Local mask warrant points to disconnect between Corpus Christi and Nueces County officials



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Lately, some have questioned whether Nueces County officials and Corpus Christi officials agreed, with some indicating last weekend when the county issued a mask warrant for schools in the area – wouldn’t- what for a moment.

“We have authority, we have a crisis, we have a need, and aren’t you happy living in a community where your local health authority wants to protect your children?” Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales said.

But right after that warrant was signed, the Texas Supreme Court issued a ruling now in place of the executive order of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, which bans mask warrants in schools. Due to this decision, Nueces County rescinded his mask mandate.

Then on Monday, Corpus Christi city council held a special mandate meeting.

There, city attorney Miles Risley said the city had no input on the matter.

But the county said that just wasn’t the case.

“We started a dialogue with city leaders on Friday,” Canales said.

“We haven’t had the opportunity to give our opinion on any particular order,” Corpus Christi mayor Paulette Guajardo said.

The county said it had had discussions with the city, but the city said those discussions did not represent a real contribution on their part.

Indeed, on Monday, the city council held an emergency meeting which ended with this statement from the city prosecutor:

“The city was not a signatory of this decree,” he declared. “The city council and the city manager did not receive and did not have the opportunity to give their opinion on this decree before it was issued.”

“I think it’s very misleading, and that’s where I’m going to stop,” Canales said in response to that statement.
Canales said the city was included in the process leading up to the signing of the mask order.

“Friday, Saturday and Sunday there were conversations, absolutely, between city and county leaders,” she said.

There were conversations, but Guajardo said Sunday’s discussion ended without a decision to go ahead with the order or not.

“We all knew there was a Supreme Court ruling coming up, so everyone agreed, ‘Let’s wait and see what happens with this,’ she said. It could be someday. “It could be two – it could be three. “

The question is whether or not a mask warrant violates state law. The mayor thinks so, while the judge says no – before the Supreme Court ruling. In the end, the local health authority, a member of the city-county public health district, made the appeal and ordered the mask’s warrant. “

“The intention was for us to all be on the same page, to support schools and to be able to issue an order that was done correctly, fairly and legally,” said Annette, director of public health at the Corpus Christi-Nueces County. Rodriguez.

The city and county appear to be on the same wavelength throughout the pandemic, but a mask mandate has become a divisive issue.

It is not clear whether this will further divide city-county cooperation.

“I don’t think so,” Canales said. “I think it’s okay to disagree, you know? If they don’t believe the mask’s mandate, they have that opinion.”

“At the end of the day, I think it’s up to each entity to decide: what should school districts do?” Guajardo said, “What should each different entity do for their organization? “

As for the decision of the Supreme Court of Texas, this is called a “stay”.

This essentially prevents any school district from attempting to apply a mask warrant until the issue can be resolved in court, but many school districts across the state, including Dallas, San Antonio, and even the West Oso ISD, continued to demand a mask in schools despite this court ruling.

Producer Carlos Adamez contributed to this report.



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