June 16, 2020

The Honorable Greg Abbott
Governor of Texas
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711
Dear Governor Abbott,
Thank you for your leadership during these challenging times. Our cities benefited immensely from a
coordinated, cooperative effort with each other in the early stages of our fight against COVID-19.
With the increase in testing, we are naturally seeing more people being diagnosed with COVID-19, and
some areas are seeing confirmed cases increasing more rapidly than testing. While it’s important to get our
economy working again, we must also take precautions to avoid a massive influx of new cases
overwhelming our hospitals.
That’s why we are writing to you today about one of the best ways to keep businesses open and people safe
from COVID-19: the wearing of facemasks. This one step could prove to be the most effective way to
prevent the transmission of this disease. Yet many people in many of our cities are still refusing to wear
these face coverings even though these coverings are scientifically proven to help prevent the disease from
spreading.
We are writing to you for the authority to set rules and regulations on the use of face coverings in each of
our cities. A one-size-fits-all approach is not the best option. We should trust local officials to make
informed choices about health policy. And if mayors are given the opportunity to require face coverings,
we believe our cities will be ready to help reduce the spread of this disease.
We think you would agree that a healthy economy starts with healthy people. If you do not have plans to
mandate face coverings statewide, we ask that you restore the ability for local authorities to enforce the
wearing of face coverings in public venues where physical distancing cannot be practiced.
We appreciate your consideration in allowing for a more nuanced and tailored recovery so that our cities,
state, and nation can heal as quickly as possible.
Sincerely,

Sylvester Turner, Mayor
City of Houston

Ron Nirenberg, Mayor
City of San Antonio

 Steve Adler, Mayor
City of Austin

Eric Johnson, Mayor
City of Dallas

Betsy Price, Mayor
City of Fort Worth

Dee Margo, Mayor
City of El Paso

Jeff Williams, Mayor
City of Arlington

Harry LaRosiliere, Mayor
City of Plano

Ron Jensen, Mayor
City of Grand Prairie