{"id":4064,"date":"2020-09-18T10:30:59","date_gmt":"2020-09-18T17:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=4064"},"modified":"2020-09-18T13:48:16","modified_gmt":"2020-09-18T20:48:16","slug":"san-diego-city-council-candidate-joe-leventhal-rebukes-opponents-refusal-to-embrace-school-reopenings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=4064","title":{"rendered":"San Diego City Council Candidate Joe Leventhal Rebukes Opponent’s Refusal to Embrace School Reopenings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Julianne Foster<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The candidates for San Diego City Council District 5, Republican Joe Leventhal and Democrat Marni von Wilpert, are butting heads over issues related to the pandemic and the reopening of schools. While von Wilpert supports a narrow-minded lockdown approach that ignores all consequences of shutting down schools and businesses, Leventhal has shown that he’s willing to put in the work to listen to health experts and the community to safely reopen.<\/span><\/p>\n

The outcome of this candidacy is important because the elected candidate will determine whether Democrats increase their majority on the nine-member council, or allow Republicans to step up and help fix the communities driven into the ground by Democrats.<\/span><\/p>\n

Leventhal\u2019s plans to reopen, described by von Wilpert as “reckless,” include his push for the city to provide additional federal money to fund necessary changes for classrooms to be reopened safely. That money would fund the inclusion of plexiglass shields around desks, hand sanitizer stations, and performing daily deep cleans. Von Wilpert has tried to paint Leventhal as someone demanding school reopenings regardless of what health experts ,say but Leventhal denies the accusation.<\/span><\/p>\n

“She\u2019s totally trying to lump me in, and she\u2019s wrong,” Leventhal said. “We are both trying to say schools should open only when they are safe, but I\u2019m the only one with a plan to make that happen.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Von Wilpert\u2019s ideal of reopening only when the virus is eradicated is unrealistic and unserious. The virus will not magically disappear, which is why with the support of uncorrupted health experts, people should be given their freedom to leave their homes with the risk of contracting COVID-19 as their responsibility. With plummeting cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, it’s time to give students those options to return to school with necessary precautions.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Marni has been misrepresenting herself for a long time so I guess I shouldn\u2019t be surprised that she\u2019s misrepresenting my positions. I\u2019m the only candidate who has a plan to help public schools safely reopen when the science based evidence says it\u2019s safe. https:\/\/t.co\/ueFxDHPsUc<\/a><\/p>\n

— Joe Leventhal (@jleventhal) September 13, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n