WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – Jefferson County Board of Legislators Chairman Scott Gray is under fire for declaring a state of emergency and issuing a mask requirement.
Gray held a news conference Wednesday declaring a state of emergency due to rising COVID infections and concerns area hospitals will be overwhelmed with patients.
On Thursday, nine county lawmakers asked for a special meeting of the Board of Legislators next Tuesday, where they’ll consider repealing the state of emergency and censuring Gray.
(Editor’s note – an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the special meeting was sought for Monday. In fact it’s Tuesday at 6 PM.)
“Our objections are that the governmental authority rests with the Board of Legislators and the way that Chairman Gray went about declaring a state of emergency was a deliberate circumvention of the board’s oversight,” said Legislator Jeremiah Maxon (R. – District 10).
Maxon said lawmakers were especially unhappy because Gray did not raise the issue of a state of emergency at Tuesday’s board meeting, and waited until after the meeting to notify the rest of the board.
The lawmakers also take issue with the mask requirement, which Gray said will not be legally enforced. It’s possible the state of emergency will be altered to remove the mask requirement rather than repealed completely, Maxon said.
“A requirement is a mandate,” Maxon said. When you make a mandate and say we’re not going to enforce it, it’s going to lead to arbitrary and uneven enforcement.”
Gray tells 7 News it was clear that a state of emergency was being contemplated, and that only two legislators bothered to show up to Wednesday’s news conference. He said it wouldn’t have made any sense to raise the matter at Tuesday’s board meeting, because that would – in effect – have pre-empted Wednesday’s press conference.
“They can deny COVID all they want to. It doesn’t make it go away. This doesn’t surprise me, considering the source,” said Gray.
Gray, a Republican, and the more conservative part of the board have not been getting along most of this year. It’s not clear whether anything can be voted on Monday, since 10 legislators’ votes are required to bring a motion before the legislature, and only nine legislators signed the letter requesting Monday’s meeting.
Gray added that he stands behind the decision that was made.
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