Tuesday, May 15, 2012
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. "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 …
39.821003
-75.040635
Gloucester Township Municipal Complex
1261 Chews Landing Rd, Laurel Springs, NJ
/articles/first-council-meeting-since-april-23-confrontation-almost-calm
1777809
/locations/7039638
Monday, April 30, 2012
Len Moffa will be suspended two days without pay, Mayor David Mayer told Fox 29 News on Monday.
The director of the township's Public Works Department will be suspended two days without pay for coming face to face with and engaging a resident in a heated argument during last Monday's Council meeting, according to a report. Mayor David Mayer announced the two-day suspension to Fox 29 News on Monday. "As a result of the verbal debate that occurred at a recent Council meeting, and after a comprehensive review of both video and audio transcripts, I have determined that Director Moffa will be suspended for two days without pay," Mayer said in a statement he issued to Fox 29 News. The Philadelphia news program was following up on prior reports by Gloucester Township Patch on the incident involving Moffa and Darren Gladden, a Valleybrook …
39.821003
-75.040635
Gloucester Township Municipal Complex
1261 Chews Landing Rd, Laurel Springs, NJ
/articles/report-public-works-director-to-be-suspended-2-days-without-pay-over-council-meeting-blowup
1777809
/locations/6915950
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Police separated the public works director and a resident as they engaged in a heated argument Monday night.
Video footage of Monday night's Township Council meeting, during which Public Works Department director Len Moffa and resident Darren Gladden engaged in a spirited argument, was made available on Blip.tv through the township's official website Tuesday afternoon. The two men came face to face and chest to chest during the heated argument. Gloucester Township Patch has separated two videos of the confrontation between Moffa and Gladden, an independent candidate for Township Council in 2011, from the full meeting footage. One video is slightly longer, and shows Gladden approach the microphone to address Council. (Warning: These videos contain at least one expletive.) Mayor David Mayer did not return a message left Tuesday afternoon seeking …
39.821003
-75.040635
Gloucester Township Municipal Complex
1261 Chews Landing Rd, Laurel Springs, NJ
/articles/darren-gladden-len-moffa-confrontation
1777809
/locations/6877232
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
A comment by the resident, who ran for Council in 2011, about trash cans at ball fields sparked the confrontation.
The township's public works director and a 2011 Township Council candidate had to be separated by police during a tense confrontation near the end of Monday night's Council meeting. Len Moffa hopped up from his seat in Council chambers and moved toward Darren Gladden after the Valleybrook man made a comment about trash cans at sports fields in the township. "You know the services are going down. We can't get 'em to put trash cans in the parks," Gladden said. "You know what I mean? To let our coaches and our parents clean up after themselves—" "That's not true!" Moffa exclaimed, cutting off Gladden as he approached the microphone where Gladden was speaking. "I listen to this every single meeting. Every meeting I listen to this." "You know …
39.821003
-75.040635
Gloucester Township Municipal Complex
1261 Chews Landing Rd, Laurel Springs, NJ
/articles/public-works-director-resident-separated-by-police-at-council-meeting
1777809
/locations/6877206
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
The Democratic Party's four candidates for Gloucester Township Council won by more than 1,500 votes, according to unofficial results.
The Democratic Party retained complete control of the Township Council with resounding wins by all four of its candidates in Tuesday's election. Incumbents Glen Bianchini and Orlando Mercado received the most votes in the election, with 5,186 and 5,076, respectively, according to unofficial results released by the Township Clerk's Office. The incumbent Democrats' running mates, Sam Siler and Tracey Trotto, won Council seats with 4,944 and 4,920 votes, respectively, giving "The Mayer Council Team" a sweep in the 2011 Council race. "I think this is validation that what we started out doing a year and a half ago—of bringing more accountability to government, running government more efficiently, thinking outside the box with shared services—is…
Thursday, November 3, 2011
A Democratic Party political action committee purportedly has put out a mailer backing independent conservative Darren Gladden.
A campaign mailer that reached Gloucester Township homes this week has conservatives accusing a political action committee with strong Democratic Party ties of playing dirty politics just days before the 2011 Township Council election. Republican candidates say the mailer is also an indication the lone independent candidate in the race actually is in cahoots with their Democratic opposition. Independent Darren Gladden does not view himself as a spoiler in the race. He says he is in it to win one of the four Council seats up for grabs in next Tuesday's election, not help the Democrats, as the Republicans are asserting, or even the Republicans. Pointing to his use of "Conservative Independent" as a ballot slogan and perhaps concerned Gladden…
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Gladden is the lone independent candidate for Township Council.
On Nov. 8, residents will have the opportunity to go to the polls to vote for four members of Gloucester Township Council. Gloucester Township Patch will share information and some of the thoughts of the nine candidates seeking four Council seats throughout the week of Oct. 9. Name: Darren S. Gladden Political Party: Conservative Independent Years of Residency in Gloucester Twp.: Living in and out of Gloucester Township since 1990 Job: Plant operator and field technician for IAP Worldwide Services in Fort Dix, NJ, July 2007-July 2009 Education: Self Taught Man Family: Wife and two sons Why are you running for Gloucester Township Council? The current incumbents have been in office for far too long and both parties are out of touch …
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Darren Gladden says he supports a proposed pay-to-play ban.
- OPINION
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Tuesday, September 6, 2011
To the Editor: The un-official start of the election season is upon us here in beautiful Gloucester Township. The candidates of both major parties have been walking neighborhoods and passing out glossy professionally printed brochures to unsuspecting resident while giving platitudes and taking advantage of photo opportunities. The problem is that not one of them has told residents what THEY will do to make things in government different. I say it is time for major changes to the status quo and exactly how business as usual is conducted in Gloucester Township. I am Darren Gladden and I am running for GT Council as a true independent voice, a voice for the people, the residents; the voiceless. Far too long have we been under the yoke of …
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Councilwoman Crystal Evans did not file to run as an independent, as some had speculated might be possible.
Valleybrook resident Darren Gladden was the lone township resident to file as an independent candidate in this November's Township Council race. The deadline for independent candidates to file was 4 p.m. Tuesday. Gladden will run under the name "Conservative Independent." His petition had 124 signatures when he dropped it off to the Camden County Clerk's Office, in Camden, Tuesday morning. With Gladden officially joining the field Tuesday, there are now nine total candidates seeking four Council seats. The Democratic slate includes two incumbents—Council President Glen Bianchini and Vice President Orlando Mercado—and Tracey Trotto and Samuel M. Siler, who previously served on Council. The Republican candidates for Council are Linda Musser…
Darren Gladden
3:22 pm on Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Now Now Michelle , let me state this Councilman Mercado action that night earn him my snickered you SEE cause . " I will not stand for a COUNCILMAN putting his PEOPLE DOWN for talking about issue to them '. Now on a real note I have talk to O face to face and he is really not a bad guy. I will state sometimes he walks or runs around with a cocky chip on his shoulders but I know he cares ......… more ›