Monroe County Public Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Mendoza is stepping down after more than seven years in the job.
His departure was announced in a news release Wednesday morning.
No reason was given for his leaving. The county later released his resignation letter in response to a WXXI News open records request. Dated Wednesday, and addressed to County Executive Adam Bello, it reads:
"I am writing to resign my employment effective March 19, 2024. I have enjoyed serving as the County's Commissioner of Public Health and I thank you for the opportunity to serve in your administration for the past four years. I wish you and your administration all the success in the future."
Mendoza was 15 months into his second, six-year term, which began on Jan. 1, 2023. His tenure spanned the COVID-19 pandemic, and he was both cheered and jeered for his leadership during the health crisis.
He recently posted on Linkedin that more than half his colleagues in New York state have left or been asked to leave their jobs since the pandemic. Still, his abrupt departure caught many in the medical community — and the Monroe County Legislature — by surprise.
Mercedes Vazquez Simmons serves as vice president of the Legislature. She was the only Democrat to vote against Mendoza’s reappointment in September 2022.
"I'm equally shocked to hear of his immediate resignation," she said Wednesday. "I'm not aware of anything that may have happened that would have prompted this."
Vazquez Simmons joined seven Republicans in voting against Mendoza's reappointment. The finally tally was 20-8. She did not think he did enough during the pandemic, at least initially, to ensure those living in poverty and with limited transportation, had access to test kits and vaccines, she said. But that was years ago. And Bello heaped praise on Mendoza when he pushed for his reappointment.
"I asked if the county executive was going to have a press conference today to address (what's transpired), and was told nothing was planned," Vazquez Simmons said. "So I'll continue to dig in, just to find out what what happened."
Mendoza was the county’s ninth public health commissioner. He served in an interim role from April 2016 through December 2016 and formally took the reins for his first term on Jan. 1, 2017 — ending an 18-month stretch without a full-time commissioner.
The commissioner leads a department that delivers immunizations and tracks communicable diseases, handles restaurant inspections and monitors drinking water supplies.
The pandemic raised the visibility — and notoriety — of the position.
Mendoza joined countless Zoom meetings, was out front alongside hospital executives and working with school administrators, business owners and community leaders. He won countless awards, a doughnut shop put his face on its pastries, and he even got his own bobblehead. There also was animosity, and threats that at times required increased security at his home and office.
He since had spoken of being in a unique position to lead the health department forward, post-pandemic, given the relationships he forged.
When Bello announced in August 2022, that he would reappoint Mendoza, the county executive spoke of goals ahead: tackling the opioid epidemic, expanding early intervention services and making the public health services more accessible for all residents. Mendoza specifically had wanted to build on efforts to address racial health disparities, and to expand the county’s approach, prevention and treatment of mental illness.
Wednesday’s announcement of Mendoza’s resignation was five paragraphs.
In it, Bello thanked Mendoza for his years of service and leadership during the pandemic. The statement continued: “Monroe County is renowned for its excellence in health care and research and the County Executive looks forward to recruiting a talented new Commissioner of Public Health.”
“During his tenure, Dr. Mendoza was celebrated in the community," said Legislator Rachel Barnhart, D-Rochester, who considers Mendoza a friend. "To have his departure be so unceremonious is concerning.”
Dr. Marielena Velez de Brown, the current deputy commissioner of public health, will take over as acting commissioner, according to the news release. The county will conduct a search for a permanent replacement.
“I wish the best for all the dedicated staff in the Department of Public Health, and I am certain that the department will continue to be successful,” Mendoza said in the release.
Mendoza is board-certified in family medicine and an associate professor at the University of Rochester in the departments of family medicine, public health sciences, and nursing. He could not immediately be reached Wednesday, and a county spokesperson confirmed he is no longer a county employee.
Includes reporting by Racquel Stephen.
