CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. — Members of the Cheektowaga Town Council will take up a resolution Tuesday night that calls for the censure of one of its own members.
On Tuesday, the board voted not to censure one of its members after all.
The censure resolution claims Councilman Brian Nowak offered a $400,000 "bribe" to Highway Superintendent Mark Wegner, and that he also used his position to publicly "punish" a woman who sought appointment to the town's ethics board.
According to Wegner, Nowak had sought to eliminate the position of Deputy Highway Superintendent and offered to support Wegner in his re-election bid if Wegner supported Nowak's resolution.
"He came right out and said I will get you elected in the north part of Cheektowaga," recalled Wegner on Monday, while clarifying the $400,000 referred to in the censure resolution reflects the approximate amount he would earn if elected to another four-year term.
Wegner says he wasn't interested in getting rid of the position, nor Nowak's help in his campaign which Wegner says he wouldn't need to secure another term.
"I'd been elected for two terms in a row, and he thinks he's gonna get me elected?" Wegner said.
The second part of the censure resolution involves a town board meeting last month when council members considered the appointment of Julie Parke to the town's board of ethics.
Nowak publicly raised objections and produced photos of a Facebook post from six years ago of a garage sale at Parke's home, where a Confederate flag was purportedly displayed.
"I know that it's protected speech and it's not my intent to give someone a hard time here, but to put that person on the board of ethics is something I don't think we really should do. It's as simple as that," Nowak stated when making the revelation public at the board meeting on August 22.
However, Nowak having raised his concerns publicly without first speaking to fellow board members, and his admission that he sought to raise them before what he knew would be a meeting packed with residents, drew a sharp rebuke from Town Supervisor Diane Benczkowski.
"You're disparaging someone out in public and that's just not right..." Benczkowski began, before being drowned out by applause from meeting attendees.
At the next regular meeting on September 12, Parke addressed the council and condemned Nowak for using a public forum to call her character into question.
She explained that the flag was her husband's and that she disagreed with all it stood for. She added the flag was displayed for a brief period but removed by her husband after she demanded he take it down.
She seemed appalled that Nowak and his supporters would troll her social media posts from years ago.
"Had you called me, I would have explained this," she began, her voice shaking with emotion. "But after going through what I have gone through, having my name and reputation smeared, I don't know why anyone would want to be part of the government of Cheektowaga," she said, before adding that she was considering moving out of the town.
She also asked Nowak to apologize.
The resolution to censure him, sponsored by Benczkowski and Councilman Michael Jasinski, was filed after he declined to do so.
Reached by phone on Monday, Nowak said his schedule that day would not permit him to answer questions on camera.
However, he told 2 On Your Side that by raising questions regarding Parke's appointment he was "doing his job" and vowed to continue.
He also described the resolution to censure him as "politically motivated."
At Tuesday night's meeting, he denied the allegations.
"The resolution includes allegations that are baseless," Nowak said. "I reject any allegations that I did anything to violate my oath of office. In my view, and that I suspect is many of the view in Cheektowaga, the proposed resolution is politically motivated. To say that I have engaged in unlawful conduct or offered a bribe to anyone is ridiculous and libelous."
Nowak told the town board he has reached out to a lawyer at that meeting.
Councilmember Brian Pilarski, who voted not to censure Nowak, also said at the meeting he's calling for an investigation.
Nowak says he invites the Erie County District Attorney's Office to investigate. A spokesperson sent 2 On Your Side this statement:
“The allegation was previously brought to our attention by the Cheektowaga Police Department. Based on the information provided, our office’s Public Integrity Unit determined that there was no evidence of criminal conduct. At this time, our office has not received any other complaint or additional information regarding the allegation."