North Shore Provocateur Led Group Against Somerville Vax Mandate

SOMERVILLE, MA — A former radio host from the North Shore led a group of protesters that blocked Somerville's vote Friday evening on a vaccine mandate at most indoor businesses.

Dianna Ploss, a gubernatorial candidate who frequently protested near Gov. Charlie Baker's home, streamed the meeting on Facebook, where she encouraged supporters to interrupt the meeting during the board discussion. Ploss is a Peabody resident and her campaign manager, who encouraged people to "get in the meeting and bomb," lives in West Brookfield, Cambridge Day reported.

Ploss's campaign website describes her platform as "focused on the fight against communism and the restoration of constitutional liberties to the citizens of Massachusetts."

Ploss and her supporters accused Board of Health Chair Brian Green of "spreading false information" and repeatedly threatened legal action before Ploss was kicked off the meeting. Doug Kress, Somerville's director of Health and Human Services, said he was concerned about comments in the Zoom chat, calling them "aggressive" and "violent."

In April 2020, Ploss began organizing weekly protests outside the governor's home to pressure him to reopen the state's economy. She was fired from the radio station WSMN that same year for a video where she told Spanish-speaking landscapers in New Hampshire to "speak English" and demanded to know their immigration status.

Ploss did not immediately return a Patch request for comment.

Somerville's proposal for a vaccine mandate, which would require proof of vaccination at most indoor public spaces, including restaurants, event venues and gyms, has gone before the Board of Health twice. In December, the board delayed a vote while it monitored the trajectory of COVID-19 cases over the holidays.

A potential mandate has been met with pushback from some business owners, residents and local officials, who raised concerns about additional staffing costs for businesses.

Stephen Mackey, president of the Somerville Chamber of Commerce, told Patch he is pushing for a public hearing on the matter. While public comment has been allowed at the Board of Health meetings, these do not constitute public hearings, where "people get to speak directly to the decision-makers," Mackey said.

"That's important because it is about science and data, health and medicine. It's also about implementation," he said.

Mackey said the proposal could have some unintended consequences, such as empowering people to receive personal information about minors without proper vetting. He also has questions about the success of the city's vaccine mandate for its own employees, as well as who authored the order.

"We're just being handed it," he said. "We want everyone to be safe, but we have to think through some of these public health actions."

A spokesperson for the mayor's office said the matter will be taken up again Thursday at 6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on the Somerville Patch