The Weekender (9/25/20)
Welcome to the Democratic Governors Association’s Friday newsletter, The Weekender.
Let’s get started.
West Virginia: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ben Salango slammed Gov. Jim Justice’s failure to fix the state’s crumbling infrastructure with a new ad and a campaign stop in Monongalia County. Salango’s ad contrasts the recently paved street leading into the Justice-owned Greenbrier resort with the collapsing roads in the rest of the state. Hard-working West Virginians have had to live with some of the worst infrastructure in the country, something Monongalia County residents know all too well. Monongalia County Commissioner Tom Bloom agreed with Salango’s assertion that Justice had left many West Virginians behind, adding Justice never visits the county and makes them feel like a “bastard child.”
New Hampshire: The DGA released a new video highlighting Gov. Chris Sununu’s Trumpian vetoes. With his vetoes, Sununu, a self-proclaimed “Trump guy through and through,” governs just like his mentor Donald Trump. Sununu vetoed a minimum wage increase while taking a $31,000 pay raise for himself. Likewise, Trump has said he thinks a low minimum wage is “not a bad thing for this country.” Sununu also vetoed a women’s health bill – supporting Trump’s belief that women should be punished for seeking reproductive health care services. Sununu, following Trump’s lead, also vetoed bills to expand renewable energy at a time when climate change threatens our very existence. It’s time for Granite Staters to fight back.
Greg Gianforte’s Dangerous Pseudoscience Beliefs “Should Concern Anyone Who Wants Science-Based Policies”
At a time when science and fact-based leadership is literally saving lives, Greg Gianforte’s candidacy is uniquely dangerous.
The Montana GOP’s candidate for governor denied the scientific consensus that human activity has driven climate change, rejects evolution completely, and most recently touted “herd immunity” as an effective approach for combating the COVID-19 pandemic – a strategy which could cost at least one million American lives and has been debunked by public health experts. Gianforte has also voiced opposition to mask mandates, which CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield has said might provide more protection against COVID-19 than a vaccine.
In short, if Gianforte was in charge of Montana’s COVID-19 response, he would ignore public health experts and unnecessarily endanger countless lives.
On National Voter Registration Day, Every State, Every Vote Co-Chair Gov. Kate Brown Joined Center for American Progress Panel to Discuss Elections During COVID-19
Every State, Every Vote Co-Chair Oregon Gov. Kate Brown joined Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Center for American Progress (CAP) Action Fund VP of Democracy and Government Reform Sam Berger, and CAP Action Fund CEO Neera Tanden in a discussion to raise awareness about steps governors, mayors, and voting rights advocates are taking to protect U.S. elections this November, as well as further actions that state and city leaders should take to ensure that every American citizen can vote safely.
Governors, mayors, and other elected officials are facing unprecedented challenges as they work to administer safe elections during a global pandemic this November. U.S. elections are already complicated operations, made more difficult this year by the need to ensure that voting is safe during the ongoing public health crisis.
During the panel, Gov. Brown discussed the challenges of holding an election during both a climate crisis and pandemic, Oregon’s success with vote-by-mail elections, the fight against election disinformation, and the work governors are doing to ensure every vote is counted and every voice is heard.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on MSNBC Live with Hallie Jackson, calling on Attorney General Daniel Cameron to release all the relevant evidence from the Breonna Taylor investigation to the public.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on MSNBC with Katy Tur, talking about how his state is working aggressively with the U.S. Postal Service to ensure mail-in ballots are delivered on time and why it’s dangerous for the president to refuse to commit to a peaceful transition of power. Gov. Murphy said New Jersey will “do what it takes” to protect the integrity of the election results.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360°, discussing the progress Washington has made on COVID-19 and how he is working with the scientific community to ensure a vaccine can be safely and effectively distributed.
“For too many decades, we have allowed cars to pollute the air that our children and families breathe. Californians shouldn’t have to worry if our cars are giving our kids asthma. Our cars shouldn’t make wildfires worse — and create more days filled with smoky air.”
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom on his executive order ending the sale of gasoline-powered cars in the state by 2035.
“That’s what college kids do.”
Who said it? Send your answer to press@dga.net and we’ll reveal the answer in the next Weekender!
If you guessed North Carolina GOP gubernatorial candidate Dan Forest last week, you were right! Hours after CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield testified that masks could be even more effective than a vaccine at protecting against COVID-19, Forest said he doesn’t think there’s any scientific evidence backing up mask requirements in his “personal opinion.”