The Democrat mayor of Austin, Texas urged city residents not to leave their homes — blaming a coronavirus “surge” — during the holiday season, while at his luxury timeshare in Cabo, Mexico.
In early November, Mayor Steve Adler posted a video saying, “We need to stay home if you can. This is not the time to relax. We are going to be looking really closely. … We may have to close things down if we are not careful.”
Just a few days before, Adler hosted an outdoor wedding for his daughter at a hotel downtown, and then flew to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico where he vacationed with his family members.
Meanwhile, city officials were warning residents not to gather in groups of more than 10.
“If you’re going out to a restaurant, go out with your family, the people who live in your household, not with family and friends outside your household and start to decrease those travels outside of your home that are not necessary,” interim health director Dr. Mark Escott said last month.
Adler defended hosting his daughter’s wedding, even though he did not reveal that he had traveled immediately after.
“It’s not perfect,” he said at the time. “Obviously there are infections that could happen. But what we did was stay compliant with the rules.”
When news broke about Adler’s vacation, he apologized for sending a mixed message to Austin residents.
“I need to set a clearer example so that my message is unambiguous, and for the failure to do that I sincerely apologize,” he said. “I want you to know I regret that travel. I wouldn’t travel now, I didn’t over Thanksgiving, and I wouldn’t over Christmas — and no one should, everyone should be avoiding nonessential travel now because we are in the orange area.”
