Fuhgeddabout keeping it civil.
A New Jersey coastal town meeting exploded into a verbal brawl fit for reality TV, with council members calling the town’s mayor a “huge piece of idiot” and a “despicable sociopath” while responding with blistering insults.
A heated biweekly meeting in Toms River turned into a four-and-a-half-hour, profanity-laced rant last week as Mayor Daniel Rodrik clashed with critics over an affordable housing plan, according to the British Daily Mail. NJ.com.
“This is like — a show,” Roderick said, at one point, of the chaotic meeting.
“After you made the show, Dan!” Councilman Clinton Bradley responded, red-faced. “Because you’re a hunk of st.”
Roderick repeatedly interrupted his critics and spoke to them during the meeting, calling them “clown,” “coward,” and “crazy lunatic,” and declaring that they would face political repercussions.
Councilor Thomas Nevison then slammed the mayor as a “despicable sociopath” as residents walked to the microphone to loudly tell Roderick to “shut up”.
“Shut the fk!” said Paul Williams, a local activist, drawing applause. “Shut up! Shut up!”
The spat between Jersey’s only local government came as the March 15 zoning deadline for an affordable housing plan approached and council members disagreed with the city’s mayor over the project.
Toms River’s government has been plagued in recent months by infighting and acrimony, even though Roderick and all seven council members are Republicans in the GOP stronghold of Ocean County.
At times, long-standing political rivalries and big egos have made it difficult to get things done in the town of about 99,000 people. NJ.com And I mentioned.
“We are the laughingstock of the state of New Jersey,” said Council President David Ciccuzzi, who chaired the marathon meeting. “If there’s anywhere I go, they say, ‘Oh my God, how can you do that?’
The council ultimately failed to pass two of the three ordinances proposed by Roderick, leading to an impasse over zoning changes that would allow multifamily development near Routes 70 and 9.