JACKSON, MI – Jackson’s mayor took to social media Wednesday to call out Jackson County’s state representative for attending “Operation Gridlock” in Lansing.

It was “heartbreaking” that 64th District State Rep. Julie Alexander (R-Hanover) attended the April 15 protest against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s expanded and more-strict executive order to help combat the spread of the novel cornavirus, Jackson Mayor Derek Dobies said.

“It is absolutely heartbreaking, and deflating, to have State Representative Julie Alexander encouraging exactly the opposite of what we are told by public health professionals and healthcare leaders,” Dobies wrote in Twitter and Facebook posts.

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The 64th District includes the city of Jackson, Concord, Hanover, Napoleon, Parma, Pulaski, Sandstone, Spring Arbor and Summit townships.

“This virus has impacted everyone in our community, and the government’s one-size-fits-all response has made sure even more people are suffering from its effects,” Alexander said in an emailed statement. “I’ve heard from hundreds of people in our area who are out of work, and they’re understandably upset. I care about what’s happening to them as much as I care about protecting the public health, and that’s why I went to Lansing to listen to concerns and hear their frustrations.”

Dobies’ posts include a picture of Alexander at the protest, holding a sign that reads, “Tyranny. Worse than the virus!” Alexander said the sign was not hers and that she was holding it for a friend when the picture was taken.

“I completely understand some have found (my friend’s) sign to be too aggressive,” Alexander said. “It is more aggressive than I care to be when I work at the Capitol. I pride myself in my ability to work collaboratively across the aisle on many issues, especially COVID-19 because this is not about being a Republican or Democrat.”

The protest rallied against Whitmer’s order that extends through April 30. Nonessential businesses that are not allowed to operate include golf courses, landscaping and gardening services and those who do home renovations. It created a traffic jam in front of the Michigan Capitol.

“We can both protect the public health and be reasonable in our approach to battling COVID-19,” Alexander said. “Now, I believe we must adopt a smarter, regional, risk-based plan rather than the government picking who is essential or non-essential. Instead, let’s consider which jobs and activities are safe or unsafe.”

Alexander urged Whitmer to follow guidelines issued by the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency that outlines how to have people return to work while mitigating the spread of the coronavirus.

“We are asking the governor to simply listen to our pleas," Alexander said in a Facebook Live post at the protest. “A reasonable, safe decision that allows us, as Michiganders, to get back to work. … Governor I know you don’t have an easy job here. All we ask is that you listen to those we serve and make those commonsense decisions that can help get us all back to a health and safety environment."

Dobies spent Wednesday on conference calls coordinating Jackson’s response to COVID-19, he wrote in his posts. There are 207 positive cases and eight deaths from the coronavirus in Jackson County, as of Thursday, April 16.

“People are scared, people are getting hurt, people are getting sick, people are dying,” Dobies said.

Most protesters at the rally did not wear masks or follow social distancing guidelines recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

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“As I said in the post, I respect the right to protest, I’m someone who’s gone to protests myself," Dobies said. “When we have elected officials that are supposed to be leaders in our community, participating in a rally that conducted itself in such a way that it discouraged the social distancing, flagrantly disavowed the prevention control practices, shut down the public transit and provided some pretty significant road blocks to ambulances and the healthcare system in Lansing, I think that’s pretty disheartening.”

Alexander was first elected to her seat November 2016. She won re-election November 2018 and filed Feb. 14 to run for the seat again in 2020. Jackson resident Sandra Hofman-Kingston filed on April 9 to run for the seat as a Democrat.

The filing deadline is April 21. Dobies, a Democrat, said he will not run for the seat. He was re-elected as mayor in November and wants to help Jackson improve, he said.