Gloucester Township Council Suppressed Citizen\’s Speech

NJ Open Government Notes by John Paff

During its July 27, 2015 public meeting, the Gloucester Township (Camden County) Council voted to end the public comment portion of the meeting for the stated reasons of one speaker\’s comments not having \”something to do with government\” and for not being sufficiently \”respectful to others.\”

The video of the meeting shows that resident Tom Crone, a Republican, began addressing the Democratic-controlled Council at 28:15 on the video. At about 41:40 Crone began speaking as spokesman for the Gloucester Township and Camden County Republican parties about \”an unwholesome and unsavory incident . . . that involved\” officials from Council Vice President Orlando Mercado\’s and his running mates\’ reelection campaign.

Mercado immediately challenged the propriety of Crone\’s comments as not being \”government related.\” When Crone defended his comments as being \”government related,\” Mercado stated that Crone had gone over his time limit for speaking. After Crone sought a ruling from Council President Glen Bianchini as to whether he should prevented from commenting further, Mercado made a motion to close the public portion of the meeting. That motion was seconded and ultimately passed by the Council.

N.J.S.A. 10:4-12 of the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) requires municipal governing bodies and school boards to set aside a period of time at each meeting \”for public comment on any governmental or school district issue that a member of the public feels may be of concern to the residents of the municipality or school district.\” Crone\’s comments were offered during that portion of the meeting.

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