On Nov. 6, California Governor Gavin Newsom attended a birthday dinner at a fancy French restaurant in Napa County called French Laundry with 12 people, including healthcare lobbyists. The next day, the mayor of San Francisco, London Breed, celebrated a socialite friend’s 60th birthday at the same restaurant, days before banning indoor dining in her city. (Both events were reported later by the San Francisco Chronicle.) Around that same time, Austin Mayor Steve Adler recorded a video call urging constituents to “stay home if you can.” He filmed it from Cabo San Luca, Mexico, where he’d flown via private jet after his daughter’s socially distanced wedding, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
Then came Thanksgiving weekend, when public health officials and local leaders pleaded with residents not to board increasingly packed planes or gather indoors with people outside their household without quarantining first. After telling constituents to “cancel big gatherings,” San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo attended a five-household Thanksgiving dinner (apparently outside and socially distanced). Thirty minutes after Denver Mayor Michael Hancock’s Twitter account posted a caution to “avoid travel, if you can,” Hancock was on a flight to visit family in Mississippi, the local ABC network reported.
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