LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) Lafayette Mayor-President Josh Guillory has issued a response to Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards comments over Lafayette’s failed mask mandate as a ‘failure of leadership.’

“It is deeply hypocritical for Governor John Bel Edwards to attack Lafayette in the national media, criticizing our City Council for recognizing the challenges and cost involved in enforcing a local mask mandate. Where is the Governor’s enforcement of his mask mandate?  The State Fire Marshal reports to him.  ATC reports to him.  How many citations have they written for the nearly 4,000 complaints they have received?  Zero. 

The real failure of leadership is immediately evident in Governor Edwards’ decision to use his “mask mandate” as a partisan weapon, rather than actually enforce it. How much of the $1.9 billion provided to the State by the Federal Government for COVID-19 response has been dedicated to enforcement of his mandate?  Why does he expect local governments, yet again, to bear the cost of state mandates?

If the Governor wants to use the national media to audition for a job in Washington DC, he might want to make sure his own house is in order first.”

Eleven days ago on February 9, the Lafayette City Council made a decision by a vote in an emergency meeting that a mask mandate would not be enforced by the Lafayette Police Department.

The council vote was split 3-2 on racial and party lines.

That decision drew national attention to Lafayette and Louisiana when CBS This Morning Lead National Correspondent and Lafayette native David Begnaud reported on the story.

On Friday, during an interview with Washington Post live on YouTube, Edwards called the Lafayette City Council’s rejection of a local mask mandate “unfortunate” and “regrettable.”