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ReOpen San Diego threatens to sue city over vaccine mandates

Demonstrators at a ReOpen San Diego rally waved flags at the County Administration Building in Downtown San Diego in August
Anti-mask and vaccine mandate demonstrators listen to speakers during a ReOpen San Diego rally on Aug. 21, 2021 at the County Administration Building in Downtown San Diego
(Sandy Huffaker/for The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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The organization ReOpen San Diego has threatened to sue the city of San Diego over recently enacted vaccine mandates that require all city employees, elected officials, board or commission members and volunteers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

At a special meeting Nov. 29, the San Diego City Council approved a measure requiring anyone in those positions to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of vaccination. It also required full vaccination for the city’s new hires or appointees. The measure took effect Dec. 1.

The emergency measure was necessary, the city stated, “for the immediate preservation of the public peace, safety, health and welfare due to the coronavirus disease.”

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The council had voted in August to require full vaccination for all city staff and has been steadfast on that requirement despite pushback from the police union and other groups. It voted this month to move forward with plans to terminate unvaccinated police officers after reaching an impasse with the police union over the mandate.

City staff, officials or volunteers can request medical or religious exemptions, which would be evaluated on case-by-case basis, the city stated.

The Nov. 29 vote added elected and appointed officials to the vaccination plan, prompting the threat of legal action by ReOpen San Diego. On Wednesday, the Cardiff-based law firm Aannestad Andelin & Corn sent a letter on the group’s behalf demanding the city revoke the mandate, arguing it illegally restricts the pool of potential public officials, including those who would run for public office.

“As part of its commitment to defending the constitutional rights of all San Diego County residents, ReOpen San Diego hereby demands that the San Diego City Council immediately set a special meeting and rescind its overly broad, illegal, and discriminatory COVID-19 vaccine mandate emergency ordinance,” the letter stated.

ReOpen San Diego is a nonprofit group that has organized rallies and protests against COVID-19 measures, including school closures and mask and vaccination requirements. It has clashed with county supervisors and other local officials at public meetings and orchestrated hours of public comments denouncing pandemic restrictions.

On Wednesday the group announced its intent to sue over the vaccine requirements for public officials and volunteers, claiming the rules “harm, bully, shame, discriminate and try to marginalize” those who don’t comply with the mandates.

“Sounds unconstitutional doesn’t it? Not to mention authoritarian and tyrannical!” the group stated in an e-mail.

The law firm’s letter to the city suggested that the mandate was a partisan move by Democratic council members, noting that only Councilmember Chris Cate – the sole Republican member – voted no.

The letter is a precursor to a potential lawsuit, and the organization has not filed a legal complaint yet, ReOpen San Diego co-founder Amy Reichert said in e-mail.

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