Greenfield Board of Health member resigns over proposed phone policy

AHMAD ESFAHANI

AHMAD ESFAHANI

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

Staff Writer

Published: 01-22-2025 8:33 PM

GREENFIELD — Board of Health member Ahmad Esfahani resigned last week after he claims the Health Department hesitated to put a proposed policy regulating minors’ cellphone through the public engagement process.

In December, Esfahani sent a proposed policy that would prohibit those under the age of 18 from using “handheld screened devices” on school grounds, at educational events or in public spaces to Health Director Michael Theroux, asking that it be added to the Jan. 15 agenda.

In response to his email, Theroux wrote that the Board of Health had a full agenda on Jan. 15 and he would have to consult with the city’s attorney to see if Esfahani’s proposed policy was legal.

“I will pass this draft onto the legal department for review,” Theroux wrote to Esfahani on Jan. 6. “The board already has a full agenda for the Jan. 15 meeting so depending on when I hear back from legal it can be put on a future agenda.”

The policy would have also prevented retailers from selling screened devices such as smartphones and tablets to children and teens without parental permission.

Esfahani, in an interview Wednesday, said the policy was inspired by the city’s tobacco regulations. Similar to tobacco, Esfahani said screened devices can be addictive, and thus, minors’ use of them should be regulated. He added that he did not believe the policy’s placement on a meeting agenda should have been dependent on the attorney’s opinion.

“There’s a great importance on civic engagement with democracies. ... Whenever I see that civic engagement is dissuaded or pushed down, I think it’s something that should be spoken out against,” Esfahani explained. “My argument would be that [the policy] has to be first discussed publicly and then [examined by the attorney].”

In his resignation letter, Esfahani wrote that the city’s Board of Health operated as an “agent of state Legislature,” arguing that he believed the board’s framework paved the way for policies that are “collectivist, authoritarian and dismissive of individual freedoms.”

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Esfahani sent his resignation letter to city officials on Jan. 16, the day after the Board of Health’s first meeting since it dissolved in August due to a lack of staffing.

His resignation dwindled the Board of Health down to two members — Baystate Franklin Medical Center Nursing Supervisor Ellis Taylor and Dr. Darius Greenbacher, an orthopedic surgeon. Mayor Ginny Desorgher said she plans to appoint a third member before the board’s February meeting. Per the city charter, a full Board of Health consists of three members appointed by the mayor for a staggered term of three years, one of whom shall be a physician or a licensed qualified health care professional.

Matthew Conway, communications director for the Mayor’s Office, responded to the resignation Wednesday.

“The Board of Health’s responsibility is to serve as an extension of the state health regulation and guidance. As Mr. Esfahani attributed in his letter, that was a framework he found less desirable,” Conway said. “Ellis Taylor and Dr. Darius Greenbacher both feature extensive backgrounds in the medical field. The Board of Health looks forward to moving forward with them and we’ll be actively seeking a third member.”

Theroux declined to comment on Esfahani’s resignation when reached by phone on Wednesday.

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.