Bloomfield Mayor, Councilman Trade Jabs Over Chalet Indictment

Bloomfield, NJ – Should accused Bloomfield 1st Ward Councilman Elias Chalet resign?

With a potential recall effort for the embattled councilman reportedly in the works, the question of whether Chalet should resign is creating tension between Bloomfield’s mayor and another of its council members.

• See related article: Recall Effort For Accused Bloomfield Councilman Begins

Chalet is accused of soliciting and accepting a bribe of $15,000 from a business owner.

• See related article: Bloomfield Councilman Indicted On Bribery Charges

On Friday, Councilman Joe Lopez reached out to Patch with the following statement:

“It took nearly three months of impassioned pressure from the public, who intensely let Mayor Venezia know that they will not tolerate the culture of corruption that exists in his administration before he could find the moral compass to issue a halfhearted statement that he privately asked Councilman Chalet to resign. But the mayor’s actions don’t square with his words. For example, during the January 4 town council meeting, I gave the mayor and council the opportunity to publicly admonish the alleged illegal actions of Councilman Chalet by joining with me in asking for his resignation but I couldn’t even get a second on my motion! I have put the matter back on the February 22 agenda because I want to give the mayor and council another chance to join with me to let Bloomfield citizens know that we will not tolerate corruption in Mayor Venezia’s administration by publicly asking Councilman Chalet to resign.”

Lopez continued:

“But Mayor Venezia’s true feelings were exposed in the comments he made during his interview with Hot 97 Radio on January 31. During the interview, he embraced the support of Councilman Chalet who was indicted on bribery, official misconduct and other charges just two days prior on January 29, and Danny Chalet, the convicted felon who stole nearly $500,000 worth of merchandise from Home Depot stores in five states.”

Patch reached out to Venezia seeking comment and received the following reply from his spokesman, Philip Swibinski:

“Mayor Venezia has asked Councilman Chalet for his resignation and believes it would be in everyone’s best interest for him to step down and focus on his legal situation, but that decision is Councilman Chalet’s alone. Neither the Mayor nor the Council have any formal mechanism for removing an elected official and no amount of bluster and grandstanding by Councilman Lopez can change that. It’s clear that Councilman Lopez’s statements are simply political theater designed to help his chances in the upcoming election.”

Swibinski added:

“Mayor Venezia has the support of so many Bloomfield residents because they see the progress that has been made under his leadership and want it to continue. Councilman Chalet’s legal issues are an isolated matter that have nothing to do with the day-to-day operations of Bloomfield government, and it is shameful for Councilman Lopez to politicize this unfortunate situation and attack Mayor Venezia’s integrity. Bloomfield residents want their leaders to focus on the real issues, like stabilizing property taxes and moving the community forward, and not on playing politics like Councilman Lopez. That’s what the Mayor is doing and he has the support of every other member of the Bloomfield council except for Councilman Lopez.”

Photo 1: Joseph Lopez

Photo 2: Michael Venezia

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