Brewster Mayor, Three Trustees, Demand Meagher Resign
Calls for Erin Meagher to resign from her Village of Brewster position continued last week, as the four other village board members demanded she step down.
Meagher pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor theft charge last month and admitted to taking about $3,000 from the Greater Mahopac-Carmel Chamber of Commerce in her former position as chief executive officer. Since she agreed to a plea deal that resulted in restitution and community service, Brewster Mayor Jim Schoenig and three other trustees have demanded she resign from the board, though Meagher has refused.
During Wednesday night’s meeting, the four other board members renewed their calls to see Meagher leave the board, noting because she was technically convicted of a misdemeanor, she couldn’t be legally removed from the board. They passed a resolution unanimously requesting she resign from the board and argued she violated the village’s code of ethics when she admitted guilt in the chamber case. Meagher was not in attendance for the meeting.
The village even created an event on Facebook about the meeting titled “Public Board Meeting: Resignation of Trustee Erin Meagher” and shared it on the village’s official Facebook page.
Meagher was originally charged with a felony larceny charge, before it was reduced.
Schoenig read a statement where he questioned why she would plead to a crime if she claimed she was innocent of the charges and said she failed to uphold the oath she took when sworn in two years ago.
“If I were innocent it’d cost me every dollar I have to clear my name,” Scheonig said.
Deputy Mayor and Trustee Christine Piccini said Meagher was able to avoid a felony because she agreed to a lesser charge, but still committed a crime in conflict with honesty and good morals.
Trustees Mary Bryde and Tom Boissonnault also chimed in calling on her to step down.
“I think it’s time that she does the right thing for the village,” Boissonnault said.
While a no-show at the meeting, she sent a letter to the board explaining her absence and stating, “I will continue to represent my constituents as is my sworn duty.” She pointed to “partisan politics” as to why she didn’t appear at the meeting.
“I do not have any faith that my presence at tonight’s meeting will serve any purpose but further disruption and deviation from the duties of this body,” Meagher said.
Addressing her legal troubles, Meagher said the matter was resolved in Town of Carmel Justice Court and is not related to her duties as a trustee in the village. She added the plea agreement, which doesn’t include jail time, “demonstrates the wild inaccurate and exaggeration of the allegations.”
She was accused of using the chamber’s debit card as a “personal slush fund” to buy clothes and other items for personal use.
Schoenig called the letter from Meagher offensive and claimed the past few months proved that Meagher, 26, was too young and immature to hold elected office. Residents who attended the meeting also spoke out, demanding Meagher step down from her post with a few residents arguing she hasn’t attended enough meetings.
When she ran in 2015, she was the top vote-getter in the village election.
