To the editor:

The Baraga County Republican Party letter to the editor was predictable political spin. The BCRP praised the radical right-wing, anti-government Baraga County officials for refusing to enforce lawful orders that are designed to slow down the spread of the coronavirus to protect peoples’ health.

It is nonsensical for the BCRP to characterize the Baraga County elected officials’ action as brave and supportive of small businesses and residents. I think the lawlessness and disregard for public health and safety is harmful to the businesses and the workers who work there and residents in Baraga County. Who are the “government officials that have abandoned small businesses and the middle class” in Baraga County? They are the same nine partisans who signed the manifesto. They do not speak for me. They have abandoned the jobs they were elected to perform and proved they are unreliable and reckless.

Picking and choosing which laws or orders to enforce or ignore makes Baraga County an unstable place to live and work.

The manifesto is not the first dangerous scheme the Baraga Commissioners have unanimously approved. In 2017, Joseph O’Leary, also author of the manifesto, wrote a resolution to disenfranchise voters in Baraga County. It was rescinded after a public outcry.

The manifesto should be denounced by Baraga County citizens, and the nine elected officials should be held accountable.