EDITORIAL: Health officials have harsh words for Gov. Sisolak
Gov. Steve Sisolak is no stranger to public spats — Clark County School District Superintendent Jesus Jara earned his wrath during a recent legislative special session — but his latest squabble couldn’t be more embarrassing for a leader struggling to maintain public confidence in his pandemic response.
Last Friday, officials with the health districts in the state’s two largest counties sent a blistering letter to Gov. Sisolak, accusing him of ignoring their agencies when issuing his coronavirus edicts. In particular, they expressed disappointment that the governor announced last week an increase in the state’s gathering limit from 50 to 250 without consulting the local health officials who will be tasked with approving such events.
“Since we were not consulted and engaged, we receive little or no advance notice of what these policy changes may be, and we are forced to react after decisions have been made and announcements are occurring,” the letter said. It was signed by Fermin Leguen, chief health officer of the Southern Nevada Health District; Scott Black, chairman of the Southern Nevada District Board of Health; Kevin Dick, Washoe County health officer; and John Novak, chair of the Washoe County District Board of Health.
The missive also implied that people other than public health experts are influencing the governor’s virus restrictions. Other groups “who do not have any elected governance or statutory public health responsibilities seem to be in regular consultation with your office and are engaged in the development of the directives and guidance.”
The governor’s chief of staff denied that the local agencies had been ignored. In fact, however, the allegations fit neatly into an established pattern. From the start of the pandemic, communication from Gov. Sisolak has been erratic and the public justifications offered for his restrictions have been vague and inconsistent. The governor repeats his support for “the science,” but presents little scientific rationale for many of the one-size-fits-all emergency rules he imposes. The data driving his decision-making is too often kept from the public, as if it has proprietary value.
The result has been confusion among many businesses about how to properly navigate the regulations imposed and complaints that the governor has been largely unresponsive to their concerns.
Gov. Sisolak has the unenviable task of sitting in the Governor’s Mansion during these unprecedented times. Any pandemic-related decision he makes will earn him somebody’s wrath. But the governor has previously acknowledged that he needs to improve his approach to keeping Nevadans informed about his virus mandates and the data behind them. The letter from Clark and Washoe health officials only reinforces the fact that, seven months into this pandemic, he still has much work to do.
