Representative Mike Garcia wrote a letter to Governor Newsom supporting the variance to reopen L.A. County sooner, Wednesday.
Congressman Mike Garcia wrote a letter Tuesday to Governor Gavin Newsom in support of local mayors and Kathryn Barger regarding the variance in the Safer at Home order, allowing northern L.A. County cities to enter stage 3 of reopening sooner.
The content of the letter reads as such:
“Dear Governor Newsom:
In the interest of ensuring data-driven decisions to reopen businesses are being made at the lowest levels of government, I respectfully and humbly request that you provide additional variance for northern Los Angeles County communities. As the Congressman for CA-25, I represent the Cities of Santa Clarita, Lancaster, and Palmdale, all which have requested that they be allowed to develop their own regional reopening plan (instead of following the county’s “Safer at Home: order). Given the geographical size, population, and many variables to the COVID virus and the subsequent fallout of the “Safer at Home” orders throughout LA County, our local cities should be enabled to make informed decisions so long as their individual plans use criteria that ensure protection of the public health.
The economic impacts of the COVID-19 response are disproportionately devastating the northern cities of the county in our District while the spread of the spread of the virus represents a very low percentage of the total infected in LA County. As of May 19, the total COVID-19 cases in the three cities of the northern region reached 1,688, which is only 4.2 percent of the county total of 39,573. In contrast to the low infection rate, our cities have inordinately high unemployment rates. According to WalletHub, the city of Santa Clarita, with less than two-thirds of one percent of total statewide cases, has been the third hardest hit city in the State for COVID-19 related unemployment claims.
I thank you for your attention and consideration on the urgent issue. Your flexibility to allow the individual cities to determine their reopening plan will mean so much to the hundred of thousands of people living in this area. Please let me know if you would like to discuss this matter further and I look forward to hearing from you
Sincrely,
Mike Garcia
Congressman, California’s 25th District”
State Senator Scott Wilk R-Santa Clarita, and Assemblyman Tom Lackey, R- Palmdale, submitted a similar letter to Governor Gavin Newsom a week prior urging him to give north county cities in Los Angeles County the ability to create their own Regional Recovery Plan and move to the next stage of his Resilience Roadmap and reopen.
“One size does not fit all when it comes to COVID-19 and the communities it has impacted. The governor already acknowledged that reality when he allowed counties to create their own recovery plans,” said Wilk in a statement. “Today we are requesting that the governor apply that same logic in Los Angeles County – which is the size of Michigan. The high desert portion of the County, which we represent, is being unfairly impacted by L.A. County’s continuing stay at home order.”
These letters to Governor Newsom follow Santa Clarita Mayor Cameron Smyth writing to Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger opposing the then-proposed extension to the County’s Safer at Home order.
“The County is more restrictive than the state,” said Santa Clarita Councilmember Bob Kellar. “We are in a position where we have to line up with the rest of them. I feel that we should write a very strong letter to the county, Barger, and articulate the reasons why the restrictions are over the top.”
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CA Gov will milk this for all its worth!!!
Pretty much everything is open already with the well needed masks policy. what more do you want? Our infection rate has not gone down its only going up. Stay calm wear those masks and go out and buy something in the in our valley to support our valley.
Restaurants. Small retail stores. Small Mom& Pop services. Bars & Pubs. Everyone in the Mall.
Their numbers are significant. Their employees number that times ten.
EVERY business is ESSENTIAL
Thank you for the sane, reasoned comment.
Hey Mike,
I think the letter should go more like this:
Dear Governor Newsom,
Where in the Constitution do you get the authority to close private business and then control how they operate when YOU allow them to reopen? Why do you close businesses like dentists and chiropractors but make damned sure the abortion clinics stay wide open. The people of the 25th District are fed up with your dictatorial tactics to control their individual lives.
I know you say it is for the good of the people but your Aunt Pelosi and I know it is your innate greed for power that keeps your thumb on the destruction of our capitalist economy so you can instill the socialism that you so desire.
It is time for you to stop this masquerade and let the citizens return to the normal that was present before your tyrannical reign and not force a “new normal” which you and I know will turn constituents into your subjects.
The Honorable Mike Garcia
How’s that, Mike?
Mike, perhaps you’d be more comfortable in a red state? Cheaper housing, less taxes and a mindset that is in line with yours.
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Dear governor Newsome
Thank you for the quick response on the recommendation of face covering for everyone at work and in public. It shows you have more common sense than our experts in the CDC. Now that we have everyone wearing them and this spread has slowed down I think it is time we release everyone and open everything up with a strict face covering policy in place.
Thank you
Mark, Gov. Newsom is enpowered by the state of emergency. Look it up!We should thank him for taking action in early March when there was no federal leadership to count on. Our California COVID-19 cases would be much higher if it wasn’t for him. Simple.
What is the number of cases he prevented by intruding on the lives of healthy productive people in our state?
Really? Why do you think you are still healthy, pure luck? Superiority? Don’t you think that lack of exposure to the illness has likely helped you to not get it?
Anne, great comment and absolutely true. It’s as if people are criticizing the stay at home order because it worked. We are the second most populous city/county in the nation and yet we had a fraction of the infections we witnessed in NYC. We should be thankful.