Stanislaus area representatives attend Hawaii conference as COVID-19 cases spike
Assemblyman Heath Flora, R-Ripon, had no apology for attending a four-day conference in Hawaii as COVID-19 cases are spiking in California and the rest of the nation.
A number of state legislators were in attendance this week at the Independent Voter Project’s policy conference on Maui, even as state health officials and Gov. Gavin Newsom have asked the public to curtail holiday plans and not travel outside the state in order to slow down the coronavirus pandemic.
“The timing may not be great politics, but the work we are doing is essential to helping protect jobs, livelihoods and the businesses which sustain them,” Flora said in a text Thursday.
When contacted by The Modesto Bee, Kristin Olsen, a former assemblywoman and chair of the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors, said she was attending the same conference. In the email Thursday, Olsen said she was participating as a partner in the California Strategies lobbying firm, not as a county elected official.
The IVP says its annual conference brings together government leaders, policy experts and business leaders for bipartisan discussion of topics like housing, energy and education.
The timing of this year’s summit, with its splendid setting, has sparked some uproar on social media. It came soon after Newsom was criticized for attending a dinner party at the French Laundry restaurant in Napa.
“You wonder why many people do not trust the ‘establishment,” one comment said. “The governor and legislators need to lead by example.”
Flora said the conference has featured a timely discussion on keeping sectors of the economy open during the pandemic. Some of the state lawmakers in attendance have told the media they were tested for coronavirus to meet a travel requirement before flying to Hawaii.
Flora said he will take another coronavirus test when returning home and will follow other guidelines. Precautions such as face coverings and social distancing have been observed at the Hawaii conference, he said.
“I have always been focused and committed to fighting for our economy,” Flora’s text said. “The governor’s actions over the last two days make it even a higher priority to work toward innovative and safe solutions to keep the economy running while battling this pandemic.”
Olsen said the IVP conference does not violate any public health orders. She wrote in an email that Newsom’s travel advisory was issued two days before the conference began, making cancellations impossible.
She defended Flora for participating. “Some of the best solution-focused legislative measures I’ve seen over the years have come out of discussions at IVP,” she wrote.
Last week, Newsom joined the governors of Oregon and Washington in urging people entering the three states, or state residents returning from travel, to self-quarantine. The advisory included a strong recommendation against non-essential travel outside the state and encouraged California residents to “stay local.”
Newsom has since imposed a curfew in 90 percent of the state that will clear street-side dining tables and other activities every night at 10 o’clock.
In a news story Thursday, the Sacramento Bee confirmed that these legislators attended the summit in Maui: Assembly members Frank Bigelow, R-O’Neals, Flora, Mike Gipson, D-Carson, Jose Medina, D-Riverside, Chad Mayes, I-Yucca Valley, Blanca Rubio, D-Baldwin Park, Wendy Carrillo, D-Los Angeles, Jordan Cunningham, R-San Luis Obispo, and senators Andreas Borgeas, R-Fresno, and Bill Dodd, D-Napa.
This story was originally published November 20, 2020 at 9:51 AM.
