NewsCalifornia News

Actions

City official in California ousted over his pandemic remarks

Posted
and last updated

ANTIOCH, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California city official has been ousted after he suggested on social media that sick, old and homeless people should be left to meet their “natural course in nature” during the coronavirus pandemic.

City Council members in Antioch, a city of about 110,000 people 35 miles east of Oakland, voted unanimously Friday night to remove Ken Turnage II from his post as chairman of the city’s planning commission. Turnage's Facebook post characterizing people with weak immune systems as a drain on society caused a swift uproar.

He said he was entitled to his personal opinion and that removing him would violate his freedom of speech.

,

Weather

Daily Forecast

View Hourly Forecast

Day

Conditions

HI / LO

Precip

Thursday

04/17/2025

Cloudy

69° / 56°

3%

Friday

04/18/2025

AM Clouds/PM Sun

75° / 54°

24%

Saturday

04/19/2025

Sunny

83° / 56°

1%

Sunday

04/20/2025

Sunny

85° / 58°

0%

Monday

04/21/2025

Mostly Sunny

86° / 59°

0%

Tuesday

04/22/2025

Sunny

87° / 58°

0%

Wednesday

04/23/2025

Sunny

84° / 54°

0%

Thursday

04/24/2025

Partly Cloudy

78° / 53°

0%