An Oregon mayor has some advice for residents in his city who have grown weary of the state's coronavirus restrictions: just ignore them.
Stan Pulliam, the Republican mayor of Sandy, Oregon, isn't happy with Gov. Kate Brown's (D-OR) decision to extend the state of emergency, originally set to expire on Jan. 2, to Mar. 3, 2021. The mayor is now encouraging small business owners to defy the lockdowns.
In an open letter to the governor, Pulliam blasted the lockdown orders for favoring corporate America while ordering small business owners to close up shop.
"As mayor of Sandy, I can tell you that our neighbors are simply unable to continue drowning in arbitrary rules that are bankrupting their family businesses, disconnecting children from their friends and teachers, and causing our neighbors to spiral into depression and anxiety," the mayor wrote to the governor.
"If you discover a mouse in your house, you don’t burn it down to solve the problem. You find a way to safely remove the mouse without destroying everything else you value," he added.
"Governor Brown, we are opening."
The mayor spoke to Fox News' Julie Banderas on Wednesday, saying he believes "all Oregonians should take pause, stand up and say 'this must stop.'"
"[Gov. Brown] has to make the case to these local small business owners as to why she shut them down but we can pack into corporate America," said Pulliam.
The mayor is brave for defying the governor's edicts. An Oregon doctor who questioned the efficacy of face masks had his medical license suspended by the Oregon Medical Board.