The evening of Jan. 19 found Williamsville Mayor Deb Rogers far outside the village limits. She was speaking at a Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in Lackawanna to a receptive audience – a gun-rights group whose members have grown increasingly critical of Covid-19 safety measures – following an introduction by WBEN talk show host Tom Bauerle.
The next night, Rogers was back in Williamsville, leading a special meeting of the Village Board as it voted to hire an attorney to fight a $300 fine levied by the Erie County Health Department over the village's failure to comply with the state and county mask mandate.
The board voted 3-2, with Trustees Eileen Torre and Christine L. Hunt and Deputy Mayor David F. Sherman giving approval to the resolution to pay the fine. Mayor Deb Rogers was joined by newly-appointed Trustee Matt Carson in voting no.
The decision, which drew cheers and protests in equal measure, was overturned four nights later. The board may have backtracked, but Rogers isn't backing down, even in the face of calls for her to resign.
"It absolutely is my responsibility to speak up on this," Rogers said in an interview before the fine was issued. "The only power we do have is our voices."
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Before the pandemic hit, Rogers was a dedicated school and village volunteer, appointed by a Democrat as a Williamsville trustee. She won election to her board seat, and as mayor, without facing an opponent.
The debate over facts and freedom and rights and restrictions that has roiled the nation since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic has come to a one-square-mile community where complaining about traffic and parking used to rate as the biggest issue.
By late last year, however, Rogers began forcefully speaking out against mask and vaccine mandates in interviews.
"I think our Founding Fathers would be very proud of what the mayor is doing," Bauerle said during Monday's Village Board meeting.
Rogers says she is standing up for her constituents and she's continuing to do the work of the village. Some observers believe she's positioning herself for a run for higher office.
The debate has led to contentious discussion at Village Board meetings, as it has throughout the country, and the resignation of one trustee.
And residents say they don't know how long the divisions stirred up in this one-square-mile community of 5,300 will linger.
"It has been to the detriment of the village," said Mary Lowther, the village historian and a former Williamsville mayor. "We’ve been held up to the entire Western New York as being this totally dysfunctional, biased, ridiculous, little village. And that isn’t the reputation I want to see."
From volunteer to mayor
Rogers, a Johnstown, Pa., native, moved to Williamsville with her husband, Michael, in 2003.
She previously worked in human resources, but more recently volunteered at her children's schools, raised money for the Williamsville Branch Library and served on the Tree Board and other village committees.
When a Williamsville trustee resigned in March 2017, then-Mayor Brian J. Kulpa named Rogers to the vacant seat.
Williamsville Mayor Daniel O. DeLano Jr. is not seeking re-election, clearing the way for a challenger in June’s village elections. DeLano, who has held the job for 13 months, said he won’t seek a full, four-year term because he wants to devote more time to his family and new work prospects. The only announced candidate for the post is
"I was proud to appoint Deb at that time," said Kulpa, citing her charisma and leadership.
That year, Rogers, a Republican, donated $75 to Kulpa, a Democrat, and his campaign for Amherst supervisor.
Rogers won election to a full trustee term, unopposed, in June 2017. After souring on Kulpa's replacement as mayor, Dan DeLano, Rogers decided to challenge him. But DeLano opted to step down and Rogers glided to election in June 2019.
In an interview shortly after taking office, Rogers told The Buffalo News she hoped to focus on improving the village's parks and its walkability and would seek out new ideas.
Nine months after that, the Covid-19 crisis hit.
When you’re a village trustee in Williamsville, population 5,235, it’s hard to hide from your constituents. “I get stopped all the time,” said Deborah L. Rogers, who is button-holed at Wegmans, school concerts and while walking her dog. Her profile gets even higher Monday, when she takes over as Williamsville’s mayor. The Johnstown, Pa., native worked in Pittsburgh and
She gave an interview to WBEN in November, framing her anti-mandate position as an effort to support the village's business district, prompting three other Williamsville trustees to issue their own statement in support of the county mask mandate.
A village divided
Things came to a head at the Dec. 13 Village Board meeting, which swiftly descended into acrimony.
Several weeks later, Trustee Matthew Etu resigned, citing the vitriol at that meeting and what he considered Rogers' role in fueling it. Etu issued a blistering resignation letter, while Rogers thanked him for his service.
