By Joe Brizzolara, Contributor
An ad hoc group calling themselves “Concerned Black Women of Long Beach” published an open letter on Wednesday claiming that Long Beach Councilmember Suzie Price was “disrespectful” and “discriminatory” towards City Health Officer Dr. Anissa Davis at this week’s City Council meeting during a study session about recent restaurant restrictions. Councilmember Stacy Mungo’s actions were also condemned in the letter, with one of the group’s members likening her comments to “birther(ism).”
The accusation stems from Price asking Davis, a Black woman, to share her professional background in order to address a misconception she found amongst her constituents that health orders, including restrictions on outdoor dining, were being issued by a non-medical professional. The letter asserts that the question “perpetuated the negative experience of Black women” who are often made to justify their credentials in a manner incongruous to their non-Black and male colleagues.
Price prefaced her question by saying, “I tell folks that going to Stanford Medical school is no joke,” referring to Davis’s alma mater. Price also mentioned being well versed in Davis’s background as it has been a common question amongst her constituents since the onset of the pandemic.
Davis then summarized her professional experience which includes a residency at Long Beach Memorial hospital, a public health fellowship with the Long Beach Health Department, and primary care in Los Alamitos before returning to the Health Department in 2016. She also recounted her long personal connection with the city including attending Poly High School.
The letter also takes issue with Davis’s “intellect and expertise” being called into question while no other staff member was met with similar questioning.
Price says that she asked Davis about her background specifically because she is responsible for issuing health orders. The current Safer at Home Health Order was issued by Davis on March 23 and has been revised several times. Health orders are issued by the Health Officer, promulgated by the City Manager, and then confirmed by the City Council.
“I was trying to establish that the Health Officer, who makes the order in our city, has a medical degree,” Price told the Signal Tribune. “(Long Beach Health Department Director) Kelly Collopy does not make the health orders.”
Price also claims that she intended to ask other members of Davis’s team about their credentials but did not do so due to time constraints.
Davis released a statement on Thursday thanking “Concerned Black Women of Long Beach” for their support and saying that while she “welcomed the opportunity to tell my story… one has to wonder if a person who looked more like (director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) Dr. Fauci would have been asked the same question.”
“Just because people are wondering about someone’s credentials (Why are they wondering; take a moment to ask yourself that) doesn’t necessarily mean a health official should be asked about their educational background in a public forum,” Davis’s statement continued. “Maybe, instead, the question needs to be asked of those wondering: Why are you asking? What concerns do you have? Maybe they should look up the qualifications to be a health officer.”
Price issued a statement shortly after the letter was published stating that her intention was to ask Davis to “share her impressive background.” She also apologized to “Concerned Black Women of Long Beach” for inferring that she was “challenging (Davis’s) qualifications or expertise.”
Price’s statement notes that, shortly after the study session, she apologized to Davis “in response to one of my Council colleague’s comments” and explained to Davis the purpose of her question.
Councilmember Rex Richardson commented during the study session that, while the question was “appreciated” and that he himself has received similar inquiries about Davis’s background, he thought it was an unfair question.
Signatory Dr. Joni Ricks-Oddie, director of UC Irvine’s Center for Statistical Consulting, says that if Councilmember Price meant to “highlight” Davis’s credentials “she could have gone about that a different way.”
“In a discussion where you’re challenging the decision that someone made,” she said, “asking for credentials produces the optics that you are not trying to highlight her credentials, you are trying to discredit her.”
“Nobody questioned her credentials until there was a health order that people disagreed with,” asserted Ricks-Oddie. “It looked like an attempt to disqualify a black woman with authority. And that, we thought, was very racially insensitive.”
During the study session Councilmembers Price and Mungo both questioned city staff as to the rationale for barring outdoor dining. Price urged the health officials to consider diverging from future LA County’s health orders once the state’s health restrictions expire after December 27 (though they may be extended). She felt that some restrictions were “arbitrary,” mirroring language used by LA County Superior Court Judge James Chalfant who ruled the County must provide a risk-benefit analysis if it decides to extend a prohibition on outdoor dining beyond the state’s ban. LA County Health Department issued a ban on in-person dining in November amid sharply increasing cases of COVID-19 in order to reduce crowding and potential exposure to the virus.
Mungo went so far as to say, “Even if our numbers are worse, we should separate… Our fate should be in our hands.”
Mungo, who was the sole vote against a directive to explore means for enforcement of mask-wearing, argued the question was a matter of transparency after thanking Price for posing the question and Davis for answering.
“It is important for the residents to see your credentials and (know) that you live in our city and care about our city,” Mungo said. “There were rumors that you didn’t live in the state of California and (some residents) didn’t know who you were.”
“All I thought of were the ‘birther’ arguments that we were hearing when President Obama was running for president,” said Ricks-Oddie in reference to Mungo’s comment about Davis’s residency. “You don’t live here so you don’t understand how we feel in the city. The intentionality there was to discredit Dr. Davis and make her other.”
Councilmember Mungo did not respond to requests for comment as of press time.
Price says that throughout the pandemic she has received scores of messages from constituents who believe the health orders are “politics over science.”
“When we closed in-person dining,” Price said, “We had a lot of people say ‘This isn’t science-based, it’s political. The people that are making these decisions are not scientists.’”
A review of emails from constituents provided by Price’s staff supported this assertion.
“Politicians with their heads up their A– made a POOR decision,” wrote Karen Blair in regards to the ban on in-person dining.
“We are constantly told that “science” is driving policy, but it’s clear that’s not happening,” wrote Erik Jordan concerning beach closures.
“This doesn’t make any sense based on the current science. How are these decisions being made? How are the rules being enforced?” wrote Erik Robinson.
Antagonism towards Southern California public officials over health orders has led to several protests including recent demonstrations outside of their private residence, including that of director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Barbara Ferrer. Orange County health official Nichole Quick, along with multiple other health officials across the state, resigned earlier this year amid public protest and criticism from lawmakers.
In extreme cases, this antagonism has veered into criminal charges such as a northern California community college instructor currently standing trial for stalking and sending threatening letters to Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody. In September, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order protecting the confidentiality of local health officials’ addresses and providing for other privacy services.
“If the public understands the qualifications of (a) city employee that will help them trust the decision more,” Price said.
“I shouldn’t have asked that question. I did not think about how that would make her feel and I completely understand why she feels the way she feels,” she said. “I regret it.”
Just for the record, Dr. Ferrer has a PhD from the Institute for Health Policy at the Heller School — a doctorate in Public Health. On top of a Masters in Public Health. She did her doctoral work on the AIDS epidemic. More importantly, decades of experience as a public health director at the state and local level.