City of Torrance Votes ‘No Confidence’ in LA County Public Health Director

TORRANCE, Calif.—City officials passed a vote of no confidence in Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer Aug. 9, saying the restrictions she imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic had violated people’s freedom and hurt businesses in the city.

The council voted 4–1 in favor of the item brought forward by Councilman Aurelio Mattucci, with Councilmen Mike Griffiths voting “no” and Asam Sheikh abstaining.

Mattucci said Ferrer, as an appointed official, should not have excessive power over other people’s lives, and it is important for the city to send her a message.

“The bottom line is that this individual, Barbara Ferrer, kept on overstepping our freedom, our freedom to be able to just get up and go to work and earn a living so that we can pay our bills,” he said during the meeting.

He said that Ferrer’s regulation is “government overreach,” and individual cities’ situations should be taken into consideration.

He also said the “stay home, save lives” ordinance that shut down businesses and stopped people from going to work has created financial issues for the city.

Torrance is currently ranked the 24th among Californian cities facing the most financial distress by the state Auditor’s Office.

On the other hand, Griffiths—the lone dissenting vote—said the motion is the city’s own overreach commenting on an elected official.

“Where do we stop? Do say we have a vote of no confidence on the mayor? The sheriff? The governor?” he said.

He said he would rather send a letter to the Board of Supervisors to express the council’s concerns about Ferrer’s decisions.

“Just because we disagree with their policies doesn’t mean we have to do votes of no confidence,” he said.

Despite some disagreements about the “no confidence” vote for Ferrer, the council unanimously passed a motion opposing the county’s future indoor mask mandate and business closure.

“I do fully support something that we can do as a city and that is to not enforce the mass mandate using our resources,” Mattucci said.

Mattucci said that the motion is to ensure that residents and businesses will not be affected by any future coronavirus-related restrictions.

“We need to send a message both to the county and also to our businesses that we stand by our businesses,” he said.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the county has moved into the “medium” virus-activity category on Thursday, when the average daily rate of people being admitted to hospitals for COVID reasons fell below 10—at 9.9—per 100,000 residents.

The county was thus able to escape the “high” category, which it entered in mid-July, raising the possibility of another indoor mask mandate. The county ultimately opted against the new mandate, citing steadily improving infection and hospitalization numbers.

Masks are still required in some settings, including health care facilities, homeless shelters, aboard transit vehicles and at transit centers, along with correctional facilities.

“While we are thankful to see our county move to the medium community level, because we know that getting infected causes disruptions at the workplace and in the family and for some, becoming infected leads to debilitating illness, we advise caution, and ongoing use of a sensible approach for reducing the risk of exposure and preventing severe illness,” Ferrer said in a statement Friday. “All tools available help: getting vaccinated and boosted reduces risk of severe illness, testing before and after gathering, wearing masks when indoors, and staying home and away from others when sick reduces transmission.”

Prior to Torrance’s motion, the cities of Pasadena, Long Beach, and Beverly Hills also opposed the potential mask mandate.

City News Service contributed to the report.