Community Corner

Marianne Coyle Harassment Hearing Rescheduled for June 19

The township school board member filed a harassment complaint against a man she claimed yelled and screamed at her after a board meeting in February.

The Marianne Coyle harassment hearing has been rescheduled for 10 a.m. on June 19 in Winslow municipal court.

The hearing was postponed for a second time on April 24 when the prosecutor said she did not receive discovery information from Gloucester Township. The hearing was moved to Winslow to avoid any possible conflict of interest in Gloucester Township, where Coyle, a member of the school board, is a public official.

Coyle filed a complaint against John Schmidt after a February board meeting. Schmidt had aggressively questioned her about being the treasurer of a local political action committee while running for and now sitting on the school board. She alleged that Schmidt, a Gloucester City resident, confronted her after the meeting in a hallway and "yelled and screamed" at her.

Find out what's happening in Gloucester Townshipwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Schmidt is a gadfly and open-government activist in South Jersey. Last year, he went on a crusade to stop parents from parking in the yellow zone outside two schools in Runnemede, even though he doesn't live in the town or have children in the school district, Fox 29 News Philadelphia reported.

Coyle was reprimanded by the state Election Law Enforcement Commission late last month for the issue Schmidt raised in February. After a complaint filed by Joshua Berry, a self-described "local good government watchdog," a letter of correction was sent to Coyle , according to Joe Donohue, deputy director of ELEC.

Find out what's happening in Gloucester Townshipwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It was not immediately clear what effect the ELEC action will have on the harassment hearing.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here