Muscatine Mayor Diane Broderson issues city wide mask wearing order! [View all]

Email from a friend with Iowa Citizens for Community Involvement:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 4, 2020

Contact: Hugh Espey, 515-282-0484, hugh@iowacci.org

Governor Kim Reynolds and Attorney General Tom Miller have no legal authority to pre-empt local mask mandates
Iowa Code 372.14 gives mayors explicit emergency powers that can not be preempted by the governor without an act of the Iowa Legislature

Des Moines, Iowa --

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (Iowa CCI) members support Muscatine Mayor Diana Broderson's decision to issue a citywide universal mask-wearing order.

"That's alright with me," said Mike Baxter, a CCI member and independent family farmer from Muscatine.

"Until the numbers go down, I think it's a smart thing. Protecting people who aren't asking to get sick makes sense."

Governor Reynolds and AG Miller have no legal authority to stop the Muscatine mayor.

According to Iowa Code 372.14(2): The mayor may take command of the police and govern the city by proclamation, upon making a determination that a time of emergency or public danger exists.

Past precedent on issues like local control of factory farms, raising the minimum wage, sanctuary cities for immigrants, fireworks, and gun control clearly show that Iowa municipalities have the power to pass local ordinances stronger than state law unless and until they are preempted by an act of the Iowa Legislature.

In a similar way, Iowa mayors have explicit authority granted to them by the Iowa Legislature under IC.372.14(2) to issue emergency proclamations that may be stronger than a governor's statewide order.

"On masks and local emergency powers, Attorney General Tom Miller is as wrong as wrong can be," said Cherie Mortice, a CCI member and retired teacher from Des Moines.

This should be a press release out tomorrow.

Some here may recall that a mostly Republican city council tried to fire Broderson a couple of years ago. When the next election came around the Mayor and several new democratic council members turned the Republican council out in a big way.

Thank you, Mayor Broderson. Finally a city I can shop in gain.