Vickie Paladino, a Republican councilwoman representing Queens in the New York City Council, was barred from entering City Hall chambers during her first day in office over her refusal to submit her COVID-19 vaccination status.
In several tweets she posted during her first day on the job, Paladino alleged she was “barred from the chamber floor due to my refusal to submit vax status to the city.”
“Our government is now interfering with a duly elected representative’s right to access the mechanisms of office,” the councilwoman wrote.
Paladino, who represents District 19, detailed her experience: “Upon my arrival at City Hall, I was informed by Council officials that several progressive members had expressed ‘serious’ concern over me being in the building, and was told that I’d be removed from chambers if I attempted to enter.”
She went on to say that she did not want to “force a spectacle on the council floor” and instead discussed things with the GOP conference and Adrienne Adams, the first black woman to be elected speaker in the council’s history.
“I met with my GOP conference as well as Adrienne Adams and explained that out of respect for her nomination to Speaker, I would not cause an issue today,” Paldino recounted in another tweet. “She and I had a great conversation and I look forward to working with her.”
She added that she “made it clear that this courtesy would only be for today, and that I will fight the mandates with every resource available.”
“Not just the council mandates, but throughout the city,” Paladino said. “Going forward, if anyone has a problem with me in the chamber, they will have to remove me.”
In a statement, fellow Republicans on the council said they “support City Council Member Vickie Paladino’s right to make her own, personal medical decisions, and feel strongly that her decisions should not restrict her from performing any of her duties as a duly elected member of this legislative body, including attending public meetings in person.”
“There is no evidence to suggest Council Member Paladino, as long as she regularly tests negative for COVID, poses any real threat by entering the Council Chambers, where all attendees are fully masked and socially distanced,” the GOP council members added.
The New York Post reported of the situation: “All City Council members must be vaccinated against coronavirus to enter chambers, according to council rules. Paladino, 67, has refused to submit her medical information. Sources close to her say she remains unvaccinated.”
Paladino had spoken favorably of Adams, a Democrat.
“She’s making history today and I look forward to working with Adrienne in the future,” she said of the speaker. “And I see a very bright future because we understand each other.”
Council spokesman Walter Chi told the Post: “There will be no exceptions absent a valid request for a medical or religious accommodation. The protection of the health and safety of our staff and Council Members is of the highest priority to the Council.”
Paladino has also said that “under no circumstances” will her staff be required to reveal their vaccination status.
“Should the mandates continue indefinitely, my office is exploring all available options to protect the livelihoods and liberty of my constituents, staff, and all New Yorkers, she said.
The 57-year-old freshman councilwoman argued that her vaccination status was a “private matter between myself and my physician.” She would be the only known member of the 51-person body who is unvaccinated.
“Like tens of thousands of fellow New Yorkers, I believe the mandates are counterproductive and crippling to our economy and deeply divisive socially,” she said.
“I maintain hope that Mayor [Eric] Adams will break from the failed policies of the de Blasio administration and rescind all emergency powers shortly into our new term and allow life in NYC to return to normal, as it already has throughout much of America,” she continued.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority appears ready to kill Joe Biden’s employer vaccine mandate. During arguments on Friday, conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Amy Coney Barrett suggested that the Biden administration’s rule, which was issued under an agency’s emergency powers, was too broad.
Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh expressed concerns of their own with the policy, while Chief Justice Roberts seemed to agree with reasoning from Gorsuch and Kavanaugh that a federal agency imposing a regulation with such vast economic and political consequences without authorization from Congress is of dubious legitimacy.
