Modesto pastor’s mayor campaign videos show no COVID-19 safety. Here’s his response
Co-Senior Pastor Rick Countryman with Big Valley Grace Community Church has been conducting Facebook Live video interviews on Wednesdays since April 8 as part of his campaign to be Modesto’s next mayor in November’s election.
He says it’s a way to get his message out during the new coronavirus pandemic, which has put an end to conventional campaigning. He posts the videos to his campaign’s Facebook page.
The problem?
Countryman sits right next to his guests at his dining room table, roughly a foot away, and no one is wearing a mask or face covering as guests sit with him for as little as about five minutes and for as long as about 20. The guests have included Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Kristin Olsen (June 3) and Modesto Councilmen Bill Zoslocki (July 8) and Mani Grewal (July 15).
The lack of masks and physical distancing does not follow the measures officials say we must take to help stop the spread of the virus, which is surging in Stanislaus County. And it raises the question of what kind of example Countryman is setting as he seeks to lead Modesto.
The Bee spoke with Countryman on Tuesday and on Wednesday, before that day’s interview. He said everyone — including people running for mayor — has a responsibility to set a good example and that he will do better and started doing better at his July 22 show when he said he realized that week he needed to do more.
Now practicing physical distancing
He was farther away from the husband and wife who appeared on his July 22 show than he had been with the guests on his previous shows. But for much of the roughly six minutes the couple were on video, one of Countryman’s forearms and later one of his hands appeared in edge of the video. So he was farther away than when he was sitting right next to guests, but not 6 feet away.
And on last Wednesday’s show, he announced he had spoken with The Bee and said he was picking up on what he had started the previous week. He stood behind his iPhone — which is what he uses to record the videos — and said he was more than 6 feet away while interviewing his guest.
“... Obviously I haven’t done it perfectly, but I’m always willing to learn and grow and make adjustments,” Countryman said in a text before the show, “as you saw on last Wednesday’s broadcast and (as you will see) on today’s broadcast.”
Countryman said he cannot wear a mask for more than 10 minutes without getting a nose bleed.
He said he wears one when he runs to the store and tries to get his business done in less than 10 minutes. If he cannot, he said, he leaves and waits for the bleeding to stop before going back in with his mask on to finish his business.
Countryman said the virus is real, and he and his guests have talked about it during the interviews. He said from the start of the pandemic, Big Valley has followed the protocols to keep its members safe.
He said it is his guests’ choice on whether to wear a face covering. He said he checks with them before they appear on his show to make sure they don’t have a fever or are not feeling well. He said about eight guests have canceled for those reasons, though people can feel fine and not have symptoms yet have COVID-19 and infect others.
COVID-19 is the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
Councilman Grewal had a mask around his neck when he sat next to Countryman for about 15 minutes on the July 15 broadcast. Grewal said in an interview that he wore his mask before and after the interview and washed his hands before and after.
No mask ‘was just an oversight’
Councilman Zoslocki, who is running for a seat on the Board of Supervisors in the November election, sat next to Countryman for about 20 minutes during the July 8 broadcast.
“I hadn’t even thought of it (wearing a mask),” Zoslocki said in an interview. “It was just an oversight because I wear my mask all over the place. I have a box of masks in my car. ... I think we are all human, and we do what we can do.”
Supervisor Olsen sat next to Countryman for about 20 minutes during the June 3 broadcast.
“All I can say is when I did that video with him, it was a long time ago,” she said. “Our COVID-19 numbers in Stanislaus County were then significantly lower than most places in the state. It just wasn’t top of mind for anyone at the time. Obviously, everything has changed for Stanislaus County and COVID-19. I don’t go anywhere today without a mask.”
She said in early June officials believed the county had put the surge behind it and were focused on reopening the economy. But COVID-19 cases have spiked since then and some of the economy has been shuttered again to help stop the virus.
Ex-county CEO, supervisor also on videos
These three officials are not the only notables who have appeared on the show. Others include former Supervisor Jeff Grover, retired Stanislaus County CEO Stan Risen, and Jeff Pishney, founder and executive director of Love Our Cities and Love Modesto. The annual Love Modesto event draws thousands of volunteers who celebrate and clean up the city through dozens of projects. It also fosters a spirit of community engagement and volunteerism.
Countryman started the broadcasts April 1. He did not have a guest on his first show. All but three of the shows have been done at his living room table in his home.
Countryman is one of eight candidates challenging Mayor Ted Brandvold, who is seeking a second term. The Bee spoke with some of the other candidates and looked at candidates’ Facebook pages. With the exception of Naramsen Goriel, no one else has posted videos of campaign interviews.
Goriel — a community organizer and one of the founders of the progressive movement Indivisible Stanislaus — follows the pandemic safety measures in his interviews, including wearing face coverings when talking to people in person and practicing social distancing by conducting interviews by video conference.
This story was originally published August 3, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
