Fort Worth, Arlington mayors urge Abbott to allow local enforcement of face masks
The mayors of Texas’ largest cities, including Fort Worth and Arlington, requested Tuesday that Gov. Greg Abbott allow local officials to enforce the wearing of face masks to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus as cases rise across the state.
In a letter signed by nine mayors, including Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price and Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams, local officials pointed to wearing face masks as one of the best ways to keep businesses open and residents safe.
“Yet many people in many of our cities are still refusing to wear these face coverings even though these coverings are scientifically proven to help prevent the disease from spreading,” read the letter, that was also signed by the mayors of Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Grand Prairie, El Paso and Plano.
In late April, Abbott had stripped local officials of their ability to require face masks be worn, just days after Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo ordered residents to cover their faces in public or risk facing a fine up to $1,000.
The mayors’ letter urges Abbott to restore local officials’ enforcement abilities in public venues where social distancing cannot be practiced, and allow them to set “rules and regulations.”
“A one-size-fits-all approach is not the best option. We should trust local officials to make informed choices about health policy,” the letter read. “And if mayors are given the opportunity to require face coverings, we believe our cities will be ready to help reduce the spread of this disease.”
John Wittman, a spokesman for Abbott, wrote in an email Tuesday afternoon that local officials haven’t taken advantage of the tools already at their disposal, such as enforcing restrictions on businesses.
“None of these local officials have lifted a finger to impose penalties and enforcement mechanisms currently available to them. The one time a county judge did, a business owner wound up in jail,” Wittman said, referring to Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther, who made national headlines for reopening her business in defiance of judges’ orders.
Tuesday, Texas reported a new single day high of COVID-19 cases and an all-time high of patients hospitalized with the novel coronavirus. A recent study worked on by researchers from Texas A&M University and UT Austin found that wearing a face mask is one of the most effective ways to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.
Abbott’s executive order notes, “individuals are encouraged to wear appropriate face coverings, but no jurisdiction can impose a civil or criminal penalty for failure to wear a face covering.”
Abbott’s orders supersede local ones, and both Fort Worth and Tarrant County had allowed their local stay-at-home orders to expire or mirror Abbott’s in order to not create any conflict.
Appearing via video Tuesday during a Fort Worth City Council work session, Price said she wanted the governor to launch a statewide mask campaign, but she didn’t appear willing to support a city mandate.
“You’re not going to get everybody to comply,” she said, adding that other major cities wanted the ability to mandate masks.
Asked during a press conference Tuesday about Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins’ request that Abbott allow greater local enforcement, Abbott said he makes clear on a daily basis that wearing a face mask is necessary.
“So all of us have a collective responsibility to educate the public that wearing a mask is the best thing to do. Putting people in jail however is the wrong approach for this thing, and that’s exactly what I believe the Dallas County judge wants to do — and that is throw people in jail and that’s wrong,” Abbott said.
Abbott pointed to local officials’ ability to issue fines for other violations, such as residents or businesses that defy restrictions on gatherings.
“And so he seems to be taking a somewhat two-faced approach as it concerns his pleas for enforcement,” Abbott said of Jenkins.
Jenkins hit back in a statement of his own Tuesday afternoon, and said that no one could be jailed for failing to wear a mask under the city of Dallas or Dallas County’s local orders.
“Rather, we made requirements out of the Governor’s recommendations only to have his attorney Ken Paxton write us a letter demanding we rescind our efforts and saying they didn’t want the Governor’s recommendations enforced or checked on,” Jenkins said, referring to Paxton’s warning in May that some of Dallas County’s orders were unlawful and unenforceable.
During the Fort Worth City Council’s work session Tuesday, multiple council members voiced frustration with the number of people they saw not wearing a mask and several asked city staff to increase education about coronavirus precautions.
Councilwoman Gyna Bivens was critical of not requiring masks, saying she thought the people of Fort Worth deserved better protections. In the absence of a mask mandate, she said she wanted city staff to explore contracting with a local public relations firm to launch a media campaign encouraging mask wearing and other precautions.
“Mask wearing is a really big deal if we can get it right,” said Councilman Brian Byrd, who is a doctor.
Brandon Bennett, the city’s health officer, said that while hospital bed availability is still high, the transmission rate for the virus is increasing now that Fort Worth has reopened. He speculated that the numbers would continue to trend to “the wrong end of the scale” and ebb and flow through the summer.
The odds that a person spreads coronavirus are much lower if they wear a mask, he said.
“You wearing a mask protects other people,” Bennett said.
Staff writer Luke Ranker contributed to this story.
This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 4:34 PM.
