Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears announced that she is asking for Virginia to remove the “mask mandate” that has been instituted by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam. In a video posted to Facebook, former Delegate Sears announced that she will be publicly calling for Governor Northam to remove the mandate to wear a face mask to enter Virginia businesses, open schools, and open Virginia businesses at full capacity.
In May of 2020, Governor Ralph Northam announced that he was mandating a face covering be worn while Virginians were in public places. This came on the heels of the Governor being seen publicly in Virginia Beach without a face covering, days before the mandate was announced, for which he was lambasted by the media and critics. Delegate Sears states in the video that she deliberately chose Virginia Beach for the announcement due to Northam’s hypocritical snafu last May.
In a statement provided to The Virginia Star the former Marine said, “Leadership demands bold action. We’ve seen the success in Florida and Texas and we know how to protect the vulnerable population,” Sears said. “It is time to open up and I am calling on our hypocrite Governor to end the mandate immediately!”
In a statement to The Star, Air Force veteran and fellow Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor Lance Allen fired back:
That’s wonderful, so does every other politician. You could lift the mask mandate tomorrow, open schools, and open businesses and it still wouldn’t solve the problems in Virginia. Small businesses are dying! They make up 97% of Virginia employers but they are being strangulated by Democrats over regulation and taxation.
Sure lift the mask mandate…but what about the fact that I am perpetually over taxed in Virginia!? Working families can’t afford to put food on the table and pay their bills at the same time.
You’ve got some talking points, that’s great – talk to me about what comes next! Virginia’s families have real problems and they NEED real solutions!
You won’t win me over with some talking points you picked up from everyone else after joining the race late.
The Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor will be determined in the 2021 Republican Party of Virginia Unassembled Convention on May 8th at more than 30 voting locations across the Commonwealth.
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Matt Colt Hall is a reporter for The Virginia Star and the Star News Network. Follow Matt on Twitter at @MattColtHall on Twitter. Send tips to [email protected].
