Florida surgeon general explains his lack of wearing mask
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo on Tuesday wrote on Twitter about his refusal to wear a mask while meeting with state Sen. Tina Polsky, who has breast cancer, saying he can’t “communicate clearly and effectively” with his face covered.
“Having a conversation with someone while wearing a mask is not something I find productive, especially when other options exist,” Ladapo stated in his first public remarks about the incident. “It is important to me to communicate clearly and effectively with people. I can’t do that when half of my face is covered.”
The statement didn’t include an apology, but explained his stance on masks, which he doesn’t believe are effective at slowing the spread of COVID-19, the virus that has killed more than 58,800 people in Florida. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and many other health officials say masks do help stop the spread of the virus.
Ladapo said he suggested he and Polsky meet outdoors where the virus doesn’t spread as easily or sit in the hallway, but she declined.
—Orlando Sentinel
Alaska justices take up legality of ranked-choice voting
JUNEAU, Alaska — Opponents of Alaska’s new ranked-choice election system, having lost a lawsuit in Superior Court, are now appealing to the state Supreme Court.
Alaska’s high court has accepted the appeal under an accelerated timeline that will have justices hear arguments Jan. 18. The justices are expected to issue a summary decision shortly afterward, and that decision will determine how Alaska will conduct its statewide elections in 2022.
Last year, 50.6% of participating Alaska voters approved Ballot Measure 2, which significantly changes how Alaska conducts state elections.
Attorney Ken Jacobus, a Republican, is representing himself, the Alaskan Independence Party and Libertarian candidate Scott Kohlhaas in a legal effort to overturn that result, arguing that it is impossible to implement the measure in a way that follows the Alaska Constitution and U.S. Constitution.
Defending against the suit are the state of Alaska, which is in charge of implementing the measure, and Alaskans for Better Elections, successor to the organization that campaigned in favor of the measure.
Under the new Ballot Measure 2 system, all candidates for a particular office, regardless of party, will run against one another in the August primary. (Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor are paired together on a single ticket as running mates.)
Voters pick one candidate or ticket for each office, and the top four vote-getters advance to the general election in November.
—Anchorage Daily News
Kansas City considers bid to host 2024 GOP convention
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City plans to put in a bid to host the 2024 Republican National Convention, the mayor’s office confirmed.
The Republican National Committee approached city officials about submitting a bid, Morgan Said, a spokeswoman for Mayor Quinton Lucas, told The Star Tuesday morning.
She added that a delegation from Missouri was in Washington, D.C., Tuesday to discuss the possibility. The city has until Dec. 1 to submit a formal bid.
In June 2014, Kansas City lost its bid for the 2016 RNC, failing to make the final cut with Cleveland and Dallas. Cleveland ultimately won.
A number of possible reasons were cited as to why Kansas City lost out on the economic opportunity, including lack of high-quality hotel rooms within close proximity of the Sprint Center, where the convention would have been held, poor rail transit and a potential struggle to raise the $60 million for the event.
The last time Kansas City hosted the RNC was in 1976, when Gerald Ford won the nomination but later lost the presidency to Jimmy Carter. The convention was hosted at what is now the Hy-Vee Arena. Prior to that, Kansas City hosted the 1928 RNC. The nomination that year went to Herbert Hoover, who also went on to win the presidency.
Kansas City has played host to one Democratic National Convention, in 1900, where William Jennings Bryan won the nomination, but ultimately lost the presidency to William McKinley.
—The Kansas City Star
Georgia to challenge federal vaccine mandate in court
ATLANTA — Georgia’s top Republican officials plan to file a lawsuit this week that challenges President Joe Biden’s mandate that requires federal contractors to be vaccinated against the coronavirus disease.
Gov. Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr are set to file the lawsuit by Friday, according to two people with direct knowledge of the litigation who requested anonymity to discuss confidential proceedings.
Kemp had warned that he would “pursue every legal option available to the state of Georgia to stop this blatantly unlawful overreach by the Biden administration” shortly after the president announced a range of new vaccine requirements that could affect as many as 100 million Americans.
The new rules mandate that businesses with more than 100 workers require their staffers be vaccinated or tested regularly for COVID-19. An additional 17 million workers at health care facilities that receive federal medical funding would have to be vaccinated.
The state’s litigation would target a separate executive order that requires that federal executive branch employees and contractors be vaccinated. That could affect thousands of Georgians who are vendors of the federal government or work for certain public agencies, such as the higher education system.
Two dozen Republican-run states in September threatened legal action against Biden’s vaccine requirements. With limited exceptions, judges have upheld requirements that government workers, public-university students and contractors get shots so far.
—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
