Two borough council members in a South Jersey town have filed a lawsuit that seeks the removal of one of their colleagues.
Penns Grove Borough Council members Carol Mincey and Michael Bercute filed suit in Superior Court of Salem County claiming fellow council member Carl Washington Jr.‘s appointment to his seat - after resigning and after losing the election last fall - was a conflict of interest and a violation of the state’s municipal vacancy law.
The seat in question became available Oct. 4, 2019, before the November general election, when former councilman Rafael Leon resigned from his council position. Leon and Washington Jr. are Democrats.
The lawsuit alleges the town’s clerk, Sharon Williams, who is named as one of the defendants in the lawsuit along with Washington Jr. and the borough council, did not officially stamp Leon’s resignation letter stating the clerk’s office received it.
Then, Washington Jr. resigned his council seat six days after losing his race in the general election in November - in which third-party candidates Mincey and Bercute ousted him and another candidate.
Washington Jr.‘s resignation letter was stamped by the borough clerk.
To fill Leon’s seat, the Penns Grove Democratic Municipal Committee, led by then-Mayor John Washington, submitted three names to fill Leon’s position: Wilson Jiminez, Republican Ron Giordano, and Washington Jr.
During a special meeting held on Nov. 14, former borough solicitor Adam Telsey told the council that the Democratic Municipal Committee had not submitted the names promptly according to a state statute, and that Giordano was not allowed to be considered because he was a Republican. With then-Mayor Washington casting the tie-breaking vote, the council voted 3-2 for Washington Jr. to fill the vacant seat.
John Washington and Carl Washington Jr. are not related.
Washington Jr. and Williams did not respond to requests for comment from NJ Advance Media.
Washington Jr.‘s appointment is unlawful, Mincey and Bercute argue, citing state law that the three nominations had to be within 15 days of Leon’s resignation, or left unfilled until the next election.
Their other argument is that then-Mayor Washington’s vote represented a conflict of interest because, as Democratic committee chairperson, he approved the nomination of Washington Jr., and he did not recuse himself from voting.
The two say they continue to suffer ongoing, irreparable harm because Washington Jr. is still voting on council matters when he should not be in office.
Mincey and Bercute’s lawyer, Frank Schirripa, said Washington Jr.‘s appointment is not valid, and his appointment should be reversed.
“Carl Washington, Jr.‘s appointment to Penns Grove Borough Council—with a crucial assist from someone who had a conflict of interest—is yet another example of how politics tends to get done in New Jersey,” Schirripa said in a statement. “Even before then-Mayor Washington cast his conflicted tie-breaking vote, the people of Penns Grove had tired of this kind of ‘politics as usual’ and elected now-Mayor LaDaena Thomas to replace Washington and bring change to Penns Grove.”
Mincey and Bercute are seeking also to have Washington, Jr.‘s return the salary he earned as a council member from the time he was appointed in November through his removal.
Washington, the former mayor, told NJ Advance Media he listened to the advice of his solicitor, and as far as he knew, everything was legal. Washington also said that when it comes to Mincey and Bercute, they have to move forward with the matters of Penns Grove.
“They just need to get over it and move on,” Washington said. “They are bringing nothing but trouble.”
Washington Jr. also has other, pending legal issues, on the criminal side of the court system.
In December, he was charged with official misconduct, conspiracy, theft by unlawful taking and misapplication of entrusted property and property of government, all felony crimes, for allegedly misappropriating $8,200 from the Clean Communities Program, a state litter cleanup program.
Washington Jr. is currently running unopposed for a one-year unexpired term on the Penns Grove Borough Council. In the unofficial results released late Tuesday night, Washington Jr. had received 216 votes in the primary election, with 147 voters submitting write-in submissions.
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Chris Franklin may be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com.
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