Politics & Government

First Gloucester Twp. Council Meeting Since April 23 Confrontation Almost All Calm

The Gloucester Township Council vice president tells residents he's "a public servant, not a public punching bag."

Monday night's Township Council meeting nearly ended without anything close to the contentious, face-to-face verbal sparring between a resident and township official that marked the governing body's April 23 session.

Nearly.

As the meeting—the first public-action session since April 23—came to a close more than two hours after it began, Council Vice President Orlando Mercado made a few comments alluding to calls from two men for Council to make an apology to the resident involved in the April 23 confrontation.

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

"Tonight, we passed a budget that had a zero increase, we had an audit that had no findings—a clean audit—and our bond rating increased to 'A+.' However, we sat here and talked about people more interested in apologies and text messages," Mercado said.

Mercado caught some flak from Robbie Traylor, a member of conservative watchdog group South Jersey Citizens, for the comment, but continued on, telling Traylor, "You can leave, brother."

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

"But we sat here and talked about apologies and text messages," the Council vice president continued. "I think people are more interested in, not about a zero increase in the budget, not that their township is on sound financial ground, or an 'A+' rating, but they're interested in what next they can put on a website." 

One of the two men who called on Council to offer an apology was Darren Gladden, the resident who was involved in the April 23 confrontation with Public Works Director Len Moffa. The other was Ray Polidoro, chairman of the Gloucester Township Republican Municipal Committee.

Gladden snickered at Mercado's comments, which came during the portion of the meeting during which Council members offer closing remarks.

"Exactly, Darren," Mercado said.

"Do you want me to debate you?" Gladden asked Mercado.

"No, it's my turn. It's my turn. I'm a public servant. I'm not a public punching bag. And I think people in the audience need to remember that," Mercado said. "We're public servants, not public public punching bags."

"You need to be publicly done," Gladden responded.

"That's enough," Council President Glen Bianchini interjected, banging a gavel.

"And I'm not afraid to punch back. Keep that in mind. Thank you. Have a good evening," Mercado said.

"Is that a threat? Is that a threat? Is that a threat, sir? Is that a threat, sir?" Gladden asked.

"Mr. Gladden!" Bianchini called out several times, attempting to restore order to the meeting.

"No. Can I ask him a question?" Gladden replied.

Bianchini then asked for police to escort Gladden from Council chambers.

"I'll leave then, but that sounded like a threat to me," the Valleybrook man said as he left the meeting.

Bianchini began the business portion of the meeting—the Timber Creek Regional High School wrestling team and marching band were honored at the beginning—by imploring those in attendance to ask questions of and direct comments to him and Council. He also requested that everyone "talk and not yell" and "just address each other in a professional and adult way."

During the meeting's public-comment period, Polidoro asked whether any member of Council had apologized to Gladden.

"No, Ray, and I think this is an administrative issue, and I feel the mayor (David Mayer) has handled it appropriately. And I'll leave it at that," Bianchini said.

"The reason I ask Council is it happened in (Council) chambers," Polidoro said. "As you're aware, the decorum and the conduct in this Council room is under your jurisdiction."

In a statement issued to Fox 29 News on April 30, Mayer indicated Moffa would be suspended two days without pay for the blow-up involving Gladden.

Gladden followed Polidoro by also calling on Council to apologize to him.

"You have your own voices. You're voted in by the people yourselves. It's a team when we all come together. But we're not all coming together. You're actually splitting this town apart," he said.

The brief argument between Mercado and Gladden on Monday came just minutes after Councilman Dan Hutchison had praised the passion of Gladden and John Schmidt, a Gloucester City resident who earlier had questioned Council about an Open Public Records Act request he submitted regarding a text message Business Administrator Tom Cardis was observed sending during Council's May 7 work session.

"Len, you've been getting beat up. I said at the end of the (April 23) meeting and I want to reiterate: You bring passion to your job. And I think you do a good job. You are a credit to the town," he said. "Darren, you're passionate as well. It's a shame that sometimes these things get heated. Tonight, it almost happened with Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Cardis. Mr. Schmidt is very passionate about his topics. ... Keep doing what you're doing."

For his part, Moffa was silent throughout Monday's meeting.


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