Mayor-elect John Lombardi III will be driving around in a repurposed police vehicle as the lead official of the City of Lockport. While it won’t have flashing lights, the 2017 Ford Explorer with 12,000 miles on the odometer, will be known by the residents, Lombardi said.
“ ‘LP-1’ will be very visible and approachable by anyone wanting to speak to the mayor,” he said.
Lombardi said that he intends to drive around the city every morning — checking up on workers and visiting projects — and he needs the correct “tool” for the job.
“The city car will be a tool that will be used and one that I know will be used to do my job properly,” he said.
According to Police Chief Steven Abbott, Lombardi’s future vehicle was recently replaced with another vehicle and it’s “not uncommon” for police department cars to be repurposed for use in other departments in the city. He said that police vehicles are generally newer and on the road 24/7. When they are beyond their usefulness as police vehicles, they often are revamped and given to another department where they can still be used.
He also said that Lombardi is not taking anything away from him.
“None of our guys are walking because we’re giving cars away,” he said.
The last mayor to operate city vehicles was Mike Tucker. Before that time, former mayors Thomas Rotondo Jr., Raymond Betsch, Kenneth Swan and Thomas Sullivan all drove city cars, Lombardi said.
More recently, former mayor Anne McCaffrey and Mayor Michelle Roman both refrained from using a city car and Roman said she definitely didn’t want the “LP-1” license plate.
“I wasn’t interested in being ‘the mayor’,” Roman explained. “I was interested in getting things done.”
Lombardi also said that using the city vehicle also dismisses his personal liability while performing city duties.