Politicians face credibility crisis after dining jaunts
SAN FRANCISCO – Their messaging has been clear: wear a mask, stay 6 feet apart from others and, most importantly, stay home.
But their actions aren’t living up to the rhetoric, creating a political problem for some of the most vocal leaders in California’s fight to contain the coronavirus.
First came Gov. Gavin Newsom, who won plaudits for issuing the first statewide stay-at-home order in the U.S. in March. He broke the state rules when he and his wife were caught dining with 10 others at the posh French Laundry restaurant in Napa in November with lobbyists and others from numerous different households, sitting close together, maskless.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed was at the same $350-a-plate restaurant a day later. Breed has also won accolades for imposing some of the strictest rules in California, keeping coronavirus rates relatively low. Her spokesman said Breed has been trying to support local restaurants. The French Laundry is 60 miles out of town.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo on Tuesday admitted to an outdoor Thanksgiving dinner at his parents’ home with people from five different households after tweeting that everyone should stay home for Thanksgiving.
And a Los Angeles County supervisor headed to dinner at an outdoor restaurant hours after she voted to ban outdoor dining, calling it “a most dangerous situation.”
“We’re all really feeling the strain of this, but there is really that element of hypocrisy. So many who are struggling right now, and then you see them going to these very fancy social affairs and mixing with folks outside their immediate bubble,” said Melinda Jackson, a political science professor at San Jose State University.
Other Democrats have also been caught flouting their own guidance. Steve Adler, mayor of Austin, Texas, apologized Wednesday after a newspaper reported that he was in Mexico with family in November as he urged people to stay home amid worsening coronavirus caseloads.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock asked residents to “forgive decisions that are borne of my heart and not my head” after traveling to Mississippi for Thanksgiving while he told others to stay home.
The revelations come at a critical time as the nation deals with a spike in case rates, hospitalizations and deaths. It’s more important than ever that we follow the rules, the public is told. But when the same leaders aren’t following the guidelines themselves, their credibility is questioned.
Kim Elsbach, a professor of management at the University of California, Davis and Newberry chair in leadership, said consistency is critical to believing someone has integrity.
“One of the primary reasons people choose the leaders they do is because they believe they have ideals they can count on,” she said. “People are really stressed out by what they call uncertainty – not knowing what’s going to happen today, tomorrow or yesterday. When we choose leaders, we really want them to be consistent over time, especially in their values, their morals or their ideals.”
The mea culpas have been across the board, or not at all.
Experts said that acknowledging your mistake and apologizing quickly are key to moving on from a political crisis.
“It’s better to just say, ‘I screwed up, it was dumb, I’m sorry, and it’s important that we follow these guidelines,’ ” Elsbach said. “It only takes one event to lose that trust, that inconsistency, and it takes a long time to regain it.”
How can they move on in the midst of a crisis?
“I would say to absolutely be on their best behavior from now on,” Jackson said.