MANSFIELD — Stephanie Zader opted not to pull any punches on her way out the door Tuesday night.
The outgoing At-large member of Mansfield City Council, who announced in August she was stepping down at the end of September, said her work during her three years in office was about the people.
“It’s not about (political) party. It’s about people,” the Republican lawmaker said during her final meeting.
“We have just under 500 employees in this city and every decision that we make in this room impacts their jobs, their families and has a ripple effect far beyond that.
“I’ve never taken that lightly. And I have been heated in here and I’ve said things that people haven’t liked. I don’t apologize for that,” Zader said.
Zader, who worked as a council clerk in 2018, entered local politics in 2019, losing in a race to represent the 6th Ward. She was appointed by the local Republican Party in January 2021 and then successfully retained the seat 10 months later in the general election.
Zader ran for mayor in 2023, losing in a four-person GOP primary.
She said Tuesday night she ran for council because she didn’t like what the former city administration was doing.
“I came into office at a time where we had an administration that … I’ve never sugarcoated it before, so I’m not going to start now … that didn’t have the best interest of our city in mind, in my opinion,” she said.
“If you look back, you’ve seen several comments from me where I came into office because our administration gave themselves raises, circumvented this legislative body in the process of doing that and backdated their raises for a longer period of time than they did the city employees,” Zader said.
“I thought that was not only a lack of leadership, but it was shameful,” said Zader, who said she initially planned to write letters to local media outlets outlining her concerns.
Instead, she was asked to join council to complete an unexpired term.
“Instead of sending my letter to the editor … I thought, well, I’ll just give him hell for the next five years,” Zader said.
She looked at the back of council chambers at four new Mansfield police officers attending the meeting.
“I hope that you realize that every time you put on that uniform, you represent this city and you represent every citizen and it’s not you versus them. And I think that’s where we’ve gone a lot with politics.
“You look at the national media and they’re pitting us again against each other and that’s not what this is. We’re here to serve. It doesn’t matter what your opinion is. You serve the public.
“That’s your job. That was my job. It wasn’t about what I wanted. I made decisions from this seat that I wouldn’t have made in my personal life, but it’s what seemed best for the city or what the citizens said they wanted,” Zader said.
All of her fellow council members praised Zader’s efforts.
“You educated me on a lot of different things over the years,” 1st Ward Councilwoman Laura Burns said. “I’ve appreciated working with you and our friendship.
“I’m going to keep it short so we don’t get emotional over this, but I will miss you and I am still miffed that you are abandoning me after you were the one that got me into this,” she said.
Second Ward Councilwoman Cheryl Meier admitted she and Zader didn’t always agree on things.
“But I always knew you were here to ask the tough questions. I’m not sure whose job that’s going to be now. But I appreciated that you always had the city’s interests at heart.
“I appreciate our friendship and I know that’s not going anywhere,” Meier said.
Fifth Ward Councilman Aurelio Diaz said Zader always had to ask the “unpopular questions.”
“Although long-winded at times,” he said with a laugh, “you’ve always cared about the city.”
Diaz thanked Zader for helping him visit various city departments in 2022 to learn more about the inner workings of the local government.
“(You cared) about the employees in the city at a time where no one was really highlighting the needs of folks within the departments. That was very important because while campaigning, you are learning (about) the needs of the city, it didn’t really dawn on me (about the needs of) the employees. It was more of the constituents,” Diaz said.
Fourth Ward Councilwoman Cynthia Daley also complimented Zader’s willingness to take on tough issues.
“For my short time here, I’ve known Stephanie to be the most outspoken council person. She did ask the tough questions and that’s a good thing.
“I hope one of us will take over that charge and I just want to wish her all the best in whatever she’s gonna do and keep asking the tough questions,” Daley said.
Zader leaves with more than a year left on her first four-year term, a slot that will be filled by the local Republican Party.
“I came into office trying to make change and I’m watching things change in there,” the Republican said outside council chambers after the August meeting in which she announced her plans to step down.
“I don’t necessarily know that I love the direction that it’s going. I’m not going to throw anyone under the bus, but I had some meetings with some local elected officials and they don’t see the need to work with me,” Zader said at the time.
“So I’m going to step away and hope that things go in a good direction for this city,” she said. “It’s been a long time coming.”
