"We're fighting our own state"

Mayors of large cities in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia said their political counterparts at the state level are acting as though this is a local issue, not a global pandemic. They expressed frustration over the lack of coordination and consistent response provided by state leaders, all while the pandemic and basic precautions like wearing masks and social distancing have become politicized.

Because their jurisdictions are small and under-resourced, many mayors have said they feel unable to provide their constituents a full-throated response to defeat the virus. And even if they felt that they were empowered to make decisions, clearly not all Americans are willing to comply with orders.

“It is mind boggling that this governor who did not know that this virus was asymptomatic until we were well into the pandemic would waste resources on suing me personally and our city council for a mask mandate,” Bottoms said on MSNBC Friday.