East Palestine councilman Doug Simpson walks out of Monday’s council meeting after handing in his resignation. Simpson resigned in protest of what he said was poor treatment of former village manager Chad Edwards, who quit over the weekend. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)

EAST PALESTINE — Residents who came to Monday night’s East Palestine looking for answers after the resignation of village manager Chad Edward over the weekend, left with more questions as councilman Doug Simpson followed suit. Simpson resigned from council in protest of what he painted as poor treatment of Edwards by the people who hired him exactly a year ago.

“The manager resigned due to the contempt expressed by the mayor, some council members and some employees,” Simpson read from a prepared statement just minutes into the meeting. “This is unacceptable behavior for people who were meant to serve the public of East Palestine. Some were elected to represent the citizens and have failed badly.”

Simpson went on to confirm the rumors of behind-the-scenes turmoil that has clouded the village’s efforts to get back on its feet since last year’s Norfolk Southern train derailment. He took aim at East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway and other council members.

“I grew up in this town, worked for this town and represented the residents of this town. My only agenda was the betterment and improvement of East Palestine, unlike the personal agenda of the mayor and some others,” Simpson continued. “It is a sad day when a few can destroy what should be a rebuilding time from a disaster inflicted on the village. The ones who want to see the village progress are not the ones sitting in charge.”

Edwards was unanimously hired last October and officially took over as village manager on Nov. 1, but by May, it was clear the tables had turned on the Marietta native. Simpson previously attempted to extinguish talks of firing Edwards, calling on a vote at the May 20 council meeting to retain Edwards following an employment evaluation.

Jessica Rocco, Tim Blythe and Lenny Glavan cast “no” votes at that meeting with Doug Simpson and Linda May voting in support of Edwards — Thomas Povenski Jr. was not at that meeting — and the super majority vote needed to terminate Edwards fell short. But the writing was on the wall.

In his prepared statement, Simpson dismissed the narrative that Edwards was not living up to expectations, but rather was having his efforts hampered by those who should have helped.

“All I’ve heard about is the bad job that Chad did. Well, I’m calling you all out for the hypocrisy,” Simpson said. “This town will never see any forward progress as long as the infighting continues. I cannot condone what has transpired to a professional manager. If you think replacing Chad will be easy, I will remind you how long it took to find him.”

Edwards was hired after a year-long search to replace former village manager Mark McTrustry, who announced his resignation in October of 2022, citing personal reasons. The village had expected to replace McTrusty at the beginning of 2023, but the derailment threw a wrench into those plans.

When Edwards was named as McTrusty’s replacement, council expressed complete confidence in the decision — so much so that the village bought out Edwards’ remaining employment contract at the cost of $16,000 to pave his path to East Palestine.

Edwards brought with him 17 years of governmental management experience. He was the city manager of Shinnston, West Virginia from 2019 until leaving to accept the job in East Palestine. Edwards was previously the chief administrative officer, recorder and deputy mayor of Sistersville in West Virginia. He has served as president, vice president and secretary of the West Virginia City Managers Association. Edwards has also served as the city manager of Gordon, Nebraska. A graduate of Ohio University, Edwards holds a master’s degree in public administration from the George Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs at Ohio University.

By all accounts, Edwards was well-respected and well-liked in his previous positions where he was championed for initiatives that fostered community relations and economic growth. Edwards implemented many of those same initiatives in East Palestine, including the creation of a CIC (Community Improvement Corporation).

In his own resignation, Edward cited a deep division in East Palestine as his main reason for stepping away.

“There are just too many divides,” Edwards wrote. “I thought I could help breach them, but that no longer seems possible.”

Since the derailment, that division has been rife, with the village seemingly splitting into two distinct groups — those who want to put the derailment in the past and those who say the true impacts of the rail disaster are being ignored.

Edwards never fully committed to either camp — advocating for both the economic and environmental health of the village.

Simpson said village leaders will have to answer for this latest debacle that leaves the still struggling village without a manager again.

“You will face pushback from the citizens of this town for what you’ve done, and rightly so,” Simpson said. “With that, I tender my resignation in protest of your actions.”

After reading his resignation letter, Simpson pushed a copy toward Conaway and walked out.

Council immediately went into executive session before returning to announce that Misti Martin, council clerk and administrative assistant, will serve as interim village manager until the next council meeting set for Nov. 11. As far as the vacancy left on council by Simpson’s resignation, Conaway said letters of interest will be accepted until Nov. 8 to ensure they are received by the Nov. 11 meeting.