SPARE ME THE BS (I’ve got things to do).
- Pemberton Township Mayor Matthew Bianchini charged toward resident Michael Sawka during a heated October 21 council meeting.
- Video shows people restraining the mayor and escorting him from the room as he shouted threats toward the resident.
- Bianchini later admitted he “basically snapped,” but said tensions involving alleged remarks about his family had been building.
LAY IT ON ME (I’ve got time).
Some town hall meetings get heated. Others require someone to physically restrain the mayor before he reaches the audience.
Welcome to Pemberton Township, New Jersey, where Mayor Matthew Bianchini turned Wednesday night’s council meeting into something resembling a wrestling weigh-in.
The fireworks erupted during public comment as former township official Kenneth Gerber and his attorney were addressing the council. Bianchini became involved in an exchange with a resident in the audience, identified as Michael Sawka.
Video captured the mayor abruptly rising from his chair and rushing toward Sawka. Other people scrambled to stop him, grabbing the mayor and escorting him away while council members shouted for him to stop.
And the mayor wasn’t leaving quietly.
“I’m getting you,” Bianchini shouted toward Sawka as people tried to remove him from the room.
Sawka responded by demanding police intervention, telling those gathered that the mayor had threatened him.
The incident came amid an ongoing dispute involving Gerber, a former police chief who had been serving in another township position before his dismissal. That would ordinarily be plenty of municipal drama for one evening. Apparently, it wasn’t enough for Pemberton.
Speaking afterward to Philadelphia’s 6abc, Bianchini acknowledged what viewers could already see.
“I just basically snapped,” he said. “I hate to put it this way, but it’s a long time coming.”
The mayor said the confrontation followed a buildup of tension and accused Sawka and another resident of making remarks involving his wife and daughter. Sawka denied the accusation.
Police were aware of the incident. No official criminal charges against Bianchini had been reported as of Thursday afternoon, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Separate reporting said Sawka had sought charges through a municipal complaint.
There’s a certain irony in a public official responding to an unruly town meeting by becoming the most unruly person in the room. But perhaps the most remarkable part is that no elaborate reconstruction is necessary. There is video of the entire spectacle.
Anyone who has ever complained that local government meetings are boring clearly hasn’t attended one in Pemberton Township.
DBS WIRE SOURCES (I’ve got all day).
- 6abc Philadelphia — Mayor admits he snapped; video of confrontation
- The Philadelphia Inquirer — Pemberton council meeting erupts
- Shore News Network — Resident’s response and threatened legal action
