Elmsford mayor censured with 'extreme displeasure' after facing harassment complaint
Elmsford Mayor Robert Williams was privately censured by the village's governing body in a closed-door session last month, after facing a complaint of harassment.
The resolution of censure was initiated by Trustee Joseph Coffey in executive session and supported by Trustees Matthew Evans and Sydney Henry. Only Trustee Nelson Lopez voted no. The mayor recused himself from the Board of Trustees' vote.
According to a copy of the censure resolution obtained through a public records request, the village had hired an outside investigator to look into the mayor's conduct after two village employees sent a letter outlining "various allegations against Mayor Robert Williams" and another individual who was employed by the village the time.
The outside investigator determined that Williams "retaliated against the two employees for their perceived disloyalty" after they had inadvertently livestreamed a discussion between themselves on social media concerning a potential political rival of the mayor, the resolution states.
Because of this "perceived disloyalty," the outside investigator found that Williams denied the two employees certain benefits, such as the chance to accrue compensatory time.
The investigator further determined that Williams began to treat the employees differently after the incident, including by reducing his level of communication and excluding them from some village meetings. This behavior was deemed to be "rude and unprofessional," according to the resolution.
While some of the retaliation documented in the investigator's report was not violative of village policy, it was deemed to be improper.
In an interview, Williams disputed the investigator's findings, expressing surprise that he was blamed for the falling-out between himself and the complainants, whom The Journal News/lohud is not naming in this story.
"I don't know what people's schedules are," he remarked about the process for requesting compensatory time. "People come to me and say, 'Do you need help?' She (one of the complainants) never came to me to ask."
Williams traces the bad blood to a meeting from three years ago where he discussed the use of compensatory time at an all-hands meeting with village staff.
"That’s when they changed their attitude towards me," he said.
Though the livestream incident may have reopened old wounds between himself and the complainants — "I told them I was a little bit disappointed, as to you being one of my dearest friends, saying that" — that was not the root cause of the deterioration of their relationship, Williams said.
In adopting the resolution, the board expressed its "extreme displeasure" with Williams, calling his actions "inconsistent with the expectations that the board has for the position of mayor of the village of Elmsford."
This is not the first time Williams has landed himself in hot water for his deportment towards village staff. In 2021, at the all-hands meeting, Williams was caught on tape articulating a loyalty demand to village employees.
"So you're supposed to be loyal and working for me," he told the crowd at the time, according to a recording of his remarks later obtained by The Journal News/lohud. "Some of you have dropped the ball lately."
In 2022, Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah opened a grand jury investigation into the village of Elmsford in connection with Williams' use of official resources. This followed an investigation by The Journal News/lohud which found that the mayor had, on occasion, appropriated village resources apparently for his personal benefit or otherwise misused the powers of his office.
Do you work for the Village of Elmsford? You can send this reporter a confidential tip at astockler@lohud.com or asher.stockler@protonmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Elmsford NY mayor censured by village board after harassment complaint
