New Shandaken Supervisor Barbara Mansfield was sworn in Monday and was quickly met with accusations of “political overreach” at the first Town Board meeting of the year, as she and the board moved to pass a resolution to replace Zoning Board of Appeals member Henry Williams.
Williams, 81, whose term expired Dec. 31, clashed with town officials in 2025 during contentious proceedings surrounding a proposed Verizon cell tower and a plan for The Leeway Motel to host wedding events. Verizon later withdrew its proposal to explore other locations in town, and an attorney for The Leeway has threatened legal action after the Zoning Board denied the request in November.
Williams told The Overlook that he believes he is being scapegoated for those decisions and said Deputy Supervisor Robert Drake “is totally against” him.
“I know that one of the board members is totally against me. It’s obvious,” Williams said of Drake. “His allegiance isn’t with the town. He wants to work on the county level. He promised things that he couldn’t deliver on the Verizon thing.”
Drake, who is challenging County Legislator Kathy Nolan in June’s Democratic primary, said the board’s action was not based on personal feelings but on what he described as “a longstanding history of unprofessionalism” on the Zoning Board. He said Williams’ and other board members’ failure to stay current on annual training required by state law had led to uninformed decisions that exposed the town to potential lawsuits.
“If you can’t do the simple stuff right then the complicated stuff becomes exactly what we have seen: It ends up with us having greater legal peril,” Drake said. “There is not a single decision the ZBA has made that isn’t challengeable.”
The Town Board appoints its volunteer members to both the Zoning and Planning boards. Several current and former board members said Zoning and Planning Board members had historically been allowed to serve another term if they chose to do so once their five-year terms expired. They also said current Zoning Board members had previously participated in interviews for new appointees.
That practice is no longer viable, Drake said, noting that town law does not require Zoning Board input in appointment decisions. While acknowledging that the town’s outdated zoning code—which is expected to be updated through a forthcoming comprehensive plan—has complicated Zoning Board decisions, Drake said the Town Board would be negligent if it failed to address the issue.
“It’s the Town’s Board responsibility to fix both—incompetent boards and zoning code,” Drake said. “This isn’t up for grabs. What we have cannot remain the status quo.”
Nearly a dozen people spoke in support of Williams at Monday’s meeting, including residents and current and former Zoning and Planning Board members. Zoning Board member Christian Lynch, whose term expires at the end of the year, said he feared he would be next to be replaced and called the proposed resolution “closed-door politics” and “political overreach.”
“[Williams] is being unfairly targeted,” Lynch said at the meeting. “What has happened here is abhorrent.”
Supervisor Mansfield, who took office Jan. 1 after defeating incumbent Peter DiSclafani in November, said she understood the public support for Williams but maintained that change is needed, even if it leads to hurt feelings.
“There is a lot of heart in our town. I saw a lot of passionate people defending a friend and colleague,” Mansfield said. “But our appointment has to be dispassionate. This is the one opportunity we have per year to make a change, and change is not always popular.”
Mansfield said the board’s preferred replacement for Williams, Frank Cuevas, brings experience in global real estate and has knowledge of zoning codes “all over the world.” She added that Ruby Huber, proposed as an alternate Zoning Board member, would bring a valuable perspective as a renter in Phoenicia.
“We don’t have a broad representation [on the Zoning Board] of people who are homeowners and business owners and renters,” Mansfield said.
Following public outcry, the Town Board voted 4–1 to table the resolution, with Drake casting the lone “no” vote. Current Zoning Board members will interview all candidates—including Williams—on Jan. 21 and submit a recommendation to the Town Board. The board is expected to vote on the appointment at its February meeting.
Williams said this would be his final term even if he is reappointed.
“If they don’t reappoint me, am I going to lose any sleep over it? Maybe,” he said. “Because I care about this town and it would hurt me a little bit.”
Jim Rich is a senior reporter for The Overlook. You can reach him at jim@theoverlooknews.com.