Metaline Falls council restricts mayor

Takes action after hostile workplace complaint

METALINE FALLS – The Metaline Falls Town Council restricted Mayor Tara Leininger’s duties and access to Town Hall following a Hostile Work Environment complaint from town Clerk/Treasurer Edward Estrada.

“Council made the decision to restrict Mayor Tara Leininger’s access to the town hall during regular business hours throughout the remainder of the year 2025,” the minutes of a special meeting Nov. 25 read. “Fran Maxwell will be the supervisor of all personnel until Sherice McAnerin, Mayor elect will be sworn into office. Mayor Pro Tem, Blake McAnerin, will assume the mayor’s duties and responsibilities until the new mayor officially takes office.”

The council wanted to acknowledge that Leininger created a hostile work environment, Estrada said in a telephone interview.

The Miner received physical copies of Estrada’s complaint and statements from mayor elect Sherice McAnerin and Michelle Whites anonymously by mail.

Estrada wrote in the complaint that Nov. 19 Leininger had called him into her office and yelled at him for talking with mayor elect Sherice McAnerin and another woman regarding the 2026 town budget and turning off the town’s streetlights.

“She clenched her fist in front of me and reiterated how angry she was, stating that Sherice was treating her terribly, possibly using profanity,” Estrada wrote as part of the description of the incident. Estrada filed a complaint with the Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office and spoke with a deputy. He said he got the template from the Sheriff’s Office website and typed up the complaint, describing the incident and the emotional and physical impact on him.

The complaint was supported by letters from McAnerin and Michelle Whites, who wrote that they witnessed the incident.

McAnerin wrote in a formal complaint that Nov. 19 she and Whites were at city hall when Leininger entered the meeting room and instructed Estrada to follow her into her office and closed the door.

“I could clearly hear Tara speaking in an elevated and confrontational tone,” McAnerin wrote in part. “Tara used profanity and continued yelling during the exchange. Her behavior was hostile, unprofessional, and incompatible with the standards of conduct expected of someone in a municipal government setting.”

Whites, a citizen, wrote in her statement that Leininger’s remarks to Estrada behind the closed office door “were delivered in a yelling tone and included repeated profanity.”

Whites said the mayor continued to shout at Estrada for about seven to 10 minutes.

Estrada said he felt “unsafe and uncomfortable” being at Town Hall when Leininger was there. According to the complaint, Estrada, 60, said Leininger told him in the meeting that she was being hurt and treated unfairly. Leininger reached out and grabbed Estrada’s suspender strap, he wrote, stretched it outward “and then placed it back against my chest, patting it several times. I was startled and confused by this physical contact.”

When contacted by phone for a response, Leininger referred to a Nov. 25 letter she sent to another publication addressed to Estrada, McAnerin and Whites.

“On Tuesday, November 19, 2025, I offended all three of you with my unprofessional behavior.

Although no excuse, a myriad of events, confrontations and duties became too much and I had what is euphemistically called a ‘melt down.’

The problem was that this occurred at city hall.

I vented my anger and hurt on Mr. Estrada, but within the hearing/sight of Ms. McAnerin and Ms.

Whites.

“To you three, I offer my abject apologies and ask that you forgive me for the incident. The Town Council has spoken with me as to the event and certain procedures will be in place to ensure that nothing similar can happen again. I will be stepping down after the December 9th council meeting, and we will swear in the next mayor of Metaline Falls, Sherice McAnerin.

“Mr. Estrada, I wish you all good things as you continue as this town’s clerk/treasurer – a difficult position but with its own rewards.

“Ms. Whites, I hope your work with the incoming mayor is fulfilling and productive.

“And Ms. McAnerin, congratulations on your election. May your vision for our Town be fulfilled, and that your terms in office be as ‘uneventful’ as possible.

“To my Town, my apologies for ending my tenure on this note, but life goes on and every once in a while, it doesn’t go as planned. My blessings to all the community,” Leininger wrote.

Leininger has served as Metaline Falls mayor since 2008.