Galloway Township Mayor Keith Hartman's Seat in Question

Galloway Township Mayor Keith Hartman will forfeit his seat on council and as mayor as of 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 19,Township Manager Steve Bonanni confirmed Tuesday morning.

State guidelines mandate that an elected official who misses eight consecutive weeks of business must be removed from his or her position, unless members of that same body “excuse the absence for legitimate reasons.”

Hartman can still request a hearing before council at the next scheduled council meeting on Oct. 25, Deputy Mayor Don Purdy said Tuesday morning, and Bonanni stated Hartman has asked council to consider excusing his absence for the eight-week period. He also stated all decisions involving this matter may be made at that council meeting.

"If he can come up with reasoning, he can go before the governing body and present his case, and then we can agree or disagree," Purdy said. "We would have to put it on the agenda for the next meeting."

Purdy said council is not legally obligated to hear the case, but, "I think we owe it to the taxpayers to hear the case."

Councilman Jim Gorman raised the issue at last Tuesday night’s council meeting, stating the fact that Hartman has missed four consecutive council meetings, and as far as he was concerned, the mayor forfeited his seat that night.

"This is his own doing," Gorman said. "Nothing was ever explained to me."

On Friday, Hartman stated he had a valid excuse, and that if council ignored that excuse and took his seat, it “will result in more litigation.”

He also stated he will not seek a monetary settlement, but he would seek censure and removal of certain members of council, without referencing specific members.

“I’m not the one who needs to be removed,” Hartman said. “Time will show who’s telling the truth.”

Hartman has missed the last four council meetings, beginning Aug. 23. Following that council meeting, an absence of the following eight weeks would result in the loss of his seat. At midnight tonight, it will have been eight weeks.

Over the past few months, Hartman has suspended his re-election campaign due to threats against his family. The threats affected his ability to serve, and is the reason for many of his recent absences, he said.

He said there is a correlation between the threats and the events that took place during a special hearing for former Galloway Township Clerk Lisa Tilton on July 18, a statement supported by Tilton.

Minutes recently made available to the public indicate Hartman left the meeting during a two-hour recess after Councilman Dennis Kleiner requested to speak to Solicitor Michael Blee so that "no one gets embarrassed."

The reason Hartman left the meeting is not explicitly stated in the minutes. He had previously stated he was asked to recuse himself by Blee. Blee responded to a request for comment from Galloway Patch in an email on Oct. 11 by stating that all discussions between he and Hartman were confidential pursuant to attorney-client privilege.

Purdy said Hartman told him he had received a threatening letter, but that he hasn't seen it.

Purdy said he has had to work twice as hard in Hartman's absence, which predated the threatening letter he claimed to have received.

"He's missed meetings since the beginning of the year," Purdy said. " ... He took the seat from himself. He voted in 2009 to adopt this statute from the governor's tool kit."

In 2009, then-councilman William Ackerman missed time due to a stroke, but was able to return to duty before losing his seat, according to a Press of Atlantic City report dated Dec. 9, 2009.

He reported to the council meeting on the day he was scheduled to lose his seat, but later relinquished his position on council. That council voted 5-1 to allow Ackerman to keep his seat. The one dissenting vote came from Hartman.

Hartman recently unsuspended his campaign, stating he is “comfortable the threats against his family are under control.”

Hartman said Gorman’s actions were “politically motivated to make me look bad.”

“It’s an election year, and he fears losing his seat,” Hartman said. “It’s a tactical move. My absence will be justified."

"This is all about business, and doing the job you were elected to do," Gorman said.

"He can blame Councilman Gorman, and other council members, but it's a matter of law," Councilman Dennis Kleiner said, who said he would be sympathetic if he thought Hartman was threatened. "I don't buy it. ... I don't accept anything he says as factual."

Hartman stated he is confident he will be re-elected on Nov. 8.

Six candidates are vying for three seats in the Nov. 8 municipal elections. Gorman and challengers Jim McElwee and Kevin Krumaker will represent the Democrats, while incumbent Tony Coppola and challenger Brian Tyrrell will represent the Republicans.

Hartman is running an independent campaign.

“I’m confident the voters will say I’ve done a good job," Hartman said. "They can have me removed, but I’m not going away.”