By calling coronavirus efforts an ‘overreaction,’ Brandau failed basic measure of leader
During uncertain, harrowing times, real leaders step forward. They place the public good above all other motivations and inspire others to do the same. They make assertions based on facts gathered from the most reputable sources. They avoid horrible messaging.
And then there’s Fresno County Supervisor Steve Brandau, who displayed none of these traits during Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.
Instead, Brandau furthered his own political agenda by undermining the health and safety of Fresno County residents. At least those foolish enough to consider his words over those of any health expert.
Brandau might want to take a leadership lesson from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has taken swift and decisive action to keep California residents safe during the outbreak. State Sen. Andreas Borgeas, the Republican from Fresno, launched a coronavirus resources web page, and his Twitter feed is full of useful information. Even President Donald Trump changed his tune and now manages to sound legitimately concerned.
Guess that’s too much to ask from the elected representative for most of north Fresno and part of Clovis at the county level, the branch of government that is most directly responsible for public health.
Rather than behave like a responsible leader, Brandau used his time at the microphone to remind us he’s incapable of that. Rather than voice support for drastic but protective measures designed to keep COVID-19 from spreading, he charged government officials and “others” with being alarmists.
Overreaction claim
“I think that many in government and in our society have been overreacting to the Chinese coronavirus,” Brandau said. “This overreaction causes me great concern over the economy.”
Notice how Brandau slipped in the modifier. Now that he and other like-minded politicians (see Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the House GOP leader) can no longer proclaim coronavirus as a “Democratic hoax,” they find another group of people to blame.
As if COVID-19 is only killing and hospitalizing people in China rather than more than 200,000 confirmed infections in more than 140 countries, according to the Johns Hopkins global tracker.
Undermining pubic health
To Brandau’s credit, he did join the rest of his fellow supervisors in voting for the official declaration of a county emergency. Because it loosens emergency protocols, he made sure to point out.
Gee, how magnanimous of him. Next time, rather than undermine the public health and perpetuate racist tropes, it would be better if Brandau just kept his mouth shut.
Of course, that isn’t Brandau’s nature. This isn’t the first time he’s made inappropriate comments about people and issues that almost seem designed to bring attention.
What’s strange is that in one-on-one conversation, Brandau can sound completely reasonable on all manner of topics. It’s as if he gets caught up in the political theater and can’t help but display the worst side of his personality.
Closures, social distancing could work
The thing is, Brandau might still claim victory on this. If enough of us stay home except for absolutely essential trips and avoid gatherings of more than 10 people for the next couple weeks, maybe we can get through this without experiencing the worst projections.
If that happens, people like Brandau will crow about how they were right all along. How everybody but them overreacted. Much easier to do that than give credit to all those who helped flatten the curve.
And you know what? I’ll gladly take that option. Because it means our hospitals don’t get overrun with sick people and fewer of them die.
This story was originally published March 18, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
