GREENFIELD — Mayor William Martin said he will not resign and plans to finish his term in spite of a City Council resolution last week.
Martin released a statement several days after City Council called for him to resign after an emergency meeting last week over the abrupt dismissal of Elizabeth Braccia as city finance director.
Council took a vote on resolutions of no-confidence in Martin as mayor and for the reinstatement of Braccia last Thursday. The resolutions were nonbinding but acted as statements from the council about Martin’s reported conduct.
During the meeting, Martin was accused of bullying and intimidation, as well as inappropriate handling of personnel matters, Braccia’s included.
Martin’s comments are the first such public comments since the vote.
“As a lifelong resident of Greenfield, I have been devoted to serving the community for decades,” a portion of Martin’s statement read. “I’ve served as Mayor for nine years and plan to continue for the remainder of my term.”
Martin said after the statement was released that he will not seek re-election, though he said this has been “common knowledge” in the city.
Martin was first elected in 2009.
Martin said in the press release that the council’s resolution “to order the Mayor to reinstate a terminated employee is both outside the Charter and this may set a precedent that personnel issues will be adjudicated before the Council.”
When asked to elaborate, Martin said he was limited due to “potential litigation” that could happen.
“The amount of information I can release, because it’s a personal matter, is very restricted,” he said.
“I certainly can’t release information from the personnel folder,” he added.
When Martin was asked about accusations of bullying and intimidation, he said, “There have been no complaints or anything brought forward in any process that the (city) has that accuses me of bullying” and said that he thinks “it’s a manufactured issue.”