Antioch may fire official who wrote post on virus
Antioch City Council will meet in a special session Friday to discuss removing an official who called for an end to shelter in place in a social media post, suggesting “we as a species need to move forward with our place on Earth” and should let the coronavirus kill older and weaker individuals.
Mayor Sean Wright said that city officials and residents have questioned the ability of Planning Commission Chair Ken Turnage II. Wright said he called for the special meeting after Turnage refused to resign.
“We wish to emphasize that we remain committed to listening to the public’s concerns, and we recognize that we have an obligation to the residents of the City of Antioch to act swiftly to respond to their concerns,” Wright said in a statement.
It was not clear how many residents had complained or expressed concern about the
remarks.
Turnage did not immediately return inquiries seeking comment Thursday.
The controversy started when Turnage said in a Facebook post on his personal page that “the shelter in place needs to end.”
Turnage started the post by saying “this opinion will not be popular and could easily anger some of you” before comparing the virus to a “human version” of a forest fire, according to a copy of the post obtained by The Chronicle and confirmed by City Clerk Arne Simonsen.
“A forest fire will burn through and burn off all the dead trees, old trees, fallen brush and scrub shrub sucklings that drain the resources of the forest and causing it to be unhealthy,” he wrote. “What happens in a standard forest fire is all these portions of the forest are burned off turned into ash that fertilizes the ground.”
Turnage went on to suggest that a significant number of deaths, including of older individuals, “would reduce burdens in our defunct Social Security System, health care cost (once the wave subsided), make jobs available for others and it would also free up housing.”
He acknowledged that many could die, including healthy individuals — “maybe even myself but that is the way of the World!”
“Yes I am sorry but this would fix what is a significant burden on our society and resources that can be used,” he wrote.
Simonsen told The Chronicle that the comments demonstrated poor judgment and added that Turnage, a “plainspeaking kind of guy,” could have worded his views differently.
“To me it was just unfortunate,” Simonsen said, adding that the post was “a little hard on older people” who he considers himself among. “People make mistakes. Maybe I’m a little forgiving.”
He called a Turnage a “very good man” who is wellknown and runs a general contracting business. His employees “love him to death,” said Simonsen, who said he expects Turnage to be removed from his position Friday.
“I think it was just a poor choice on his part but if you take his whole life at a whole,” he said before listing fundraisers and causes that Turnage has supported. “People that know him know that it’s out of character for him.”
As of Thursday, Contra Costa County had recorded 27 COVID19 deaths and 891 confirmed coronavirus cases.
In his statement, Mayor Wright said city officials are committed to “maintaining public confidence and trust in our city government.”
“As public officials in one of the largest and most diverse cities in Contra Costa County, we are called to serve all residents of Antioch; whether young or old, rich or poor, healthy or unhealthy, housed or unhoused,” he said.