Mayors to Governors: Toughen Up!

PORTLAND, Ore. — The optics were terrible, even if the weather was perfect. Absent a firm order from Gov. Kate Brown to stay at home, thousands of people with nothing else to do packed Oregon's beaches, trails and state parks a couple of weekends ago.

Mayors in coastal cities panicked at the onslaught, begging Brown, a Democrat, to act. One after another, towns passed emergency ordinances that shut down hotels, campgrounds, RV parks and short-term vacation rentals to all but essential visitors.

Democratic Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, joined by 25 other leaders in nearby communities and the state's major health care providers, warned they would act if she didn't.

"We've been told for weeks now by the Centers for Disease Control that we need to social distance," said Bruce Jones, mayor of Astoria, a coastal Oregon town that often swells on weekends with tourists who drive 100 miles over two-lane roads from Portland. "We're trying to reduce the spread of the virus, and putting visitors into our town just increases the risk of rapid transmission of the virus.”

To be sure, some governors have had to push mayors to take bolder action. In New York, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the crowds he saw on New York City streets "a mistake."

He urged Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio to come up with a solution, including perhaps closing some city streets to vehicle traffic. "It's insensitive. It's arrogant. It's self-destructive. It's disrespectful to other people," Cuomo said. "And it has to stop — and it has to stop now. This is not a joke. And I am not kidding."

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