MACON, Ga. — Macon-Bibb Mayor Robert Reichert says the county won't require people to wear masks for now. On Monday, he vetoed a mask mandate that county commissioners passed last week.
The mayor had 10 days to sign the emergency order or veto it, which he did on Tuesday.
Macon-Bibb County Mayor Robert Reichert says he had to make this decision because the mandate would have been "unenforceable."
Reichert says the county can only do so much legally to get people to wear masks. Governor Kemp's executive order prohibits local governments from doing more or less than the Governor set in his order.
Reichert says a local mandate would have sent mixed messages.
"We wanted to avoid the situation where people were confronted with one order by the mayor and one order by the Governor that have two completely different sets of conduct. You put individuals in a dilemma of which one to obey," Reichert said.
Reichert says he believes the county can more effectively get people to wear masks by encouraging rather than mandating.
"Since I can't enforce it, it would make some people mad and say, 'I ain't gonna do it because you don't have the authority to make me do it,' but if you ask them, 'Please, please do this,' and explain why, you may get better participation voluntarily than you would be by mandating something you can't enforce," Reichert said.
The mayor added that when Governor Kemp signed his executive order, it also deputized all sheriffs in the state to enforce that order, so the Bibb County Sheriff's Office would not be able to enforce a mandate if it became an ordinance.
Now, there's talk among some commissioners about overriding the veto.
"Something like wearing a mask, it just seems ridiculous to me that anyone would have a problem with that," said Elaine Lucas, District 3 commissioner.
Lucas says she would be in favor of overriding it. However, the question is, "Are there enough votes?" It takes 6 out of 9 commissioners to override it.
The emergency mask mandate passed 7-2 in commission last Tuesday. However, one of the seven yes votes was Commissioner Valerie Wynn abstaining, which counted as a "yes" under county rules.
Wynn says looking back, she wish she voted no. She says she will not vote to override the veto.
Then, Commissioner Mallory Jones was on the fence of whether or not to vote in favor last Tuesday, saying he didn't like the fact the mask mandate was enforced outdoors, but he ended up voting in favor of the mandate.
Jones says he's still thinking about whether or not he'll vote to override.
It could be as soon as this Tuesday that the commission will discuss whether or not to override.
Despite Monday's decision, the mayor and commission are still encouraging everyone to wear a mask when they cannot maintain social distancing.
Many of the commissioners have spoken up about their thoughts on the veto:
Statement from Mayor Pro Tem Al Tillman:
“...I don’t like it when commission member are put against each other. This mandate was a long conversation and discussion. At this time there are not enough votes to override a veto. I wish the Mayor had not done this. He has said to me let’s work for this community until this term ends. His veto is going to cause a serious problem moving forward with the current members. Some of us support his initiatives and his budget and this is how he shows his appreciation. I don’t think he listens to his staff members anymore."
Statement from District 1 Commissioner Valerie Wynn:
"I am an avid and active supporter of wearing masks and have done so from the onset of this pandemic. But the fact is that this particular ordinance violates the Governor’s executive order and therefore is not enforceable, in a sense, this is like breaking the law for me. I also did not agree to the strict adherence of wearing masks. In the open air which is a safe place to be when also social distancing. After the vote last week when I abstained, I gave it further thought and in light of what I just stated, I should have just voted no. Most all businesses are now requiring that masks be worn to enter which is taking care of a mandate in its own way. All we can do at this juncture is stress wearing masks and hope for the good sense, intelligence and personal responsibility of our citizens. So let me finish by urging everyone to wear a mask - it is really a simple thing to do."
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