EAST PALESTINE, Ohio - UPDATE: Councilman Doug Simpson abruptly resigned during Monday's council meeting, citing internal disagreements between village leaders.

Council immediately addressed the elephant in the room, after Village Manager Chad Edwards sent his letter of resignation to village officials last week. 

Edwards was selected to help guide East Palestine through the difficult months following the devastating train derailment, fire, and chemical spill. He submitted his resignation after just less than one year on the job.

In a letter addressed to Mayor Trent Conaway and members of the Village Council, Chad Edwards announced last week that he is resigning from the Village Manager job that he has held since last November.

Edwards said in his letter that he thought he could breach what he characterized as “just too many divides."

“I love East Palestine and I hate leaving like this. There are a lot of wonderful people who I consider my friends,” Edwards wrote. “I am sincerely going to miss them."

Edwards writes that, "the past few months have made this conclusion inevitable and I want to get out now and give you time to start looking for a replacement.”

The letter said that he was leaving because village employees and members of the public “deserve better leadership."

“Good luck with your search for a manager. I sincerely hope you will find someone that is a better fit for this position," Edwards concluded.

The tone of the letter differs from Edward’s tone when he addressed his first council meeting ten months after the February 3, 2023, Norfolk Southern train derailment that the village is still recovering from.

When Edwards began his job last November, he met with local business and community leaders saying he planned to begin working on community development, including a property cleanup competition.

"The ones who want to see the village progress are not the ones sitting in charge," said Councilman Doug Simpson at the start of Monday's meeting. "All I've heard is how bad of a job Chad did. Well, I'm calling you all out for hypocrisy. This town will never see any forward progress as long the infighting continues. I cannot condone what has transpired to a professional manager and if you think replacing Chad would be easy, I will remind you of how long it took it find him."

Simpson believes the village leadership will "face pushback from the citizens of the town for what they've done."

Much of Edward's disagreements stem from tension with Mayor Trent Conaway. While details of their disagreements are hearsay, Conaway told 21 News, "there are two sides to every story." No other council members publically commented on Edwards' or Simpson's resignations. 

Council Clerk Misti Martin was appointed to Interim Manager as the search begins for a new manager.

21 News reached out to Edwards for comment several times and have yet to hear back.

Meanwhile, the public has until November 8 if they would like to apply for the open council position.