BY SARAH BARBAN, Eastern Shore Post —
Onancock Town Council member Maphis Oswald abruptly resigned Monday, May 19, during the town meeting, saying, “I no longer wish to be associated with what I feel is an ethically bankrupt administration.”
Contacted after the surprising announcement, Oswald alleged a number of conflicts of interest among members of the council.
She set her resignation as of Tuesday, May 20 at 11:30 a.m., which she said during the meeting would give her time “to turn over to the town of Onancock all of my related notes and documents to be shredded or just further ignored.”
While announcing her resignation, Oswald said, “I thank those who voted for me in the last election and I apologize for not sticking it out to the term end, but when anyone looks back wondering what happened to Onancock in the ’20s, they’ll find only the data to tell the story but not who failed the people of this town.”
She continued: “They will go nameless as only vote numbers will show and not the sham. Hopefully I’ve sowed a few seeds of caution along the way. My last bit of advice: Be careful what grows in your garden. Good night and good luck.”
In an interview after the meeting, Oswald cited what she considered to be several conflicts of interest, including that Janet Fosque, who is the mayor’s wife, serves on the board of the Onancock Farmers Market and previously served as president of the Onancock Main Street initiative.
Oswald also referenced Lisa Fiege, who is a member of town council and the current president of Onancock Main Street; Cindy Holdren, who is also on the town council and Onancock Main Street’s board; and Sarah Nock, who is a member of the town council and the liaison for the Historic Onancock School.
“Morality is knowing the difference between right and wrong,” she said. “To act ethically, you do what is right, and this council and the mayor have been doing things that are wrong and they know better.”
She said state law prohibits residents in large communities from serving in multiple capacities and the same should apply to smaller communities.
“It is not legal for a person to allocate funds to their special interest in a population beyond 3,500, but it is legal in a lower population, which is just crazy,” she said.
“If it’s wrong, it’s wrong.”
Oswald first became involved in town council in the 1990s. She said the late Starr Mason, who was mayor at the time, would discuss town issues over coffee with Oswald, who would offer advice.
Mason suggested Oswald run. Oswald did and has served the town in some capacity ever since.
Representation was part of her motivation for running, Oswald said.
“I didn’t feel the entire town was represented.” She said. “I felt there was a lot of special interest being served.”
She served one full term as vice mayor and began another term as vice mayor after the last election.
Several council members thanked Oswald during the meeting after her resignation.
“Maphis, for seven years I’ve served on council and you’ve been there all seven,” Council member Joy Marino said.
“I often sought your sage advice. You were the first person I heard say institution knowledge and you brought that to this council. I thank you for your service,” Marino said.
“Council member Oswald, I’d like to say I’m sorry to hear that you’re resigning,” said Fiege.
“Even though we don’t always agree, I appreciate hearing what you have to say, and while I worked for the town we had a lot of interesting conversations — and as a neighbor, I enjoy being with you and I’m sorry to see that you’re leaving.”
Oswald said that she hopes her legacy is truthfulness and working to take the interests of all into account when making decisions on the council.
“My major accomplishment over the years was to say out loud what people were thinking,” she said.
