Denton city leaders who have shown support for defying the governor's mask order have called an emergency meeting this afternoon.
"The things that have been talked about would be everything from a [mask] mandate across the city … a mandate to city employees, to any variation thereof," says Denton Mayor Gerard Hudspeth, who did not call the meeting and says he really doesn't know what it will bring. "I fully expect that there's going to be a discussion about some sort of mandate and what that would entail."
Hudspeth says it's important for the city to be careful about how it conflicts with the governor. After all, he says city officials wouldn't want people ignoring their orders.
"We have to model that as a city. We have to say, 'Hey, let's schedule a meeting with Governor Abbott," Hudspeth says. "Before I say 'Hey, I'm going to ignore you' … I should probably have a conversation with you."
He also says specific entities, like school districts, should be trusted to manage themselves. Meanwhile, he worries a mask mandate would create more conflict.
"Those that are adverse to masks are not going to pivot just because there's a mandate in place," Hudspeth says. "I think it's important to take actions, but I think it's important to take actions that lead us towards herd immunity, and not ask people to dig in deeper and fight us more."
He says the community should be focusing on getting as many people vaccinated as possible.
