In a letter dated January 2nd, Williamsville Trustee Matthew Etu said he is resigning effective immediately because of a “toxic and destructive” environment created by Williamsville Mayor Deborah Rogers.
In his official resignation letter, Etu states:
Simply, the interests and business of the Village are being sidelined by the mayor’s personal agenda and political rhetoric. I will state plainly that Mayor Deborah Rogers is the reason I am resigning my position. In the last 12 to 18 months, but increasingly so over the last six weeks, the Village Board’sbfocus has veered so far from the one I joined that I can no longer in good conscience say I identify with what it stands for.
Since announcing her opposition to the county’s latest mask mandate, Rogers has gained notoriety within the local far-right community, appearing recently on various far-right talk radio shows and seen attending events hosted by local extremist groups.
Williamsville Mayor Deb Rogers photographed with WBEN Tom Bauerle and others at an anti-mask Christmas party hosted by Far-Right extremist groups in December.
At a December meeting, a group of far-right anti-mask agitators led by WBEN host Tom Bauerle became quite hostile and was further provoked by Mayor Rogers actions:
The tenor of the room was hostile and provoked by the mayor. She read aloud passages from a text string between the five board members that she knew would incite the assembly further. This was a violation of trust; it was then I knew I had seen the real
Deborah Rogers. She has claimed to respect me despite our differences and considers us friends. Yet, she chose to mock me when I dared to hold the line on enforcing the mask mandate during an upcoming meeting. I took that same oath of office to uphold the laws of NYS and I took it seriously.
Rather than belabor you today with the latest Trump outrages, I want to share with you conclusions I’ve drawn from my conversation yesterday with Zohran Mamdani (you can find it here and at the bottom of this piece) about why he has a very good chance of being elected mayor of New York City on Tuesday.
He has five qualities that I believe are likely to succeed in almost any political race across America today. If a 34-year-old state assemblyman representing Astoria, Queens, who was born in Uganda and calls himself a democratic socialist, can get this far and likely win, others can as well — but they have to understand and be capable of utilizing his secret sauce.
Here are the five ingredients:
Authenticity. Mamdani is the real thing. He’s not trying to be someone other than who he is, and the person he is comes through clear as a bell. I’ve been around politicians for most of my life (even ran once for governor of Massachusetts) and have seen some who are slick, some who are clever, some who are witty, some who are stiff, but rarely have I come across someone with as much authenticity as Mamdani. Authenticity is the single most important quality voters are looking for now: someone who is genuine. Who’s trustworthy because they project credibility and solidity. Whose passion feels grounded in reality.
Concern for average working people. Mamdani isn’t a policy wonk who spouts 10-point plans that cause people’s eyes to glaze over. Nor is he indifferent to policy. Listen to his answers to my questions and you’ll hear a lot about the needs of average working people. That’s his entire focus. Many politicians say they’re on the side of average working people, but Mamdani has specific ideas for making New York City more affordable. I’m not sure they’ll all work, but I’m sure voters are responding to him in part because his focus is indisputable and his ideas are clear and understandable.
Willingness to take on the powerful and the wealthy. He doesn’t hesitate to say he’ll raise taxes on the wealthy to pay for what average working people need. You might think this would be standard fare for Democrats, but it’s not. These days, many are scared to propose anything like this for fear they’ll lose campaign funding from big corporations and the rich. But Mamdani’s campaign isn’t being financed by big corporations or the rich. Because of New York City’s nearly four-decade-old clean elections system that matches small-dollar donations with public money, Mamdani has had nearly $13 million of government funds to run a campaign against tens of millions of dollars that corporate and Wall Street Democrats — and plenty of Republicans — have spent to boost Democratic former governor Andrew Cuomo. We need such public financing across the nation.
Inspiration. Many people are inspired by Mamdani. Over 90,000 New Yorkers are now going door-to-door canvassing for him (including my 17-year-old granddaughter). Why is he so inspiring? Again, watch our conversation. It’s not only his authenticity but also his energy, his good-heartedness, and his optimism. At a time when so many of us are drenched in the daily darkness of Trump, Mamdani’s positivity feels like sunshine. It lifts one up. It makes politics almost joyful. He gives it a purpose and meaning that causes people to want to be involved.
Cheerfulness. Which brings me to the fifth quality that has made this improbable candidate into a front-runner: his remarkable cheerfulness. Watch his face during our discussion. He smiled or laughed much of the time. This wasn’t empty-headed euphoria or “morning in America” campaign rubbish. It’s directly connected to a thoughtfulness that’s rare in a politician, especially one nearing the end of a campaign — who’s had to answer the same questions hundreds if not thousands of times. He exudes a buoyancy and hope that’s infectious. It’s the opposite of the scowling Trump. It is what Americans want and need, especially now.
There’s obviously much more to it, but I think these five qualities — authenticity, a focus on the needs of average working families, a willingness to take on the rich and powerful in order to pay for what average working families need, the capacity to inspire, and a cheerfulness and buoyancy — will win elections, not only in New York City but across America.
Mamdani hasn’t won yet, and New York’s Democratic establishment is doing whatever it can to stop him (Michael Bloomberg, New York City’s billionaire former mayor, just put $1.5 million into a super PAC supporting Cuomo’s bid and urged New Yorkers to vote for Cuomo).
If Mamdani wins, his success should be a lesson for all progressives and all Democrats across America.
Robert Reich is a professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at https://robertreich.substack.com/.
Robert Reich's new memoir,Coming Up Short, can be found wherever you buy books. You can also support local bookstores nationally by ordering the book at bookshop.org.
Walmart will close to in-store shoppers and allow only online orders and curbside pickup starting Nov. 1 because of an expected Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding lapse.
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