AUSTIN, Texas — Austin Mayor Steve Adler said he will be celebrating the holidays at home with his immediate family and members of his household and hopes to celebrate virtually with other family members.
The mayor's response came after a media question about how city leaders would be spending their holidays in light of the Austin Public Health (APH) announcement of Stage 5 COVID-19 recommendations, which call for no gatherings outside your household.
Mayor Adler was at the center of national headlines after the KVUE Defenders uncovered that he had taken a trip to Cabo San Lucas on a private jet at the beginning of November after hosting his daughter's wedding.
On Dec. 5, Mayor Adler issued a formal apology in an open letter about the Cabo trip.
"I know that my actions let down the community this week. I should not have taken the trip with my family. It was a bad choice, and I apologize," the mayor said.
You can read his full apology here.
Other city leaders on the Dec. 23 press conference call included APH's Stephanie Hayden and Dr. Mark Escott and Travis County Judge Andy Brown. Escott said he was having Christmas dinner with his wife and son, and their family would be attending Christmas midnight mass "from the couch." Hayden said she would celebrate the holiday with her husband and son in Austin. Brown said he was staying home with his wife and two kids.
Brown also said he understands how it feels for people to not be able to sit down with their families because his father suffers from "advanced stages of a disease similar to Parkinson's." He said as much as he'd love to sit down and have a meal with his dad, they're not going to do it (and will have to virtually) because a COVID-19 exposure to him would be detrimental to his health.
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