At the Haddonfield commissioners meeting on Feb. 10, the room was filled with residents who wanted to know the decision on a resolution of censure of Zoning Board of Adjustment member Robert Grady, the first of its kind in Haddonfield history. The room was divided with those who supported the censure and those who were against it.
The commissioners, too, were divided, but ultimately passed the censure with a 2-to-1 vote. Mayor Jeff Kasko and Commissioner John Moscatelli voted in favor of the resolution of censure and Commissioner Neal Rochford was against it.
The censure stems from a Zoning Board meeting on Sept. 16, 2014, where the resolution states Grady made inappropriate and insensitive remarks directed at a group of borough residents and a sitting member of the commissioners. At this meeting, Grady called residents on Maple Avenue “wackos” and mispronounced Moscatelli’s last name, which some members of the public and Moscatelli felt was an attack.
According to the resolution, Grady was given numerous opportunities to apologize for his remarks, but failed to do so. To put the issue to rest, the commissioners chose to censure Grady to formally address the remarks, memorialize their displeasure with him and to proclaim that such conduct and language is unacceptable.
“I believe all elected and appointed members of boards and commissions of this town are held to a high standard of conduct, demeanor and language at public meetings. Because of what has occurred and because we have tried on numerous occasions over the last five months to resolve this in a reasonable, fair and non-controversial manner, we have not been able to get that done with Mr. Grady, we are now considering this resolution,” Kasko said.
The censure will not impair Grady in his duties on the board. He will still remain on the board, will still be able to vote and will be free to speak and carry out his duties as normal. However, it does publicly denounce his actions and express the commissioners’ displeasure with them.
Former commissioners Tish Colombi and Ed Borden, as well as fellow Zoning Board chairman Kevin Burns, spoke up against the resolution. They felt the censure was a harsh punishment for Grady.
“The commissioners here are proposing to take an extraordinary step in publicly shaming, criticizing and humiliating a member of the board for intemperate remarks made at one meeting,” Borden said.
They also felt if this censure passes, then public comments should be censured by board members as well.
“If we censure Mr. Grady, I think we, as board members, have the right to censure members of the town who don’t act professionally to board members,” Burns said.
Other members of the public, such as Angela Melzi, Brian Kelly and many more, felt it was a reasonable and needed resolution. They felt board members were to be kept to a higher standard than the public.
“We are role models. For those of you who hold local positions, either elected or appointed, you are held to a higher standard than residents who come in,” Melzi said.
Kelly, also a member on a board in Haddonfield, brought out the guidelines of conduct that board members read and sign before they are appointed to the board.
“‘Courteous to fellow board members, applicants, witnesses and all others who attend board meetings and hearings…should not engage in argument, debate or discussion of a personal or anecdotal nature of the applicant or other members of the public.’ As tough as it gets in these meetings, there is a code of conduct that board members have to follow, and this is a situation where, more than once, Mr. Grady has violated that,” Kelly said.
Ultimately, Kasko said this censure is due to Grady leaving them with little choice. Kasko didn’t want the public to think rude remarks were acceptable and the commissioners would stay silent on this matter.
“He has left us little choice. I would like to put this behind us. If we continue to remain silent on this matter, then we send a very strong message to this town that it’s OK to berate people, it’s OK to call names, it’s OK to mispronounce and be disrespectful to a commissioner. I’m sorry. I cannot sit here in silence. I think if we did, we send a strong message that we don’t care, and obviously we do care,” Kasko said.
Moscatelli, who had remained silent throughout the meeting, spoke up at the end, making his final remarks before voting. He felt the expectations for board members are clearly stated and that Grady not recognizing a mistake is not acceptable.
“I think it is clear what the expectations are from members of our board. It is not our feeling that we hold our members to a higher standard. It is documented and presented to them and they sign off on that when elected to those boards. I can forgive Mr. Grady for making inappropriate comments. To not recognize when that line has been crossed and to stand up and admit that you made a mistake and apologize to those who had been offended is a step too far,” Moscatelli said.
Rochford said he felt the situation didn’t have to be handled in such a public manner and could’ve been done in a different way.
“I wish he didn’t make the comments that he made. I would’ve liked to see this go in a nonpublic manner. I have a lot of respect for my fellow commissioner; I have a lot of admiration for Maple Avenue people; I just don’t think this is the direction we should go in,” Rochford said.
Grady, after hearing of the passing of the censure, said he “couldn’t care less” and he meant what he said. However, he does feel this is sad for the town.
“It’s just a travesty, for the town and members of the Zoning Board. It was poorly handled. If this will satisfy them, then go ahead and pass it,” Grady said.
According to Grady, the history of this event goes far longer than the Sept. 16 meeting. He said members of the public kept continuing to harass the members of the Zoning Board due to a decision it made that some members of the public didn’t like. It was at the Sept. 16 meeting that everything boiled over. Grady said he felt it was the commissioners’ fault for sending the unhappy citizens back time and time again to the board on an already made decision.
Grady said he did make a public statement that maybe his choice of adjective wasn’t appropriate and he should’ve chosen different ones, and he stands by that statement. Also he feels the idea that his mispronunciation of Moscatelli’s name as being an attack on Italians or others is “absurd.”
“They approached me and urged me to apologize and I didn’t intend to do so. There is nothing to apologize for,” Grady said. “If there is anybody that should be apologizing, it is the agitating people and the commissioners for the way we’ve been treated in the public press.”
