Williamsville Trustee Matthew Etu resigned Monday because of what he described as a “toxic and destructive” environment fostered by Williamsville Mayor Deb Rogers.
Etu, who also had served as deputy mayor, said in a blistering resignation letter that personality and policy clashes with the mayor in recent weeks, notably over the Covid-19 mask mandate, had driven him to his decision.
"She lost focus on the issues that are most pressing to the village and sought to create an echo chamber where she sees herself as a constitutional patriot, framing the majority of board members as traitors," Etu wrote in the statement sent Monday morning to village officials, The Buffalo News and the Amherst Bee and posted on his Facebook page. "Mayor Rogers tilts at windmills the Village Board has no power to overturn and which most of the constituency has no interest in even fighting."
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In response, Rogers said that she's just stating her opinion on issues of importance to her constituents.
To accuse her of stirring up animosity toward board members, Rogers said in an interview, “Quite frankly, that’s just an outright lie. That is not who I am. I am simply one individual who came out with an opinion, a very strong opinion, on the Erie County mask mandate.”
She added that she harbors no ill will toward Etu and she thanked him for his service to the village.
Etu's resignation letter highlights how contentious the issue of mask wearing has become – both nationwide and in a village of 5,300 or so residents.
His resignation comes several weeks after the Dec. 13 Village Board meeting, where a large group of residents opposing mask and vaccine mandates directed their ire at Etu and others on the board for more than two hours.
A photo published in the Amherst Bee from the meeting in Village Hall showed Rogers seated, without a face mask, at the board table while three other board members including Etu wore masks as required under the recently imposed state mask mandate for public spaces.
A sign on the door stated masks were required for attendees but the policy was not enforced. Rogers said it's up to the Erie County Health Department to enforce the rule.
Other photos show numerous audience members flouting the regulation, a group that included an Amherst police officer seated in the back of the meeting space.
No recording of the meeting exists, but the Bee article notes many speakers praised Rogers for her public criticism of the mask mandate, which was put in place by Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz before Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a statewide order.
“I watched stunned as the mayor appeared to revel in the chaos and vitriol spewed at her fellow board members,” Etu wrote.
Rogers gave news interviews in late November and early December objecting to the Erie County mask mandate.
Speaking with The Buffalo News, Rogers said the mask mandates are a significant imposition for small businesses, such as those that line the village's Main Street corridor.
"I am standing for freedom of choice for these business owners," said Rogers. While public health officials say proper use of face masks helps limit the spread of Covid-19, Rogers emphasized the burden they place on public-facing employees if a customer is angered by a request to put on a mask.
Etu, in his resignation letter, said Rogers had called him "unhinged" because of their opposing positions on mask mandates. Rogers said this comment, in a group text among village board members, came after Etu overreacted to her interview with a local radio station and demanded a retraction.
"It was definitely warranted because of his behavior," Rogers said.
Ultimately, in response to Rogers' criticism of the county mask mandate, Etu and two other trustees, Christine Hunt and Eileen Torre, issued a statement emphasizing support for the order as a public health measure.
“The Village Board always has our local businesses' best interest at heart, but also has a responsibility to the health, safety and welfare of our community,” Etu said in the joint statement.
Rogers' emphasis on an anti-mask agenda, Etu added, "is toxic and has poisoned the business of the Village Board. The mayor’s focus is misplaced, and the business of her administration has become self-aggrandizing."
Rogers declined to respond to Etu with similarly personal language.
She said she has not neglected her responsibilities as mayor while she addresses public policy issues surrounding Covid-19 that are, she believes, too important to ignore.
"I can't sit here and not say anything," Rogers said.
Etu, a civil and structural engineer, was the most senior trustee on the Village Board, having served on it for four years. He was a member of the Harmony Party, which also includes Rogers.
"It's a shame that he was so put off by the mayor's behavior that he felt it necessary to resign," Torre, a member of a rival village political party, wrote in an email. "While Mr. Etu and I did not always agree on everything, he was thoughtful, and always worked very hard for the residents of the Village of Williamsville."
Hunt said Etu's descriptions of the mayor's behavior and the unruliness of the Dec. 13 meeting were accurate. She said it's disappointing a "mismanaged meeting," and not a local issue, led to his resignation.
"I would rather see our time spent on improving infrastructure, putting our historic resources to good use and making the village the jewel of Amherst," Hunt, who joined the board in July, wrote in an email. "I would hope that we can move on from this and the next board meeting will be respectful of others, orderly and masks will be worn."
The mayor will appoint a replacement for Etu to serve on the Village Board until the June 21 village elections, when that appointee will run to serve out the final year of Etu's trustee term. Rogers also will name a new deputy mayor.
