In response to the article about the continued masking in Town buildings in which I was quoted, along with the mayor, I would like to say thanks to The Times for accurately quoting me from my call to public comments at the Nov. 16 Town Council meeting.
As of today, Nov. 29, mask mandates and restrictions have not yet been lifted, although I was told 30 days ago that they had plans to review this. I found it interesting that the Town Manager had indicated to me that it was the mayor's authority to impose such restrictions under the guise of a state and local emergency, but Mayor Dickey appeared to back away from this in the article by saying, “the decision to continue masks was not mine alone, but one I fully supported.”
Well, this begs the question, “Who decided this if not you, Mayor?” Were you not the final say in this? Our own Town Council did not even vote on this decision, so who decided?
You have the power to withdraw these restrictions on Fountain Hills residents, Mayor Dickey. Imposing ineffective mask wearing in these three locations while most in the community go maskless throughout the rest of their day is indeed virtue signaling and not a safety policy against COVID. The adults in Fountain Hills should be able to choose whether or not to wear a face covering while attending Town meetings or events.
Show me the science you based this decision on, Mayor. Actual science, with controlled variables, showing that wearing masks made any significant difference in reducing COVID transmission.
