» Higbie measure blocking mask citations fails to get on agenda.
GREENWICH — An attempt to block enforcement of mask mandates in town failed to make the agenda for the Representative Town Meeting on Monday night, but its author promised to renew his efforts for a debate at the October meeting.
RTM member Carl Higbie of District 8 put forward a proposed ordinance that would prevent the town from enforcing the state’s mask mandates on individuals and businesses. Higbie said that he is not anti-mask and that the proposed ordinance would not ban masks — but he said mask-wearing is a choice better left to individuals to make than to be ordered by the government.
The ordinance also said that the town “will not require or force upon any business or commerce to cease or slow operations or close in response” to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the proposal was not on the RTM’s agenda for Monday night. Adding it to the agenda required support from twothirds of the members. But when it was introduced Monday night, only 22 members voted in favor of adding the proposal to the agenda, with 170 voting against and two abstentions.
By the time Higbie’s ordinance was heard Monday, it was nearly 11:30 p.m. and the meeting had been going for nearly four-and-ahalf hours.
He can submit the item as an agenda item for the agenda for the RTM’s October meeting. On Tuesday, Higbie said that was what he intended to do. To get his ordinance onto the call in October, He would need to get 20 signatures from town residents on a petition. The deadline for the petition is Oct. 2.
“I knew this vote was going to end similar to the way it did,” Higbie said. “It was 11:30 at night and no one wanted to take on yet another bill to debate. The mission was accomplished, though. People are talking about it and when it is on the agenda in October we will have the full debate.”
The RTM adopted a policy last year that ordinances are read at one meeting so there can be debate and vote at the next meeting. No meeting is scheduled for November so the earliest Higbie’s ordinance could be voted upon would be the Dec. 14 meeting.
“This bill is about letting individuals make decisions pertaining to themselves and their businesses,” Higbie said Monday night. “It’s about freedoms that we enjoy that are uniquely
American. This bill only seeks to govern what we can as a town. It does not circumvent state laws. That is not an issue.”
However, Town Attorney Vincent Marino has said that the executive order on masks that was recently extended by Gov. Ned Lamont cannot be overruled by an act of Greenwich’s RTM.
In town, First Selectman Fred Camillo enacted a mask rule for employees of businesses where food is handled. Camillo has been a strong advocate for masks to mitigate transmission of the coronavirus and says residents should wear them when they are unable to practice social distancing.
Earlier this month, Camillo said he did not expect there would be much support for Higbie’s proposal and said he had received “overwhelming support” for his policies since March.
At Monday’s meeting, Higbie spoke briefly as he introduced the motion. But when he attempted to get into its merits, he was cut off by RTM Moderator Tom Byrne since debate was not yet permitted under RTM rules.
During his brief speech, Higbie
referred to the coronavirus as the “China virus,” a term condemned by many as racist. The U.S. House passed a resolution last week condemning “all forms of anti-Asian sentiment as related to COVID-19.”
Higbie also countered criticism for the name of his bill, which repeats a phrase that has been used for decades to campaign for women’s reproductive rights.
“Some people have said they are offended by the name of the bill ‘My Body, My Choice/My Business, My Choice’,” Higbie said. “Offended is what people do when they don’t have a valid counter-argument.”
Higbie is a the host of a show on the right-wing NewsMax channel and once worked in the Trump administration as chief of external affairs for the Corporation for National and Community Service. He resigned after bigoted and sexist comments he made on an online radio show were brought to light. Higbie has apologized for those comments, which he said were an attempt to be a radio “shock jock.”