Gov. Gavin Newsom visited Six Flags Magic Mountain Wednesday to celebrate the state’s reopening.
Newsom continued to describe the reopening as California’s first step to coming “roaring back,” adding, “It’s because of all of your hard work, your faith and devotion, not only to yourselves and your family, but more broadly the community, the state and this nation that we are trying to rebuild from this very challenging pandemic.”
Magic Mountain was a stop on Newsom’s tour to highlight some of the attractions Californians can look forward to revisiting this summer as the state fully reopens, with leaders touting the park for its assistance during the pandemic as a mass vaccination site in Los Angeles County.
As one of the first mass vaccination sites that began operating in January, distributing more than 130,000 vaccines in total, county Supervisor Kathryn Barger said the Magic Mountain site is arguably the reason why the county’s vaccination rate was so high early on.
“Santa Claritans I know have been hungry for this day for a long time, and we’ve been showing tremendous unity in this community,” added Sen. Henry Stern, D-Calabasas. “People have been stepping up, getting their shots, our rates are climbing here, and I’ve got to say, I’m so, so proud of that.”
While vaccines continue to be administered across the county and the Santa Clarita Valley, community leaders continue to emphasize the importance of vaccinations for those who have not yet done so.
“We are excited that we are reopening, but make no mistake, the virus is still here,” Barger said. “For those of you that are not vaccinated, please, please, please, if not for yourself, do it for your family. If not for your family, do it for your community.”
To incentivize more Californians, Newsom announced additional prizes and giveaways for those who get vaccinated at select vaccination sites as part of the state’s Vax for the Win program.
Assemblywoman Suzette Martinez Valladares, R-Santa Clarita, issued the following statement following Newsom’s visit:
“I want to thank the governor for visiting Six Flags today and proud of my work on Assembly Bill 420 to open these parks safely. I am frustrated and concerned, however, that the governor and his administration isn’t prioritizing those who lost their jobs during his pandemic shutdown – including the thousands lost in our local community at places like Six Flags. Step one would be fixing the backlog of 230,000 unemployed California workers waiting for their back pay; a promise Gov. Newsom made but has not fulfilled. I’m hopeful that bipartisan legislation I’m co-authoring will help get those funds to our workers quicker and begin the fix.”
