Madison, WI – On Tuesday, Governor Tony Evers issued a third Executive Order extending the mask mandate another 60 days. The initial mandate was set to expire September 28.
Elected officials from Washington County are expressing their frustration with the new mask mandate.
Senator Duey Stroebel (R-Cedarburg) issued the following statement:
“I opposed Governor Evers’ second emergency order and continue to stand ready to rescind that order and Executive Order #90, which was issued today. Wisconsin citizens elected not only a Governor two years ago, but also a State Legislature and it is their expectation and mine that we would act quickly to end this unprecedented government overreach by Governor Evers. A single emergency order at the onset of this situation may have been appropriate, but Governor Evers ongoing desire to exercise unilateral control is unlawful and must be ended.”
“Governor Evers used the trajectory of positive cases to justify his second emergency order, but this same metric shows no benefit in preventing the spread of COVID-19 after seven weeks. Fortunately, Wisconsin’s COVID-19 related hospitalizations have remained under control, and Wisconsin’s COVID-19 death rate remains well below that of our neighboring states, and most states throughout the country. Many other localities, states, and countries had similarly underwhelming experiences with their own mask mandates prior to Governor Evers’ issuing his initial mask mandate, regardless of the level of public compliance.”
“A statewide approach to COVID-19 has always been a bad idea. The situation continues to vary greatly from region to region. I firmly believe local governments, businesses and families will achieve better results if they are able to evaluate their needs and act accordingly rather than following a one-size-fits-all directive from Governor Evers. The Legislature must convene and rescind this unlawful order to ensure our communities have that option.”
Questioned if the legislature knew the initial mask mandate would expire Sept. 28, 2020 did it do anything to prevent Gov. Evers from issuing a follow-up order? State Sen. Duey Strobel replied…
“I remain frustrated with the failure of leadership in both houses to get on the same page at the beginning of August with regard to swiftly reconvening the Legislature to lift the second emergency declaration and statewide mask mandate, which the letter of the law clearly allows. Instead, they opted to wait and see whether a “citizen’s group” could successfully overturn the edicts in court. As a result of this strategy, there was nothing (i.e., no court ruling) preventing Gov. Evers from issuing a third emergency declaration and extension of the mask mandate. Given his recent abuses of power, I am not surprised that Gov. Evers has continued his efforts to put Wisconsin into an endless state of emergency and maintain his period of unilateral rule.”
Rep. Gundrum Opposes Mask Mandate Extension
State Representative Rick Gundrum (R-Slinger) has released the following statement concerning the declaration of another public health emergency and an extension of the statewide mask mandate by Governor Tony Evers:
“Once again Governor Evers is authorizing unnecessary emergency orders and mask mandates without any input from the state legislature. Our government is designed with three branches, not one. The governor should have considered the thoughts of legislators and their constituents before acting unilaterally.
Ironically, the governor proves in his own executive order that the mask mandate has been ineffective. He points out that COVID-19 cases have continued to rise despite his order.
I call on all of my legislative colleagues to stand against this blatant and illegal power grab from Governor Evers. We should not pursue a statewide approach on the masks, but instead rely on local government, businesses, and individuals to decide what is best. I continue to oppose the mask mandate.”
