Insanity in the Pine Barrens

Good morning!

I have a genuine question on this Friday morning: What is wrong with everyone?

I ask this to myself a lot, but today I’m wondering it based on Tuesday night’s Pemberton Township Council meeting, where Mayor Matthew Bianchini lunged at a member of the public.

“I’ll get you — I’ll fu**ing get you!” Bianchini sneered at the guy before being restrained and removed from the council chambers.

The altercation was caught on camera by the Pine Barrens Tribune, which says the altercation is related to an intra-GOP fight in the Burlington County town over Bianchini’s recent appointment as mayor. It’s not clear what made Bianchini want to physically assault the member of the public (the video starts just about when Bianchini jumps from the council dais to go after the guy), but the mayor’s wife, who was at the meeting, later said her husband’s critics were in the audience making comments under their breath. Bianchini’s (adult) daughter also said she thinks her dad was trying to defend her as she sparred with his foes.

“I also want to be honest about what led to my reaction. Watching my father repeatedly face negative comments, whispers, head shakes and what I perceive as belittling and bullying has been difficult. Tonight, sitting there and witnessing those interactions, I reached my breaking point and reacted emotionally instead of keeping my composure. That is an explanation, not an excuse,” she said.

It’s hard for me to imagine what transpires in a town of 26,000 people that makes their leadership act this way. I suggest everyone involved go their rooms and don’t come back out until they think about what they’ve done.

Trenton: Democratic lawmakers in the Assembly advanced a bill that would bar federal agents and armed agents at the polls, a bill that had been fast-tracked for approval before Election Day this year but was yanked from a full vote in the Senate. That chamber’s president, Nicholas Scutari (D), said Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s office expressed constitutional concerns.

Opioids: Earlier this month, Dana DiFilippo reported on the millions that towns have spent using opioid settlement funds, money that is supposed to be spent on harm reduction tools but has instead often been used to fund things like concerts. On Thursday, harm reduction workers lambasted that spending in Trenton. “People died for that money!” said Arron Wheeler, a harm reduction worker with the Newark Community Street Team. “Let’s get the money to where it belongs. My mother suffered from opioid use. My uncle died in an abandoned building because of prescription drugs. Let’s get this money to the people that it belongs to.”

Health: Top state officials told lawmakers Thursday that cuts to federal Medicaid funding will cost the state up to ~$4B and cost hospitals and doctors here another $2B-$3B. “Behind every number is a person: someone who needs a checkup, a parent managing a chronic condition,” Human Services Commissioner Stephen Cha told legislators during a hearing at the Trenton Statehouse.

Education: Via Samantha Olander at Chalkbeat Newark, several years after civil rights groups sued New Jersey over racial segregation in public schools, attorneys on both sides appeared in court Thursday to debate whether this segregation represents a constitutional violation. “Every day that goes by where there’s no remedy for this is tragic,” said Lawrence Lustberg, an attorney for the plaintiffs. “Students in Newark are going to have to suffer with how long this is taking.”

Elections: Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R) and his Democratic challenger, Zack Mullock, met for a debate Thursday and Mullock was aggressive in tying Van Drew to President Donald Trump and dinging Van Drew for inflation, higher prices tied to Trump’s tariffs, and the war in Iran. Van Drew accused Mullock repeatedly of lying — when Mullock said Van Drew voted for the Iran war, Van Drew countered that his vote was to not end the war in Iran —  as Mullock laid into him on issue after issue. At one point, Mullock referred to Trump as Van Drew’s “daddy.” Whew. Van Drew last won reelection by 17 points, but Democrats are hoping anti-Trump sentiment will help them flip this seat this time.