Tulsa mayor: People ‘compared me to Hitler’ when I issued shelter-in-place order

Tulsa, Okla., Mayor G.T. Bynum (R) issued a “shelter-in-place” ordinance Saturday to protect residents from the spread of the coronavirus, and says in a Wednesday op-ed that some in the community “compared me to Hitler.”

The public reaction to his move was “swift and intense,” with responses divided between people praising his safety measures and others saying their individual freedoms were being revoked, Bynum said in a New York Times opinion piece.

“That is what it is like to be a mayor in red-state America during this crisis,” he said.

Tulsa is one of the 50 largest cities in the country, and Bynum said he came to his decision by “following logic and science,” as well as communicating with other town mayors.

“Not a day passes without one group of people pleading to ‘lock it all down,’ while another reminds you of their right to assemble,” he wrote.

The city of Tulsa announced a ban on events of 250 or more eight days after the first case of COVID-19 was found there on March 7.

After discussions with the local health department director, Bynum concluded that testing was not prevalent enough in the city to resume business as usual comfortably.

Bynum later ordered the closure of all bars, entertainment centers and restaurants, excluding curbside services.

“It was the worst day of my life,” Bynum said. “I was knowingly causing the unemployment of thousands in our city, and I was shutting down the dreams of so many entrepreneurs who have put their all into building a great restaurant scene in Tulsa.”

Bynum said, however, that the measures are necessary to keep lives safe.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) faced criticism in mid-March when he announced that he would continue to eat at restaurants with his family during the outbreak. Stitt later backtracked, saying Oklahomans should follow federal guidance on avoiding large groups and communal public spaces.

As of Wednesday, Tulsa has confirmed 83 cases of COVID-19 and three deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Oklahoma has seen 155 confirmed cases and seven deaths.