Madison – Recently, the village of Whitefish Bay enacted a mask ordinance. I fully support the right of local governments and health officials to make decisions based on data pertinent to their area, in this case Whitefish Bay, and make the choice they feel is best for their community.
On Thursday Governor Evers issued a statewide edict for the wearing of masks. As we know, some counties are “hot spots”, some have very few cases and there are others where we don’t have accurate information due to data being withheld. That being the case, I strongly disagree with the statewide mask order. The mask order appears to be political gamesmanship and it is no coincidence the order takes effect the day the new State Supreme Court is seated and virtual signaling less than ten days before the Democratic National Convention convenes in Milwaukee.
My office takes calls on a daily bases from constituents who are struggling and in danger of losing their homes, are unsure how to put food on their table and are being forced to go without income due to the economic impacts of COVID. Instead of fixing problems at the Department of Workforce Development, the Governor is instead playing politics. We know hospital and fatality rates have declined significantly, and everyone is free to wear a mask wherever and whenever they want. In fact, many businesses already require customers to wear a mask.
To impose a statewide mask order based on incomplete data and game playing is reckless and negligent. I call on Governor Evers to focus on getting Wisconsin back to work and solving the unemployment crisis at his Department of Workforce Development.
