Georgia Governor sues to end cities’ defiance on mask rules
ATLANTA (WDEF) – The Governor of Georgia went to court on Thursday to block the city of Atlanta from enforcing a mandate to wear face masks.
The Governor issued a new executive order on Wednesday specifically banning the mandates in 15 cities across Georgia.
His previous orders had stated that no local governments could impose stricter policies than the state on the pandemic.
That was used to keep Dade County from closing down Cloudland Canyon State Park in the early days of the outbreak.
But after Governor Kemp declined to require mask use in Georgia, more cities have taken action on their own.
The confrontation seemed to come to a head when President Trump arrived in Atlanta and the Mayor threatened to fine him for violating the mask order at the airport.
Soon afterwards, the Governor issued his order to countermand the city ordinances.
But on Thursday, several of the mayors continued to defy his order.
Rome Mayor Bill Collins is one who is going along with it, saying his city’s mask mandate is now “null and void.”
But other mayors are ready to go to court.
Mayor Kelly Girtz of Athens says he has spoken to his attorneys and believes their mandate will hold up in court.
Mayor Girtz says he is frustrated by Governor Kemp’s “ad hoc” response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mayor Van Johnson from Savannah is more blunt.
“I’m not going to mince words. We believe that Governor Kemp is overstepping his authority. With that being said, our emergency declaration still stands.”
The target of the Governor’s lawsuit, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, says she is ready for the fight.
“I am not afraid of the city being sued and I’ll put our policies up against anyone’s, any day of the week.”
The Atlanta suburban mayors in Doraville, East Point and South Fulton are also all disputing the Governor’s order.
Governor Kemp has not spoken publicly about the challenge yet, but will hold a press conference Friday morning on the Covid-19 response.
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