Finally, the LA Times take up Oroville's declaration of "constitutional republic"

This story has been all over the California, national and even international media in recent weeks, and now Hailey Branson-Potts weighs in with coverage for the Los Angeles Times--on the front-page no less.  As is characteristic of her reporting, Branson-Potts brings us many local voices, including that of Scott Thomson, the vice mayor of Oroville and the brains behind the "constitutional republic" resolution.  Here are some excerpts: 

For some, the declaration was a stand for freedom. But others in town saw it as a reckless tantrum amid an ongoing pandemic that has killed more than 73,000 Californians.

Regarding Thomson's views in particular, the story includes these paragraphs:

“Now that the mandates have gone from not just putting something on the outside of your body or modifying how you run your business, but now shoving something inside your body that nobody knows the long-term effects of, that’s just like, OK, now you’re, in my opinion, crossing the line,” Thomson said.

Thomson, the pastor of an Assembly of God church, said he is not anti-mask or opposed to the vaccine for people who want it. He said he and his sons are not vaccinated but that they now have antibodies after a mild bout with COVID-19 in August.

“There are people out there who are like, ‘This whole thing is a hoax,’” Thomson said. “We are not like that, just being reckless.”

He said that unvaccinated city employees are tested weekly for COVID-19 at the city’s expense. And his church has handed out hundreds of masks to congregants.

Interestingly, Thomson declined to appear on a northern California radio program about the Oroville move, but he did appear recently on Fox News to talk about his stance.  

The Branson-Potts story continues:   

Oroville resident Celia Hirschman lost her father, former San Francisco poet laureate Jack Hirschman, to COVID-19 three months ago. She said the resolution insults people who have lost loved ones or are immunocompromised, just to score political points.

“It says we’re cowboys, and we’re not going to live by your rules,” she said. “I don’t think it’s about open dialogue at all. I feel it’s a dangerous measure that they have no business adding to our charter.”

* * * 

Brian Wong, who opened the Union Bar & Grill in Oroville in fall 2019, said he thought the city’s statement about the mandates was “very courageous.”

As a small-business owner, Wong said he felt like he had to navigate complicated and ever-changing state rules on his own.

“You felt angry, you felt weak. For a whole year, it was nothing but fear and anger going through this whole system,” he said. “Seeing politics creep into all of it, it felt like they were not being sincere about health and safety.”

Wong, who also owns the 109-year-old Chinese restaurant Tong Fong Low, said he spent a lot of money to build a patio for outdoor dining and required his dozens of employees to wear masks for more than a year, until vaccines became widely available.

He has heard all views about the pandemic from his customers and said he welcomes diverse perspectives. That’s why he named his restaurant Union, because it’s his vision of California: “a coming together of all these different people to make up the whole.”

An earlier post about the Oroville City Council's recent resolution is here.  Other posts mentioning Oroville in relation to other issues, e.g., water infrastructure, education and racial disparities, wildfires, are here.