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Critics fear fallout from Sonoma County sheriff's defiance on public health order

The Press Democrat - 5/31/2020

May 31--With much of California racing toward reopening from shutdowns aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus, Sonoma County became an outlier as health officials hit pause on lifting restrictions that were growing unpopular as the weeks and months rolled by.

The county had been rolling on a reopening track until health officials found worrisome COVID-19 trends, including a doubling of new cases in the past two weeks, and called for a 14-day hold on additional relaxation of the stay-at-home order imposed in mid-March.

Just before the brakes were applied, the county had allowed restaurants, wineries and breweries that serve food to resume outdoor dining, provided they maintain public health protocols.

Before county Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase halted reopening, businesses and residents were hoping for more relief after Gov. Gavin Newsom cleared the way at the beginning of last week for counties such as Sonoma to push forward, if ready, with reopening shopping malls, barbershops, hair salons and in-person church services.

But the county's social and political landscape was jolted as the sheriff and Santa Rosa's bishop went rogue, forming a front line of opposition to Mase's authority and the way in which she and other officials have managed the emergency and communicated with the public.

The stunning moves introduced a level of discord at the top of county government and, critics said, emboldened the public to flout rules aimed at protecting the community from the ravages of a virus that has infected 553 residents and left 327 currently active cases as of Saturday.

The bombshell was Sheriff Mark Essick's announcement that deputies, effective Monday, would no longer enforce the March 17 stay-at-home order that constricted business, deepening massive job losses and restraints on education, recreation and daily life.

Longtime observers of local government said Essick's surprise decision was without precedent and one said it had gender and racial overtones.

Tim Smith of Santa Rosa, who served for 20 years straight as a county supervisor and worked with four sheriffs, said none of them had done anything like it.

"This is, I have to say, extraordinary," said Smith, who represented the Third District from 1989 to 2009. "I just can't believe this is the action of a sworn officer of this county."

Essick made a tough call in ordering a mass evacuation during the Kincade fire last year, Smith said, but set back the coronavirus campaign by encouraging noncompliance with the public health order that is grating on some members of the community and cost the county 47,800 jobs in April.

"Like throwing gasoline on the fire," Smith said.

He also recalled that Bishop Robert Vasa said his inclination to reopen the Cathedral of St. Eugene for services on Sunday was influenced in part by the sheriff's halt to enforcement of the order.

"This is exactly the problem," Smith said.

Mase said the church reopening would violate the order, and Vasa on Saturday retreated from his plan to allow 100 people into the Santa Rosa landmark cathedral for Masses on Pentecost Sunday.

Essick, a 26-year Sheriff's Office veteran who was elected to his job two years ago, said the rules in some cases seemed arbitrary. He complained that Mase and the health department had withheld information that might help the public understand the disease's impact.

Essick did not return phone calls Saturday seeking comment for this story.

David McCuan, a Sonoma State University political scientist, said some of the sheriff's complaints are legitimate, but faulted him for going public with his grievances.

"That doesn't create solutions," he said. "Good leaders provide solutions, they don't exacerbate problems."

The best way for bureaucrats to resolve their differences is "to do it offstage," McCuan said.

The pandemic presents Sonoma County with a dilemma common to government: the need to make critical decisions without sufficient resources.

"Do you test or do you track (people possibly exposed to the virus)," he said. "You're supposed to do both but can't afford to do so. You end up making sub-optimal choices."

Cynthia Boaz, an SSU professor of political science, said open disagreements among public agencies "undermine the stability of the community."

Essick's move, in particular, sends a message to the public that "maybe they don't have to follow the law, either," she said.

Boaz said it was troubling that both the bishop and the sheriff were "politicizing a public health crisis" in a way that could have "grave consequences to the county."

She also suggested the controversy has a gender and race element.

"I don't think it reflects well on the sheriff's department to have a white man put out the statement that he knows better about health policy than two women of color," Boaz said. "At the very least what you can say is it's not good optics."

Mase and Department of Health Services Director Barbie Robinson are both women of color.

Herman Hernandez, a Latino community leader from Guerneville, said the policy prompted him to resign from the Sheriff's Office'sLatino Advisory Committee.

Essick did not consult with the panel, formed in 2010 and empowered to select its own members, over his decision to shelve enforcement of the health order, Hernandez said, noting that the virus has heavily impacted the Latino community.

The county recently published demographic data showing that Latino residents, who represent 27% of the population, account for 70% of the reported cases of COVID-19.

"I just can't go back to the (committee) table," said Hernandez, a founder of Latino leadership group Los Cien.

District Attorney Jill Ravitch weighed in Saturday with a criticism of the sheriff's decision not to enforce the public health order.

"Yes, it is difficult to enforce and at times may seem arbitrary," she said. "That said, the sheriff and I both know our role is not to make policy but to enforce the rules."

Asked if the sheriff was wrong, she said, "He can interpret his role any way he likes."

Ravitch noted the sheriff's position "is at odds with other law enforcement agencies and creates unnecessary inconsistent messages throughout the county."

No other local police agency has followed Essick's lead, and Santa Rosa Police Chief Ray Navarro and others have vowed to enforce Mase's order.

The District Attorney's Office will investigate complaints from the public related to violations of the order, Ravitch said.

Chris Coursey, a former Santa Rosa mayor who will join the Board of Supervisors in January, said disagreements are not new to county government but faulted Essick for his abrupt departure from the pack.

"This is the chief law enforcement officer saying he's not going to enforce a law because he doesn't like it," Coursey said. "But his department is not an island. He's part of a team."

But he said he agreed with Essick that Mase and other county officials could have done a better job of communication and transparency in managing the pandemic.

A former Press Democrat reporter and columnist, Coursey said the suffering and loss of life in coronavirus hotspots like New York City shows "there are worse things than a shutdown."

Coursey said he wants to see the county's economy open up to "ease our pain," but "all of us have to trust the experts to tell us when it is safe to open."

Supervisor David Rabbitt heartily agreed that Essick should have addressed his complaints about the health order internally.

The order, however, is "a lot less clear than it should be," contributing to the public frustration over its implementation. For example, Rabbitt said, the decisions over what constitutes an essential versus a nonessential business is "not always based on a health risk."

Alma Aceves, a Santa Rosa resident who has lived in the county for 40 years, said in an email that Essick's decision made her feel unsafe.

"How dare he allow our community to be exposed to a high risk," she said. "I thought his job is to serve and protect."

Ticking off the things people have missed in the shutdown -- seeing friends, milestones like birthdays and graduations and going to church -- Aceves said, "We have sacrificed all that was our normal."

Steve Farmiloe, a businessman and lifelong Santa Rosa resident, said he wholeheartedly supports the sheriff, who is a personal friend.

"I know he is a man of integrity," Farmiloe said in an email. "Weighing the importance of getting our economy back on track locally is worth the perceived risk."

Farmiloe said the media has blown the issue "out of proportion and seems to thrive on creating a fear and distrust of humankind."

"The government control on our lives has gone on long enough," he said.

Bishop Vasa, who oversees a six-county diocese with about 196,000 Catholics, changed course on Saturday by announcing the cathedral would remain closed to the public.

In a note posted on the cathedral website, Vasa said Santa Rosa's city manager "has called Police Chief Navarro and asked him to find out which churches were planning to open 'in violation of the health order.' Thus, the stage is set for an 'unwinnable' confrontation."

You can reach Staff Writer Guy Kovner at 707-521-5457 or guy.kovner@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @guykovner.

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