Pemberton residents and Council want Mayor Jack Tompkins out. Here’s why

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Pemberton Township Mayor Jack Tompkins is facing a fresh round of calls demanding his resignation over his conduct in office. Since his term began in 2023, the embattled mayor has faced numerous allegations of sexual misconduct and retaliatory behavior.

There was even an attempt to recall him from office the following year. Now, residents and the council are again renewing efforts to remove Tompkins from the job before his term expires at the end of 2026.

Tompkins did not respond to a request for comment.

There are 8 lawsuits over Tompkins’ conduct

Township employee Nichole Pittman sued Tompkins and the township in November 2023, alleging sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliatory conduct against her and three other employees.

Nearly a month after Pittman filed her lawsuit, the Township Council authorized an investigation into the mayor’s conduct.

Investigators from North Jersey-based law firm Pashman Stein Walder Hayden found Tompkins made sexually charged comments towards one female employee and made inappropriate advances towards a 16-year-old girl who was a seasonal employee, among other incidents.

“This guy’s done it all,” said Township Council President Matthew Bianchini. “He’s a very, very vile person. I don’t say that with a smile or tongue in cheek. He’s just not a good person.”

There have been eight lawsuits filed against Tompkins and the township over the last two years. The lawsuit filed by Pittman settled earlier this year.

Bianchini projected that the lawsuits will cost the township “upwards of $4 million.” The township’s annual budget is about $29 million, according to Bianchini, who added that insurance will cover portions of the lawsuits. The township is responsible for 10% of what is paid.

So far, the township has paid more than $200,000 in legal fees and settlement charges. Bianchini predicts the township will pay close to $500,000 when everything is settled.

“[Tompkins’] costing us hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he said. “We’re not a wealthy township … we scrape pennies to get by.”

What prompted the latest calls for Tompkins to step down?

At a special meeting held Monday night, the Township Council adopted a resolution calling for Tompkins’s resignation “because of the ongoing pattern of misconduct, obstruction, and blatant disregard for ethical governance.”

Bianchini said the proposal stemmed from the mayor’s refusal to offer the township’s interim recreation director a permanent position.

“All of our township events, anything recreation related or senior services related, this one individual planned it all in the absence of the rec director,” Bianchini said.

Bianchini said he requested Tompkins keep the temporary director in the position permanently, but the mayor blew him off.

“I was met with, ‘Well, the job’s to be posted,’” he said. “I questioned, ‘Well, why wouldn’t you offer the job to the person who’s been doing it and doing a very good job? Why wouldn’t you offer it to this person?’ I never got a response.”

Bianchini alleged Tompkins was retaliating against the temporary hire because they supported Pittman.

“The mayor in an act of retaliation just refused to offer [the job] to her,” he said. “That’s what we’re assuming, but it’s a pretty strong assumption.

Bianchini said the latest incident was “the second last straw.”

Residents want Tompkins to go

Monday’s special meeting called after this year’s annual Water Festival was cancelled, caused residents to spill out of council chambers. Most called for Tompkins, who was at the meeting, to step down.

During the public comment portion, Vicky Adams, a school board member, said the town was split because of the mayor.

“The character that you have presented to me over the last three years has been that of a weasel,” she said. “I feel sorry for your wife and your daughter because … if you treat them like you treat the women in this district, I’m sorry, but I need to say a prayer for them.”

At that moment, Tompkins rose from his seat and left the room.

Alexander Costa, a community activist and lifelong Pemberton resident, was recording the meeting as he had for the last couple of years. He said he is disheartened by what he has been seeing.

“He never wants to admit that he’s wrong and accept accountability,” he said. “He seems to somehow think that he’s untouchable, which is far from the truth”

“Malfeasance” is how Dustin Maggard, another resident, summed up the mayor’s tenure thus far.

“He has done everything he can to stop anything good from happening,” said Maggard, pointing to the Water Festival’s cancellation and his treatment of township employees. “It’s a level of unprofessionalism that can’t be explained to anything more than just pure malfeasance.

What’s next? New Jersey Libertarian Party is considering recall effort

Tompkins has resisted all calls for his departure from office, including the ones from Gov. Phil Murphy and Assemblywoman Andrea Katz.

Maggard, who is also chairman of the South Jersey Libertarian Party, said the party is looking into launching another effort to recall Tompkins. An effort led by Adams in 2024 was not successful.

“It’s not even a political power play … some organization has to pull this together,” he said. “This guy can sit there and cause damage for another year and a half. We can’t allow it.”

Should Tompkins decide to resign from office, Bianchini, as council president, would step in as the mayor until the next general election. The council president added that he is not being driven by his political ambitions.

“My plan was to sit on council and try to do things for the community,” Bianchini said.