Each candidate was sent the following message. Their responses are below.
As a cofounder of Parents for Informed Choice SWFL, we have a number of supporters who are still on the fence on who to vote for. Their biggest concern are the issues surrounding medical freedom. In order to provide supporters with accurate information we were wondering if you could provide your stance on the following questions below.
Do you support mandating a mask in public places? If So Why?
Do you support local government being able to shut down a business like we witnessed with the COVID pandemic?
Thank you for your participation!
Parents of Informed Choice SWFL is neither supporting or endorsing these candidates. Each candidate that was listed as active at the time of correspondence was contacted with the same message.
Not all candidates have responded.
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We will continue to follow up and post the responses as they are received.
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Dan Sheppard - District 2
I don’t support mandating mask I believe that’s a personal decision I also don’t believe in government shutting down businesses that should be at the business owners discretion everyone needs to educate themselves and do what they feel is right.
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To learn more: https://votefordansheppard.com/
Tom Hayden - District 3
I do support wearing masks in public places for the short term. As
numbers continue to rise and hospitals and ICUS fill up, creating
tremendous strain on healthcare workers, I believe what we can do now
to protect people and those they come in contact with is critical at
this stage. I just don't believe it is too much to ask for someone to
wear a mask into a restaurant and then once they are at a table be
able to remove it if they so choose. Nor do I think it unreasonable to
ask someone going into a Publix or Walmart or any other retail store
to wear a mask for the short time they are in there. The big question
is always enforcing it, but I don't think it will ever get to the
levels of defiance where we are going to need to fine people for not
wearing a mask. I believe most people are reasonable and they will
comply to wearing a mask. Because the crisis has reached such
extraordinary levels, I don't think just recommending to people to
wear a mask was going to be enough. I think the mandate - although it
didn't pass in Cape Coral - was important at this time.
As far as the second question, these are unprecedented times and early
on we weren't sure where this was going or how serious it was going to
be. Government, I believe, needed to react and close businesses until
we had more information and the correct way to proceed. What we didn't
want was a full-scale illness where everyone got sick and then there
would be no one to go into those businesses. Now that we know what
precautions to take, and if they are followed, then businesses should
be able to operate. We all know it is not the same as normal, but at
least they can operate and hopefully stay financially solvent until
this passes.
The big argument has been this is taking away our constitutional
rights and our liberties. I don't believe that is the case when you
are talking about the short term and protecting our lives. We always
hope individuals will make the right choices, but sometimes rules must
be put in place - and again only for a short time in this case - to
help protect the public good.
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Jessica Cosden (D) - District 7
Currently no response but did vote against mask mandates at Cape Coral
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