Atwater leaders remain defiant against Newsom’s COVID-19 rules, amid support and criticism
Atwater City Hall was buzzing Monday night with a crowd that spilled outside of the council chambers.
Most were gathered in anticipation of Mayor Paul Creighton’s statement about the state cutting off the city’s Coronavirus Relief Funds, due to its stance that defies Gov. Gavin Newsom’s COVID-19 orders.
Atwater was notified last week that up to $389,000 in state assistance will be withheld until City Council rescinds its sanctuary city for all businesses resolution. Passed unanimously in May, the resolution permitted all businesses and churches to reopen ahead of Newsom’s staged plan without facing consequences from local enforcement.
City Council members and the mayor have adamantly stated that they continue to back the sanctuary city declaration, despite the warning from the state’s Office of Emergency Services.
“Look the people of Atwater in the eye and tell them you’re not picking pandemic winners and losers,” Creighton said Monday at the meeting, directing his words to Newsom. “Apparently Atwater’s problem is that it hitched its wagon to the wrong political horse.”
Creighton said rescinding the resolution would cost the city more than it could ever gain. “The latest ultimatum will not sway our resolve,” he affirmed.
However, community reaction was more mixed Monday than when the resolution was first passed in May. Back then, just one resident spoke against defying the governor’s orders.
On Monday, a majority of the nearly 30 emailed comments and a smattering of speakers asked the City Council to rescind its resolution, so the city can receive the withheld funds.
“Donald Trump is not going to bail this city out,” Atwater resident Mary McWatters said to Creighton at the meeting.
Still, those speakers who were physically present at the meeting largely supported Atwater in its business sanctuary city stance. “We give you our support 110%,” said Donald Covington, president of the Old Town Atwater Association.
Outside supporters draw rebuke by some
Atwater’s stance against the state has drawn both vehement support and backlash from the community — and people from other areas of the state.
A well-known California anti-vaccine coalition known as the Freedom Angels called on its members to attend Monday’s meeting in support of the city’s defiance. The group has recently organized protests against coronavirus mandates they believe are undermining individuals’ civil liberties.
The Freedom Angels co-founders posted a live video to their Facebook page. About 19,000 viewers watched the rallying message for Atwater as of Monday night.
“We are all asking for everybody: all hands on deck, no matter how far away that you live,” said Heidi Muñoz Gleisner, a Freedom Angels co-founder from the Bay Area, in the video. “We have lots of people coming out from all different counties . . . we want this spilling out into the streets,” she added.
Gleisner said in the video that Atwater City Council and the mayor asked the Freedom Angels to attend — a point that incensed some Atwater residents. It’s still unclear whether Creighton and the council did indeed invite the group.
“It’s absolutely astonishing that the mayor of Atwater would have invited this group in,” Atwater resident Caleb Hampton told the Sun-Star. “What kind of message are you sending to your own constituents when you have to drum up support for your own political project from people who don’t live in your own community?”
Several residents who emailed comments to City Council told the Sun-Star that they didn’t physically attend the meeting to speak out against the resolution. Those residents said they felt unsafe being in a crowded room where many attendees were not wearing masks or social distancing.
“All kinds of hardheaded people will flood into our town to attend tonight’s City Council meeting . . . People that could potentially bring COVID with them, could expose others that live here that plan on attending tonight,” said Atwater resident Renee Pena in an email to the city, which she also sent to the Sun-Star.
Kristen Zdanowski said she wanted to attend the City Council meeting to show that not every Atwater resident supports the resolution. She said both she and her husband have health problems that make them susceptible to COVID-19.
“There’s a group of people in Atwater who aren’t happy, and whose voices aren’t being heard, and whose voices are now going to be drowned out by someone else,” she told the Sun-Star. “That’s what’s upsetting me today, and it was done at the request of our mayor.”
This story was originally published July 28, 2020 at 6:00 AM.