Board of Aldermen 05-25-2021 Page 39
Mayor Donchess
Well | am not clear on my authority to require anything in City Buildings if the ordinance is repealed, the former
mask protocols are repealed. So |’d need to talk to Attorney Bolton regarding what latitude that would be. | do
believe the people that are not vaccinated actually should continue to wear masks inside and that’s of course
what is being recommended but not required in terms of what the Board of Health has done. So! would need
to talk to Attorney Bolton regarding the legal issues involved.
President Wilshire
Alderwoman Kelly? OK. Alderwoman Gathright.
Alderman Harriott-Gathright
Thank you Madam President. | had a great concern for those that feel that recommendations really do not
mean anything. Because there are a lot of people here in Nashua, we have those that want the mask, we
have those that don’t want the mask, you know? But | feel that it would be good business just to put the
recommendations out there because some people need that extra push or that extra feeling of comfort
knowing that | have read these recommendations and this might be a good idea, maybe this is something | can
do, maybe this is something | can share with others. | think that the Board of Health has done a lot of work
truly a lot of work in the City to get us on the right path. And we are on the right path. So to ignore
recommendations, | think that’s a bit, | am trying to think of a good term that | would like to say about
something like that knowing that these people have worked very hard to come up with recommendations so
that everyone would have a feel for looking out for this or that, you know, it’s not that they have to do anything.
But | think the recommendations are important and | definitely will be voting for the recommendations but | also
will be voting for the bill but | hope it is passed as amended. Thank you.
Alderman Lopez
In support of Alderman Gathright’s word searching | would propose “disgraceful”, “disingenuous”, “unfortunate”,
“political”. | think personally we are responsible for whatever our platforms are and whatever we communicate
to our voters and what we are willing to commit to in terms of behaviors. | think most of us have committed to
letting the Board of Health do its job and make appropriate health recommendations and that’s what got us to
this point. And it wasn’t as fast as some people wished and it is too early for other people, that’s where politics
comes in and we have to make a decision. Ideally | would like to see us making this decision with the best
information that we have in the safest way possible within reason and within the context. So | think we are on
the path to rescinding the masking ordinance. The recommendations that were made by the Public Health
give us the credibility to do this especially when some of us may have been claiming that we were supporting
public this whole time and recommendations and maybe now are a little bit more open to just “it’s time because
we decided”.
This is a larger issue there’s party politics and national politics where maybe one party kept saying follow the
science and we are using healthcare as our guide. And then when they actually had the opportunity said we
are picking a date, because we like this date and it is very important so we are doing that date and everything
fall in line. But this is local politics and this local communities and we are the ones that are going to have to
live directly with the consequences of our actions and | take that pretty seriously. We have lost people in Ward
4, we have had friends and family struggle with COVID-19 — our Mayor. And | think it’s important that we
remember the consequences here aren’t just political, it’s not our opportunity to just say, | want to do what’s
popular. | think the Board of Health is the body that our City Charter says we consult with. This Board did not
support them with their recommendations for a curfew so we definitely have the right assert our own authority
within reason. | just find it unfortunate that some Aldermen choose to use that authority in that particular way
personally.
