WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (WBEN) Calling it harmful to businesses, Williamsville Mayor Debbie Rogers is the latest elected leader to break with Erie County when it comes to mask mandates and phased-in restrictions.
"As mayor of the village, it is my job to ensure the survival and success of our business district," said Rogers on WBEN Tuesday morning.
She said businesses have been through hell and back over the last 20 months. "Enough is enough," said Rogers. "We're merely just repeating what we did at the start of Covid, and I don't see a reason why we would do the same thing over again, when it clearly wasn't effective."
Rogers is the third local elected leader to stand up to the new mask mandate for indoor public spaces in Erie County. Town Supervisors in Marilla and West Seneca previously pushed back. The Marilla Supervisor going a step further by saying the town will not comply with the mandate.
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"We all know what's coming next," said Rogers. "Phase two is a vaccine mandate. At that point, business owners will have the responsibility to not only enforce masks, but they pretty much have to have a bouncer at their front door carding for Covid vaccinations."
Rogers says as an American, she feels the need to take a stand against this, because, as she put it, "the goal post keeps getting moved."
First, she said it was two shots. Then it was two shots and a booster. Now she says she's hearing there might be another booster after that. "There always seems to be another step." Rogers agrees with West Seneca Supervisor Gary Dickson, who said, at some point, we need to accept that this is going to be a new reality. Rogers adding, "we can't shutdown, mask up, and vax up everytime this happens."
The Williamsville Mayor wants to see stakeholders brought to the table to discuss the new reality, rather than one person, being able to make all of the decisions for Erie County.
"When we get to that point, where we can sit down at a table and have a sensible discussion on how to handle this long term, as opposed to knee jerk reactions, we will be better off."
Rogers thinks Covid is something that will become seasonal, with spikes every year. "If you want a successful plan, you have to get people to buy-into that plan. Without a buy-in from municipalities, it's not going to be a very successful plan," said Rogers.
