By Tiffany Williams –
A New Jersey council meeting erupted into a confrontation Wednesday night when Pemberton Township Mayor Matthew Bianchini charged toward a resident in the audience and had to be restrained. The encounter, captured on video, has prompted a court complaint and demands for the mayor’s resignation.
The confrontation occurred October 21 as a fired township employee appealed his termination before the council. Bianchini moved toward resident Michael Sawka, a critic of his administration, before others intervened and removed the mayor from the room.
Bianchini continued shouting toward Sawka as he was escorted away. Sawka demanded police intervention, saying the mayor had threatened him and pointing out that the encounter had been recorded.
The mayor said the confrontation followed comments and gestures involving his wife and daughter, who were seated in the audience. Bianchini maintained that he was reacting to attacks on his family, while Sawka denied making comments toward them and disputed the mayor’s account of what prompted the outburst.
Sawka said he remained seated throughout the encounter. He described waving his hand toward the mayor’s family after they began speaking to him, while meeting footage showed an obscene gesture toward Bianchini before the mayor left his seat.
Bianchini acknowledged that his behavior was wrong but continued to defend his reaction. “Was it wrong? Absolutely. Was it justified? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Absolutely,” he said afterward.
The mayor separately acknowledged that his threatening language was inappropriate and said he did not intend to act on it. He nevertheless rejected calls to step down and maintained that the confrontation did not warrant criminal charges.
On Thursday, Sawka filed a municipal court complaint seeking assault and terroristic threats charges against Bianchini. He also called for the mayor to resign and withdraw from politics, saying he might consider withdrawing his complaint if Bianchini left office.
The complaint represents Sawka’s allegations, rather than a finding of wrongdoing. As of Friday’s reporting, police had not announced whether charges would be pursued.
The confrontation comes just weeks before the November election, in which Bianchini is seeking to retain the mayor’s office. Appointed earlier this year to fill a vacancy, he has said he intends to remain in office despite the complaint and demands for his resignation.