Profile in courage- Joplin Mayor Ryan Stanley says he'll do mask ordinance if everyone else does

You have to look long and hard in this area for any profiles in courage among our elected leaders.

They seem to rarely move to the front of the room unless somebody needs a TIF district and is dangling the lure of hundreds of low-paying jobs.

But it would be unfair to count Joplin Mayor Ryan Stanley among that number.

He is perfectly willing to be a profile in courage- and he will do it as soon as everyone else does.

Stanley has shown a willingness to examine both sides of an issue.

He has been just as eager to vote on both sides of an issue.

When the Joplin City Council first voted on a mask ordinance June 24, Stanley, joined by Gary Shaw, Phil Stinnett, Doug Lawson and Chuck Copple, voted it down. (Council members Keenan Cortez, Diane Reid Adams, Anthony Monteleone and Christina Williams supported the measure.)

At that point, Stanley said such an ordinance would be a burden on law enforcement.

On July 8, Stanley and Copple joined Cortez, Adams, Monteleone and Williams and a mask ordinance was approved.

The mask ordinance worked, so naturally when it came time to decide whether to renew it, Stanley changed his mind.

During the Monday, August 17 council meeting, Stanley delivered an impassioned soliloquy, along the lines of "to mask or not to mask, that is the question." By the time he finished delivering the lengthy explanation of his vote, city residents had nearly forgotten the question.

Even the facial covering Stanley was wearing that evening did little to mask the agony Stanley (and the viewers) were suffering as he explained how he had gone back and forth 20 times before he decided to vote no. Since Copple had already voted no, Stanley's vote- the last one, ended the mask ordinance and put the city on the pathway to the crisis it faces today.

In a letter to the Joplin Globe this week, Stanley indicated his willingness to change his mind again- but he is not going to do it alone.

COVID-19 is a regional health crisis. It needs to be addressed with a regional response. Over the past few weeks, I have visited with the executive leadership of Freeman Health System, Mercy Hospital Joplin and the Kansas City University, Joplin. I have had many candid conversations with Joplin's health director and former health director. All have expressed concern over our growing number of cases, our increased level of hospitalizations and the holiday season that is upon us.

Stanley urged a regional summit, noting that he had tried the idea earlier and no one wanted to come.

But if nobody wants to meet with Stanley and Joplin leaders this time, he says, Joplin, the city with 100 COVID-19 patients in our hospitals as this is written, may do something on its own.

A regional summit is warranted and needed soon, in my opinion. The city of Joplin has shown its willingness and ability to discuss and implement constraints to address COVID-19. 

Stanley neglected to mention that the city of Joplin (or at least the mayor and four other council members) have also shown a willingness and ability to do away with those constraints rather than listen to another five hours of outraged citizens berating council members for violating their constitutional rights by forcing them to do something to protect their neighbors.

That's some profile in courage.