IF CHASEY & FORMAN ARE UNPROFESSIONAL, IT MUST BE CAMPAIGN SEASON

In what has become a tiresome election-season act by former mayor Kathy Chasey and current mayor Janet Forman, the two committeewomen openly berated November opponent Anthony Gabris at the June 23rd committee meeting.

Gabris spoke in the public portion of the meeting, railing against Chasey and Forman's sale of township-owned undersized, non-conforming lots in the Elwood section. Chasey and Forman have contended that the lots previously had homes on them, homes that were built at a time when smaller lot sizes were required for building. Gabris remarked that the lots were abandoned and should have been declared unusable.

Chasey charged that Gabris had, while working for the township, authored a report recommending the sale of the lots in question. When Gabris denied making such a recommendation and asked Chasey if she could produce the report, Chasey admitted that she could not. Without a copy of the report available at this time, Mullica's voters are left with a classical he-said, she-said. The only thing that CAN be confirmed is that Chasey has compromised her principles and departed from her long-standing practice of refraining from selling municipal lots for residential development.

Forman and Chasey continued to berate Gabris, Forman remarking on the condition of Gabris' office when his employment with the township was terminated, and Chasey accusing Gabris of flip-flopping on the decision to sell the municipal lots in question, albeit without a copy of the report that she insists tells the story. Curiously, Forman was NOT the committeeperson in charge of Gabris' department at the time and inquiring minds might want to know why she was looking at files in the building and zoning department. The cherry on the sundae was when Forman accused Gabris of contacting the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) about her numerous, well-documented environmental violations.

While it is not uncommon for election opponents to state their positions, elected officials serving on committee owe the public a greater level of respect and need to demonstrate decorum. Perhaps with a change after November's election, members of the public who question how their government is run will be treated properly. The meeting can be viewed on Mullica News. Viewers will see that Gabris was not obnoxious or argumentative in his comments, but was attacked by Chasey and Forman.

There was one silver lining however. In years past, Chasey and Forman allowed (and probably encouraged) then-solicitor Tim Maguire to insult their political foes during public meetings, a highly inappropriate measure as the solicitor is to remark on legal questions only. Current solicitor Kerri Cody, hired by Chasey and Forman, has acted professionally and in a manner far more consistent with the role of solicitor. Can it be long before Chasey and Forman remind Cody that they hired her?