Political turmoil surfaces days ahead of Greenport election

Late Friday, days ahead of Greenport’s March 18 election, village Mayor Kevin Stuessi issued a public statement claiming that he had sought and received veteran village trustee Mary Bess Phillips’ resignation as deputy mayor after learning that she and her husband owe as much as $100,000 in unpaid taxes and other bills.

In a statement Friday evening, Ms. Phillips confirmed she had resigned as deputy mayor, but said it was not over the debt.

In a letter posted to the village website, the first-time mayor said he “felt it necessary after I became aware of significant indebtedness to the village,” to make the information public and noted that he “immediately notified counsel to work with the treasurer to collect.”

Ms. Phillips, in a Saturday afternoon statement, said Mr. Stuessi had been aware of her debts and her efforts to work out a payment plan well before his statement on Friday.

“When the mayor told me he had lost confidence in me some ten days ago, much less when he went public yesterday, he was already aware that the village and I had a pending resolution.”

In an earlier statement Friday evening, Ms. Phillips, who said that she will continue her run for re-election as a village trustee, accused Mr. Stuessi of trying to “influence” the election and force her off the board. She denied resigning her post as deputy mayor “because of my indebtedness,” saying instead that she stepped down because “I did not want to be acting as deputy to a mayor I don’t believe is currently acting in the best interest of the … community.”

Ms. Phillips has served as a trustee since 2009. She is vying against four other candidates for two open seats on the village board.

Ms. Phillips said in a statement through her attorney on Friday night that “because Mayor Stuessi has apparently tried to influence Tuesday’s election by publicizing, on the Friday before Election Day, the fact that my struggling businesses are significantly behind on their property taxes and electric bills, and claiming that’s why I resigned my position … I must make a statement.

“It is true that I have resigned my appointment as deputy mayor. It is also true that a week before I resigned, the Mayor told me that he didn’t trust me with the village in his absence because of my businesses’ indebtedness, and I told him he should have whoever he wants as deputy mayor; that’s his prerogative,” she continued in the statement. “But it is not true that I resigned because of my businesses’ indebtedness. Indeed, I resigned nearly a week after that conversation … because I did not want to be deputy to a mayor I don’t believe is currently acting in the best interests of the residential and business community in the Village. Many know that as deputy, I often defended the mayor. I was no longer comfortable doing so.

“I have always believed that personal financial troubles are precisely that — personal. The mayor set rumors flying about my financial situation and then made the topic public by speaking to the press. So here is what I am willing to share: 

“The Covid shutdown in 2020 deeply damaged three of our family businesses, and the challenges of the fishing industry since have prevented my husband and I from enabling the businesses to fully recover. Two years ago the Village and I started negotiating a being-finalized payment plan involving lump sum payments and then monthly payments that I am expecting to sign contracts for before the end of next week. My husband and I look forward to bringing our businesses current on all bills as fast as possible, a goal we’ve never stopped working to achieve.

“In my many years of belonging to the Greenport community, I have known many others to struggle with their finances from time to time, including others in government. Indeed, Mayor Stuessi surely understands that even when people are working very hard, life can make it very difficult to pay key bills sometimes.”

In a late-breaking development on Saturday, Village Planning Board chair Patricia Hammes entered the trustee race, though noting in a statement that her decision “should not be seen as a statement on any recent events …”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.