FORT WORTH (1080 KRLD) - There will be no mask mandate in the City of Fort Worth.
By a 5-4 vote, the Fort Worth City Council voted against a proposal to require masks in city buildings.
Mayor Mattie Parker said she couldn't support it because Gov. Abbott's executive order gives the city no way to enforce it.
"Anytime you say something is mandatory and at the bottom of it say it's not enforceable, it's incredibly confusing, and you are putting the onus on city staff, in libraries, our marshals (and) our police officers," says Mayor Parker.
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Chris Nettles was one of the council members who made the proposal; he argued that politicians in Austin should not be making decisions for cities.
"(Gov.) Greg Abbott does not know anything about Fort Worth," says Nettles. "He does not live here, he does not shop here, (and) he does not sit on this dais."
About a dozen people addressed the council prior to the vote, with opinions being split nearly evenly.
"The state level is too big to know what the situation is on the ground in local areas," says Greg Hughes.
"This is about science; this isn't and about politics. But unfortunately, it has become highly politicized," says Doyle Fine.
"If you pass this to do the mask, it just encourages me not to take the shot," says Bob Willoughby.
The vote was split almost entirely along ideological lines, with Gyna Bivens joining the four conservatives on the council in voting no.
"My mind went to those news accounts that I saw where workers on the front line got attacked," says Bivens. "I think I even saw one news account (that said) one got killed."
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