Texans Demand To Know If Governor’s Mansion Will Reopen Along With The Rest Of The State

Governor Greg Abbott announced earlier this week that as of March 10, all businesses in Texas will be allowed to operate at full-capacity and existing mask mandates will be lifted, in what he pretended was a celebratory proclamation.

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However, we’re still in the middle of a pandemic. Vaccine rollout will likely take several more months. The impact of it may take several more on top of that. And while infections are overall trending down, Texas still reported nearly 8000 new cases of COVID-19 in the past month.

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All of this is leaving many Texans concerned about Abbott’s seemingly random plan to reopen the state. The science simply does not back up his decision, and some people are convinced that Abbott knows this and he’s just trying to score points with business owners and COVID-deniers, regardless of the potential cost in human lives.

After all, if it were really safe to reopen Texas, the Governor’s Mansion would be reopening as well, right?

A note on the official website says that guided tours “have been temporarily suspended.”

“In addition to being a historical site, the Governor’s Mansion is also the residence of the First Family of Texas and it is not possible to safely provide tours while also adhering [to] the CDC’s health standards.”

A number of people were quick to point out this discrepancy after Abbott made his grand proclamation of reopening, noting the apparent hypocrisy.

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.@GregAbbott_TX is perfectly fine endangering the health of Texans, especially frontline workers.

But when it comes to his taxpayer-funded mansion, tours remain closed to adhere to “CDC’s health standards.”

Is the Governor’s health more important than his constituents’? pic.twitter.com/gEtEqVfKMc

— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) March 3, 2021

So, the Governor of Texas is saying, “Do as I say (opening the whole state-regardless of CDC recommendations), But not as I do (stay the hell away from my state provided resident,. I’m following the CDC recommendations to protect my family from infected non-mask wearers).

Sad.

— Ed Rivera (@EdRiver76005279) March 3, 2021

Ask all your teacher friends to call and book tours for their classes to visit the governor’s mansion. Everybody. En masse.

— fierce advocate, msw (@brainyisnewsexy) March 2, 2021

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A frustrated resident by the name of Valerie reached out to see if it was possible to book a tour of the mansion, under the guise of “celebrating” the “tremendous milestone” of the state opening back up in the middle of the pandemic. 

Her email exchanges with Elizabeth Garzone of “Visitor Services Tour Reservations” are a pitch-perfect example of going around in circles without getting anywhere.

Valerie was repeatedly told the website would update when tours are available, no matter how many times she pointed out that Abbott was thrilled to announce the ENTIRE state would be reopening next week.

“I guess it’s a do as I say not as I do,” her friend wrote on a Facebook post sharing the emails.

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The Daily Dot’s David Covucci later shared that he was able to confirm with the Governor’s Mansion that tours will, in fact, reopen on the 10th. At some point on Thursday, the language on the main website was changed to reflect that.

However, it appears that no tours are currently able to be booked, despite Garzone’s insistence in tours must be booked a week in advance.

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*First Published: March 4, 2021, 1:20 pm