher than the national average of 5.8%. Nevada saw an overall GDP decline of 0.8 % from 2019-2021.

The Nevada Hospital Association (NHA) issued many critiques of Sisolak’s pandemic response.

“On-and-off again closures appear to be building animosity and apathy among the public and are proving ineffective,” the NHA said in a statement released in the fall of 2020.

When the governor threatened further closures in November, the association issued another statement saying that Nevada had greater hospital capacity than before the pandemic began.

A WalletHub study conducted by researchers from top U.S. universities found that Nevada had stricter COVID-19-related restrictions than 29 other states, despite having the lowest share of hospital staff and capacity shortages of any state. Fellner said there is one way to prevent this from happening in the future.

“Nevadans should elect politicians who are committed to following the rule of law and will treat citizens like adults, rather than children,” he said. “The legislature in particular failed spectacularly by refusing to restore our ostensibly representative system of government by allowing the governor to continue to single-handedly both write and enforce the law.”

In an April 14 commentary, Fellner said Sisolak has been wielding the powers of both the Legislative and Executive Branch simultaneously — in plain violation of the Nevada Constitution. On March 22, he wrote that Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman has a better grasp of the problem — and the solution.

“Mayor Goodman also objected to lockdowns on practical grounds, noting their utter failure when measured from a public-health perspective,” Fellner wrote. “This is likely to come as a surprise to some, given the media’s consistently slanted treatment of the efficacy of lockdowns, but it is indisputably true.”

Fellner has worked with the Nevada Policy Research Institute since December 2013, focusing on government transparency. He has conducted legal research and assisted in crafting legal arguments for public records-related lawsuits, including one that resulted in a landmark decision by the Nevada Supreme Court to both protect and expand Nevadans’ rights to access and inspect government records.

Fellner also is an expert on government compensation and its impact on taxes, writing multiple studies on public pay and pensions. A published author and political activist involved in a 2012 presidential campaign, he also is a champion poker player, having moved to Las Vegas in 2005 to compete with the world’s best players.

He has recorded two top 10 World Series of Poker finishes and was ranked #1 in the world at 10/20 Pot-Limit Omaha cash games.