LAKE COUNTY— As California Gov. Gavin Newsom begins to relax some of the restrictions on business and residential lockdowns, and as the state transitions into the next stage of reopening the country’s largest economy, debates over how best to walk the balance between individual rights and public safety raged on at the local level where in Lake County at least one prominent elected official has expressed his feelings on the issue and has used his position in an attempt to influence public opinion in the wake of public outcry at a protest in Lakeport last week.
Newsom started the week by announcing Monday that retail and hospitality businesses considered low risk including clothing, bookstores, sporting good stores and florists could open for curbside pickup as early as Friday (Just in time for the busy Mother’s Day rush on Sunday) but no word on when restaurants dine-in services, shopping malls and business offices will be able to resume day to day operations.
At this week’s Board of Supervisors meeting, government leaders continued to try and assert local control over the process and at Tuesday’s virtual meeting of the Lakeport City Council, that government body voted to proceed with planned summertime events, albeit with a caveat: Vendors will have to present the city with a plan detailing how they will comply with the current and/or upcoming safety guidelines as enacted by the county health department. Participants will also be expected to adhere with the public health orders.
At the County board meeting Tuesday, District 2 Supervisor Bruno Sabatier cited California Government Code 8625 as justification for Lake County to seek more control over the next phase of opening the local economy. Sabatier told the rest of the board that the code grants emergency power to the state governor during a pandemic and gives him the right to declare a state of emergency if he has been requested to do so and if he finds that local authority is inadequate to cope with the emergency.
“I think we have proven we’ve done a good job,” said Sabatier and added that if the county can prove that it has adequate ability to handle the emergency on its own, then local officials don’t have to follow the California state orders. Sabatier said because the county has not seen a surge in cases and local hospitals are not overwhelmed, and because the county has prepared itself for a possible surge, it could make a good case for local autonomy. “The biggest harm right now that we’re seeing that we can’t handle on our won is the economic burden that we are asking people,” Sabatier said adding that the county has asked businesses to sing up for the Payment Protection Program (PPP) among other services available to them.
The discussion stemmed out of a proposed letter drafted April 21 to be sent to Newsom requesting removal of the state SIP order and for the state to “provide Public Health Benchmark standards” so that each county can open up their SIP orders and make their own decision on how to re-activate businesses which are truly struggling. This letter was combined with another missive signed by other regional officials requesting the state to reopen the economies in six local counties under local orders, developed in concurrence with local county health officials.
Members of the public weighed in on the controversial issue of reopening the local economy and stated their feelings regarding recent actions surrounding potential health risks.
“Lake County has not seen the infections and deaths of other Counties. I believe we have Dr. Pace to thank for that. Even the smallest uptick in cases could easily overwhelm our very limited health care resources,” noted Hidden Valley Lake resident Susan Cameron adding that the recent protests around “individual rights” cannot be characterized as “individual”.
“Their ‘rights’ require others to die. The mantra is a misnomer,” she wrote in a statement submitted during the public comment portion of the virtual meeting.
County officials stated during the board meeting that since the state was requesting a plan outlining the steps necessary for each region to move forward, the issue would be taken up at the next meeting of the board of supervisors. Sabatier acknowledge his agenda item dealing with the issue had morphed into coming up with that plan, in light of new guidelines pending from the state.
“It sounds like we are moving in that direction,” said Board Chair Moke Simon citing the recent announcement by the governor that some of the restrictions would be loosened by the end of the week, although a final draft from the state with further guidelines was not immediately available for local governments to review. “We need that plan written up and we need that plan submitted,” said Sabatier.
