Dems press Kemp to roll back reopening order

Georgia Democratic lawmakers are urging Gov. Brian Kemp to roll back his decision to reopen several categories of businesses including gyms and restaurants as coronavirus continues to sicken and kill people in the state.

Democratic caucuses in both the state House and Senate have asked Kemp to rescind his reopening orders, which will allow many businesses like dine-in restaurants, gyms, barbershops and bowling alleys to resume operations by Monday.

The governor has framed the phased-in reopening as a “measured action” that will help businesses get back on their feet after weeks of financial turmoil brought on by forced statewide closures.

In an unusual turn of events, many Georgia Democratic leaders also found their views on the matter aligned with one of their most ardent foes, President Donald Trump.

The president said Wednesday night Kemp’s decision was “just too soon” in light of federal guidelines that call for reopening businesses only after a decline in positive coronavirus cases has been seen for 14 consecutive days, which has not happened yet in Georgia.

“I think the president said exactly what we said on Tuesday, which is it’s too much, too soon,” said Georgia House Minority Leader Bob Trammell, D-Luthersville.

Kemp and state officials have also taken heat for not having a robust enough system for testing and contact tracing to quickly pinpoint where outbreaks may occur once people go back to work.

Many of those points against a swift reopening were made by members of the House Democratic Caucus, who held a video news conference Thursday to criticize Kemp’s approach to reopening businesses.

“Given what we know, this decision to reopen is a bad decision and we need to not go forward with it,” said Rep. Roger Bruce, D-Atlanta.

The live meeting followed a letter penned earlier in the week asking the governor to reverse course and keep the mandatory business closures until the state has seen a 14-day decline in cases.

The letter also urged Kemp to allow city and county governments to impose their own economic restrictions, which they cannot do under the governor’s statewide order.

On Thursday, Rep. Karla Drenner said municipal governments should intervene by imposing strict local rules if they want, regardless of Kemp’s overriding order.

“I call upon our mayors, our county commissioners, to step forward with bold safety plans that protect our businesses and the least among us,” said Drenner, D-Avondale Estates. “We as a community need to intervene and take care of each other.”

Thursday’s news conference by House Democrats followed a separate letter sent Wednesday by the Senate Democratic Caucus, which also pressed Kemp to “immediately rescind” his reopening order.

On top of health concerns and limited testing, the letter by Senate Democrats warned reopening businesses too soon might backfire if a second coronavirus wave hits and customers lose confidence that they can be safe in public.

“History shows that reopening these businesses too soon will slow our efforts to create healthy communities,” the Senate letter says.

Meanwhile, many Republican state lawmakers and officials have come to Kemp’s defense, including House Speaker David Ralston, RBlue Ridge, and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan.

The governor’s backers point out businesses are not being required to reopen but may do so if they choose in order to start recovering from the economic toll the closures have had on Georgia over the past month.

“I’m very proud of Gov. Brian Kemp’s leadership throughout this whole (coronavirus) situation!” Rep. David Clark, R-Buford, said on Facebook. “He and the experts know what’s best for GA and I stand with him 100%!”