Video shows New Jersey mayor charging at resident during council meeting
PEMBERTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. -- Acouncil meeting erupted into chaos when a New Jersey mayor charged toward a resident during what has been described as long-simmering tensions boiling over.
Video recorded by Pine Barrens Tribune reporter Ryan Elmore shows Pemberton Township Mayor Matthew Bianchini running toward resident Michael Sawka during the meeting, then shouting "I'm getting you."
The mayor was restrained by others in attendance before being removed from the room on Wednesday night.
"I just basically snapped," Bianchini said. "I hate to put it this way, but it's a long time coming."
"I'm just sitting there," Sawka recalled. "I never got up. I sat there the whole time. I was calm the whole time."
As people escorted Bianchini from the room, he could be heard shouting to Sawka, "I'm getting you. I'm ****ing getting you."
"I should not have said that," Bianchini said in an interview Thursday afternoon with ABC affiliate WPVI. "That was wrong. It was in the heat of the moment. I'm not gonna get anybody."
Sawka said he wants the mayor to step down and face charges.
"I would like to see Mr. Bianchini resign as soon as possible and sign something that he will never be involved in any politics again," he said.
The incident occurred while a former township employee who was recently fired was pleading his case with the council.
According to Bianchini and members of his family, the mayor's wife and daughter were seated in the back of the room when Sawka and another resident made rude comments toward them. They said they told the two residents to stop.
Video of the meeting on the township's YouTube page shows Sawka waving his hand toward them and then making an obscene gesture toward the mayor. That's when Bianchini got up from his seat and charged at Sawka.
"Was it wrong? Absolutely. Was it justified? Absolutely. And I would do it again if I had to," Bianchini said. "Don't attack my family. I think any good husband, any good father, would've done just what I did."
Sawka denied making comments toward the mayor's family.
"His family behind us started saying stuff. I turn around, and I start waving my hands, like kinda just - why don't you all just shut up? I didn't even say a word; I just was waving my hand," he said.
Bianchini said Sawka has been harassing him and his family online and in person ever since he was appointed earlier this year to fill a vacant seat following the former mayor's resignation.
Sawka rejected that characterization, saying his actions are intended to highlight what he considers questionable government spending. He also claimed the harassment goes both ways.
"My biggest thing - all I've ever been trying to do is show that we're wasting money," Sawka said.
"His family - his stepdaughter, his stepson, his daughter - they all attack me online, and they just come after me with personal attacks, never mentioning anything about the things I actually point out," he added.
Bianchini said Sawka has targeted township leaders for years.
"Mr. Sawka has been a thorn in this township's side for a number of years. I'm not the first mayor he's attacked," Bianchini said. "This gentleman's life is all about me. He spends endless hours day after day posting stuff about me, negative posts about me, lies about me, and it's gotta stop."
Sawka filed a complaint in municipal court Thursday seeking assault and terroristic threats charges against Bianchini.
The police department has not said whether it will pursue those charges.
The dispute comes weeks before the mayoral election. Bianchini is running to retain the position; otherwise, he will complete his predecessor's term through the end of the year.
"I have nothing but the best interests of this township at heart," Bianchini said. "Even the gentleman that I had the altercation with last night, if he called me and needed something, I'd be there in a heartbeat. I just want to do better things for this township. I want to make this township better. That's my ultimate goal."
