A group of Florida mayors got together via Zoom yesterday. That’s because they’ve sent a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis. As WLRN’s Veronica Zaragovia reports, they are urging the governor to work with them to bring COVID-19 infection rates down.
Top on the list is a statewide mask mandate. The mayors also want full capacity of state-funded testing sites again.
Carlos Hernandez is the mayor of Hialeah. Hernandez says they need the power to penalize businesses that don’t follow local COVID measures. "This is not about Republicans or Democrats. I’m a Republican. I’m the most conservative guy in the world, but we have to take care of our health." And he says that will protect the economy by avoiding shutdowns. St. Petersburg mayor Rick Kriseman criticized the governor’s office for hiring Kyle Lamb to analyze COVID data. He’s a sports blogger and Uber driver from Ohio. "You can’t make this stuff up." Crystal Wagar is the mayor of Miami Shores. She says they want the governor to,"Use the power that all Florida residents gave him to help all Floridians." Mayor Dan Gelber of Miami Beach says even Sweden is enforcing restrictions now. They urge DeSantis to respond to their pleas right away.
