LOS ANGELES - The former mayor and current councilman for the City of Newport Beach has sued Gov. Gavin Newsom over an April 30 order that closed Orange County beaches due to COVID-19 concerns.
Kevin Muldoon alleges in his May 4 complaint that the governor intentionally and arbitrarily singled out Orange County beaches for complete state government mandated closure, which deprived him access to the beach, recreation, assembly and leisure.
“While Orange County Beaches are closed, beaches in Ventura County are open even though Ventura County has a slightly higher COVID-19 death rate than Orange County,” wrote Muldoon’s attorney Harmeet K. Dhillon.
As of May 4, there were 2,859 coronavirus positive cases in Orange County and 55 fatalities according to the Department of Health COVID-19 dashboard.
As previously reported, Dhillon sued Gov. Newsom on behalf of two Sacramento residents in a separate lawsuit last week.
“Preventing Plaintiff from accessing and enjoying the beach, despite the availability of less restrictive measures to satisfy the public health interests at stake, violates his California Constitutional right to liberty,” Dhillon wrote on behalf of Muldoon in the lawsuit.
Muldoon, who filed the lawsuit as an individual and not in his official capacity, is seeking reimbursement of attorney fees and to enjoin Gov. Newsom from interfering with his ability to access and enjoy the beach.
Muldoon also named Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Office of Emergency Services Director Mark Ghilarducci and California Natural Resources Agency Secretary Wade Crowfoot.
Gov. Newsom did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Muldoon’s lawsuit but he told journalists during his daily press briefing yesterday that public open spaces are opening back up with plans in place to deal with concerns around physical and social distancing.
“I want to thank the leadership in Orange County in particular in and around Laguna Beach and San Clemente,” he said. “We were able to work with the locals there and law enforcement. They put together an outstanding plan to reopen those beaches. We not only applaud it but enthusiastically embrace it.”
The governor also announced certification criteria for those counties that want to move further into Stage 2 in advance of the statewide effort, which includes opening up retail store curbside pickup, manufacturing and offices where remote working is not possible, according to a press release.
Certification criteria include testing, tracking, tracing, ability to physical distance, sanitize and protect seniors in facilities, the incarcerated, the homeless and other vulnerable individuals.
“If those criteria can be self-assessed, self-certified and attested to by the local health official in concurrence with the county supervisors, we will allow additional movement,” Gov Newsom said on May 4.
The mayor of Lancaster, Rex Parris, said he is fully prepared to embrace self-certification and reopen Lancaster by May 15 if not sooner.
“I don’t think there’s not anything we cannot do in five days,” Parris told the Southern California Record.
According to Parris, Lancaster has nearly 100 trained volunteers who will be contacting local business owners on Zoom or by telephone to guide them on how to reopen safely.
“There’s no reason for churches to remain closed if the vulnerable are told not to attend serves,” he said. “There may be six services instead of one service in order to social distance.”
Although Parris plans to reopen Lancaster ahead of the state with self-certification in place, he doesn’t agree with allowing people to swarm the beaches too soon.
“I am starting to reopen Lancaster against the governor’s orders but not over them,” he said. “I have a residence two blocks from the beach and I am frightened about people going to the beach. I think the governor’s orders are too loose in some ways and too strict in other ways but somebody has to be in charge.”
Gov. Newsom also said there will be unfortunate consequences for certain businesses that do not reopen according to the stage in which they are classified.
"I don't say that to be punitive," he said. "I'll just say that the Alcohol Beverage Control here in the state of California is investigating bars and some restaurant bars that opened up and 80 of them are shut back down because of licenses that were trying to be pulled."