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Coral Springs’ Vice Mayor Calls Anti-Mask Politician “Representative Blackface”

by Kevin Deutsch July 29, 2021

by Kevin Deutsch July 29, 2021 1 minutes read

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Coral Springs' Vice Mayor Calls Anti-Mask Politician “Representative Blackface”

Coral Springs Vice Mayor Joshua Simmons and State Rep. Anthony Sabatini.

By Kevin Deutsch

Coral Springs Vice Mayor Joshua Simmons ripped State Rep. Anthony Sabatini on Twitter this week for his criticism of local mask mandates, calling him “Representative Blackface” and warning him his “comeuppance is nigh.”

In a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis Wednesday, Sabatini called for a special legislative session to ban “local government and school district mask and vaccine mandates” instituted by “tyrannical left-wing local governments,” including Coral Springs.

“So Representative Blackface aka @AnthonySabatini decided to stick his offensive fingers in something he has no business in doing,” Simmons Tweeted Wednesday. “Do not come for my city because I do not play about mine. Go score political points off someone else. Your comeuppance is nigh. This is misleading.

“Go pedal your trash elsewhere and do not involve my city in your madness,” Simmons wrote. “We are requiring masks in city buildings. This is not a city-wide requirement. Stop being messy, Mr. Blackface.”

Simmons referenced a photo that emerged in 2018 showing Sabatini wearing blackface in high school—a picture the republican lawmaker said was taken out of context.

Sabatini’s letter came after Coral Springs began requiring visitors to wear facial coverings in city buildings again. The policy change was announced in response to Florida’s skyrocketing COVID-19 infection and hospitalization totals.

The state reported 16,038 new cases Tuesday, with a 7-day test positivity rate of 17.21 percent as of Monday. Florida leads the U.S. in new, confirmed COVID infections, data show.

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Author Profile

Kevin Deutsch

Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning journalist and author of two nonfiction books. He covers general assignment news and Jewish community issues for Talk Media. He has also worked as a staff writer at The Miami Times, the Rio Grande SUN, the New York Daily News, Newsday, The Miami Herald, The Palm Beach Post, The Riverdale Press, and Bronx Justice News.