New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) is threatening to crack down on a small city for bucking her stay-at-home order and pushing to reopen businesses.
Grants Mayor Martin Hicks (D) encouraged businesses in his city of about 9,000 people to reopen on Monday, defying Grisham’s stay-at-home order over the coronavirus. Hicks says that the governor’s order, expected to last until at least May 15, is an overreaction and causing more harm than good.
“The governor is killing us. She’s totally killing us,” Hicks said Thursday, according to The Associated Press. “So we have no choice. So right now, we are reopening. Let State Police come down here.”
Dozens of businesses in Grants have petitioned to reopen. Hicks is working with Cibola County Sheriff Tony Mace to keep state troopers out of the city and county and prevent state law enforcement from fining businesses for violating the stay-at-home order.
Grisham responded to Hicks on Friday, claiming the mayor’s decision to reopen his city was putting the state at risk. Grisham warned nonessential businesses that follow Hick’s lead that they would be fined and forced to close down again, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.
“This notion that you don’t have to comply is wrong. That you can just open up businesses and not worry about public health issues is really quite frankly tantamount to opening up a public pool and having a pee section,” Lujan Grisham said. “This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, flies in the face of every single positive, productive, evidence-based public health effort and, quite frankly, I happen to know that the county commission is incredibly upset by these directions.”
New Mexico has reported less than 3,000 cases of the coronavirus and 104 deaths. The rural state is 38th in its total number of reported cases. On a per capita basis, New Mexico has about 1.35 cases per 1,000 people, between Texas with .87 cases and Georgia with 2.26. Georgia allowed nonessential businesses to reopen on Friday, and Texas is easing restrictions on businesses this week.
Michigan, which includes Detroit, has reported 3.8 cases of COVID-19 per 1,000 residents. New York, the epicenter for the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, has reported a far higher 15.33 cases per 1,000 people.
Grisham and Hicks are both Democrats, but the mayor says that Grisham has more interest in being a “little dictator” than making the right decisions for New Mexicans.
“The bottom line is, here’s the killer thing for me, is if Walmart and Smith’s can open with social distancing, then why can’t a clothing store, why can’t a liquor store, why can’t a gun store as long as they follow the same guidelines,” Hicks said. “She says they’re not essential. But if that’s the only way these people put food on their family is through that business, then by god that business is essential to them.”
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