BEST initial response to the pandemic: Champaign Mayor Deb Feinen’s Emergency Order
It has been nine months and two days since I wrote this article about the value of Mayor Feinen and the rest of the city council taking decisive action on the the COVID-19 pandemic by passing an emergency order that would give her and City Manager Dorothy David broad powers to act in a crisis without the vote of council, if push came to shove, on any number of potentially life threatening crises.
At the time, there was no way of knowing what we were going to be facing together. It turns out, it was not only needed, but a necessary step towards making our city safer and more prepared than many others.
When our Mayor started receiving death threats for it, because human piece of shit Donald Trump Jr. tweeted out in defiance of it, it should have been fair warning to all of us that this wasn’t just going to be political, it was going to get out of hand.
I, for one, am still grateful for that courageous move. We could debate the merits of how its been executed, and on that, there would be plenty to unpack. But for the sake of brevity and giving credit where it is due, I am glad to have had Mayor Feinen and her consistently steady approach to governance in place during this crisis. (Seth Fein)
Top image from City of Champaign’s website.
