Live from Music Row Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles in the studio to give his official comment on Dr. Anthony Fauci’s recent advice for local municipalities on local COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Leahy: We welcome to our microphones in studio the mayor of Maury County – that bastion of economic freedom, that turbocharged engine of economic growth – Andy Ogles. Good morning, Andy.
Ogles: Good morning.
Leahy: You like that little phrase we came up with last time? The bastion of freedom and turbocharged engine of economic growth in Maury County. It’s fun because it’s true.
Ogles: It is true. We are firing on all cylinders and it’s a great time, really, to be in Tennessee, period, but certainly Middle Tennessee and Maury County. And I’m blessed to be mayor and just got back from the beach and tan.
Leahy: Tan, rested, and ready.
Ogles: That’s right.
Leahy: Tan, rested, and ready is the phrase. I went a couple of weeks ago. I went down the beginning of July. I went down in a similar area and was tan, rested, and ready for a while. (Laughs)
We went to Dauphin Island. If you haven’t been, it’s very quiet and just outside of Mobile and not a lot to do there, which was fantastic.
My wife and I and our kids just hung out at the beach every day and built sandcastles and big trenches in the sand and just chilled.
Leahy: That would be my favorite thing to do – is basically not a lot. Just sit and hang out at the beach and maybe walk along the beach.
The problem is I can do it for, like, about an hour, maybe two hours. And then all of a sudden I started thinking. What about X?
What about Y? What about C? I better call so and so. And then it all starts again. So I got to pace myself a little bit.
Ogles: With three kiddos on the beach, one of them always wanted to get in the water. Especially our little one. So we had a blast. Totally fun.
Leahy: Well, welcome back. You do look tan, rested, and ready. And the challenges of being the mayor of Maury County: I think you thrive on that, from what I can tell.
It’s interesting. We deal with a lot of political figures here, and I think you like to talk to people. To me, this is why my best role is being a talk radio host because we talk to people in studio.
But when you go out in Maury County, everyone has a claim on your time. Everyone. And so everyone has a right to come up and say, now, Mayor, why didn’t we do X?
Over here I’ve got a problem there. What are you going to do about it? You seem to like that.
Ogles: Yeah. I mean, I think that’s the role of our elected officials is to be the advocate for our community. And that’s what I try to do, which is why I was so vocal during COVID.
I’ll have someone reach out or make a comment on social media. Maybe I’m being an advocate against or for some policy that maybe has a national or even statewide bent to it.
But what they don’t realize is that a vaccine mandate hypothetically affects us locally. And so it’s my job as mayor to be vocal and say, “hey, the constituents, my constituents here Maury County don’t want vaccine mandates.”
They don’t want mask mandates. They don’t want these shutdowns and this intrusive government that is wanting to lurch into Tennessee. And so I’ve been very vocal and try to be an advocate for everybody in Maury County.
And our businesses are booming because of it, because we are that turbocharged bastion of freedom that we’ve become known for. And our square is booming, which is fantastic.
Leahy: Now, Anthony Fauci.
Ogles: The man. (Chuckles)
Leahy: The man. This is coming in here just recently from Anthony Fauci and the Biden administration, and basically following Anthony Fauci’s comments the other day calling for more local vaccine mandates.
Local! The press secretary to the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Jen Psaki, said that the Biden administration won’t issue broader federal mandates, but the Biden administration plans to support local municipalities and their efforts to regulate COVID-19 vaccine administration and distribution.
I don’t know about you, but that sounds very Orwellian to me, Andy.
Ogles: Well, that’s what’s been frustrating for me about COVID, in general, is that how quickly we as a people really started giving up our liberties and freedoms, and we became a very Orwellian society almost overnight.
And we’ve got to get back to the fundamental beliefs and individual liberty.
Leahy: Comment on Fauci who said on Sunday, “I’ve been of this opinion, and I remain of that opinion, that I do believe at the local level there should be more mandates. There really should be.”
Do you have a message in response to Anthony Fauci?
Ogles: Hell no!
Leahy: Doctor Fauci, are you listening? For your request for local mandates, we have the official quote from Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles. This quote is for you, Dr. Fauci. Hell no! (Laughter)
Ogles: He’s not a very tall fellow. I’ll pat him on the head and send him on his way.
Leahy: Hell no, Dr. Fauci. That’s Andy Ogles. I agree with that.
Listen to the second hour here:
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
