To the editor:
I am not a single-issue voter, but this year COVID-19 has eclipsed other issues as we navigate an unprecedented global health pandemic.
As an allied healthcare provider and a member of the Swampscott Board of Health, the importance of Swampscott’s response to COVID-19 over the past year and for the foreseeable future cannot be overstated.
The key to our success in Swampscott is that our local COVID-19 response was not politicized. We relied on the most current data from national public health organizations and distinguished scientists, and viewed testing, wearing masks, social distancing and getting vaccinated as reasonable and responsible measures to protect ourselves and our neighbors.
I feel compelled during National Public Health Week to speak out about one of the candidates for the Swampscott Select Board. I do not personally know Mary Webster, but I got the chance to understand her views on COVID-19 by reviewing her social media posts a few weeks ago.
What I saw was dangerous, irresponsible, and immoral to say the least. For example:
A post by Mary Webster in July 2020 contained a photo taken in 1936 of young girls marching in the streets of Tokyo wearing gas masks, with the caption, “In 4 months, the U.S. transformed into an obedient socialist country… And you bought it without a fight.”
A post by Mary Webster in August 2020 promoted Uganda’s use of hydroxychloroquine and stated that “[Fauci] just wants to sell a vaccine. He has SOLD the American people out to the Pharmaceuticals Companies!”
Another post by Mary Webster in August 2020 — a post that was flagged by Facebook as misleading — infers that COVID-19 (for which there was no vaccine at the time) is no more dangerous than tuberculosis (an infectious disease for which a vaccine has been administered to hundreds of millions of people each year for almost 100 years).
I cannot imagine what Swampscott would have been like over the past year if our town leadership reflected the views shared by Mary Webster on social media. Swampscott’s response to COVID-19 is not about politics; it is about protecting our residents.
This summer, my family will be relocating out of state. A replacement to complete my term on the Swampscott Board of Health will be appointed by the Swampscott Select Board and Swampscott Board of Health. This decision is far too important to leave it to someone having views as expressed by Mary Webster. For this reason, it is more important than ever that the residents of Swampscott know where the candidates for Select Board (and all offices) stand relative to COVID-19.
Stephanie Goodman
Prospect Avenue
Swampscott