The mayor appointed Matt Carson – an active village volunteer who works at the same company, Life Storage, as Rogers' husband – as Etu's replacement. Lowther and DeLano had written to the mayor offering to temporarily serve as trustee, but did not receive a response.
Matthew Etu said he is resigning effective immediately because of a “toxic and destructive” environment created by Williamsville Mayor Deborah Rogers.
"I think they're concentrating on issues that don't even pertain to us," DeLano said. "You're jumping into this national political garbage."
The rancor had eased by the Jan. 10 Village Board meeting, held on Rogers' 50th birthday, but the divisions remained. Most of the in-person attendees, including Rogers, declined to wear masks in violation of the state and county mandates. Numerous speakers praised the mayor for her advocacy.
Those joining through a Zoom connection largely defended the policy as a safety measure. Unbeknownst to those at the meeting, the audience included a county health sanitarian. The department fined the village $300, the first time Erie County acted against a municipality.
The fine outraged conservatives, including members of the 1791 Society, which has moved beyond its Second Amendment roots to general opposition to Covid-19 restrictions. The society has posted numerous items on its Facebook page showing support for Rogers and hosted her this month.
"We all owe Mayor Deb Rogers of Williamsville a debt of gratitude for standing up for our rights and the Constitution," Frank J. Panasuk, a society leader, wrote on Facebook.
County Executive Mark Poloncarz confirmed Tuesday that the village is the only local government to be formally sanctioned and fined $300 by the Erie County Health Department for actively and repeatedly flouting the mask-wearing rules.
One day after her speech to the society, Rogers and two allies on the Village Board voted to hire attorney Todd Aldinger to fight the county's $300 fine, over the objections of a group of protesters gathered outside Village Hall holding signs that read "Deb Rogers You Don't Represent Us" and "Fire Rogers."
Just four days later, however, one Rogers ally, Deputy Mayor Dave Sherman – himself a Rogers appointee to the board – abruptly reversed his decision and joined two other trustees in voting to pay the fine.
Sherman said he was swayed by hearing from village residents who didn't want to spend taxpayer dollars to fight the county fine. Rogers' supporters were dismayed.
"She appointed him deputy mayor and he stabbed her in the back," said Brian Rusk, the Amherst Republican chairman.
Rogers during Monday's board meeting said she recognizes the mask issue "has caused a great deal of tension in our village."
The village hasn't paid the fine yet, said Village Administrator Judy Kindron, noting that it is due Feb. 7.
Activist Rus Thompson had raised $1,310 from 29 donors through a "Help Williamsville" GoFundMe page to pay for Aldinger's services. Thompson said he's trying to return the money, but wants to use $300 of it to pay off the fine – preferably, he said, with 30,000 pennies – if the village is interested.
Is a higher office beckoning?
What's behind Rogers' anti-mandate campaign?
The mayor declined an interview request for this article.
But elected officials past and present say it appears Rogers is trying to position herself for a run for higher office.
"I don't think this was done for the benefit of village residents. Because it didn't benefit village residents. It was done I think to get publicity and to appeal to some of the right-wing people out there," Lowther said.
Rusk said he believes Rogers would be a fine candidate for a state Assembly seat, Amherst supervisor or a similar post. Amherst Republicans on Friday spread word about a "Patriots for Deb Rogers" fundraiser planned for next month at the VFW hall in Williamsville.
"She's a woman with a strong spine. She has courage," Rusk said.
She has support on social media, where someone unconnected to Rogers set up a "Love Mayor Deb" Facebook page that offers the opportunity to buy $24 T-shirts, $15 lawn signs and $3 bumper stickers.
Williamsville has seen controversy before – such as the debate during the 1970s over the future of the fire-scarred property that later became Glen Park or the vote in 2010 over whether to dissolve village government – and came through it intact.
The June Village Board election, when the seats held by Carson and Sherman are on the ballot, should prove illuminating.
Joan Elizabeth Seamans, a former trustee and owner of a photography business in Williamsville, on Monday called on Rogers to resign, saying it was the only way for the village to begin healing.
"I'm disappointed with her leadership and I'm also disappointed that this brought such negativity to the village," she said.
Rogers argues she's standing up against government overreach.
"I can't sit here and not say anything," she told The News earlier this month.
