Matthew Bianchini

Introduction

Matthew Bianchini is the Republican mayor of Pemberton Township, a municipality in Burlington County, New Jersey, appointed to the job in January 2026 to replace a resigning predecessor and defeated in his November 2026 bid for a full term. On October 21, 2026, during a township council meeting, Bianchini charged across the room at resident Michael Sawka while shouting “I am getting you, I am f—ing getting you!” and had to be physically restrained and escorted out of the room. Roughly two weeks later he lost his reelection bid to Democratic challenger Belinda Fontanez, conceding the morning after polls closed. Sawka has filed a municipal court complaint seeking assault and terroristic threats charges against him.

Background Information

Bianchini, then a township committee member, was picked by the local Republican Party in January 2026 to replace Mayor Jack Tompkins, who resigned that month after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct; the woman who unseated Bianchini, Belinda Fontanez, is a former township employee who had sued Tompkins. His administration fired Kenneth “Kenny” Gerber, the township’s Community Development director and a retired police chief, roughly two weeks before the incident, replacing him with Joshua Ward, a councilman who resigned that seat to take the town hall job — a move that raised questions in the community. The October 21 meeting was an employment appeal hearing at which Gerber was pleading his case to be reinstated, accusing Bianchini’s administration of wrongdoing — claims Gerber and his allies contend were politically motivated retribution tied to his friendship with rival GOP candidate Dan Dewey. Sawka, a part-time lawyer, is a constant Bianchini critic who says his activism is meant to highlight what he considers questionable government spending.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Voted out. Bianchini charged at a resident mid-meeting while shouting a threat, was restrained and removed, and lost his reelection bid two weeks later, 3,998 votes to 1,983. A municipal court complaint for assault and terroristic threats remains pending; no criminal charges have been filed.

Per footage captured by Pine Barrens Tribune reporter Ryan Elmore and the township’s own meeting video, the hearing turned combative as Gerber made his appeal and critics in the audience — including Sawka and another resident wearing a shirt endorsing rival GOP candidate Dan Dewey — clashed with the mayor and Township Engineer Jennifer Harris. After a heated exchange, video of the meeting shows Sawka waving his hand toward the mayor’s family, seated behind him, and making an obscene gesture toward the mayor — the moment Bianchini says was his breaking point. “The breaking point for me was when he turned around and looked at my daughter and did a hand gesture toward her where I stood up. He looked at me, gave me a smile, gave me the finger and I just snapped,” Bianchini told NBC10. Sawka denies making comments toward the mayor’s family: “I never got up. I sat there the whole time. I was calm the whole time,” he said.

An enraged Bianchini then bolted across the room at Sawka, shouting “I am getting you, I am f—ing getting you!” as onlookers restrained him. Councilman Perry Doyle Jr., a retired cop, struggled to hold the mayor back — with Gerber, the fired police chief, among those physically holding him — before he was escorted out of the room, at one point carried out while still shouting toward Sawka. Two police officers, including a K9 unit, arrived to wrestle control of the raucous meeting. Sawka demanded the mayor’s arrest on the spot: “He just threatened me! That’s on video! That’s on audio! I want the police here to arrest him for that threat. That’s assault!” he shouted. Residents objected when the governing body sought to remove him from the meeting, and those involved in the altercation were ultimately asked to leave.

Public Reaction and Consequences

Sawka filed a formal municipal court complaint the next day alleging assault and terroristic threats, and said he wants Bianchini to resign — adding he might withdraw the complaint if the mayor did. The Pemberton Township Democratic Club said the town “deserves to have leaders in place who are able to stay composed and professional [and] treat community members and each other with respect.” Bianchini conceded the outburst was wrong but refused to apologize: “Was it wrong? Absolutely. Was it justified? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Absolutely,” and “Don’t attack my family. I think any good husband, any good father, would’ve done just what I did.”

The defeat came at the first election after the incident, with fellow Republican Councilman Dan Dewey’s write-in campaign drawing 50 credited votes and another 513 write-ins unattributed — a split GOP field in a township where tensions at council meetings had been running high for months — while Democrats also swept the township’s council races. Bianchini conceded Wednesday morning on Facebook: “The voters of Pemberton Township have spoken, and the results are clear. I offer Belinda Fontanez my sincere congratulations on her victory,” he wrote, adding, “Leadership requires learning from every chapter, I accept this outcome with an open heart and a deep respect for our democratic process.”

Current Status

Bianchini lost the November 3, 2026 election to Fontanez, 3,998 votes to 1,983 in results that remain unofficial until Burlington County certifies them, and will leave the mayoralty when she takes over. No arrest has been made and no criminal charges have been filed in connection with the council-meeting incident; Sawka’s municipal court complaint was filed October 22, and the Pemberton Township Police Department has not said whether it will pursue charges. The claims in Sawka’s complaint are accusations in an unadjudicated court filing, not findings.

Impact on Their Career/Life

A mayor appointed to steady a township still shaking off a misconduct-engulfed predecessor was undone by his own viral outburst two weeks before voters went to the polls, with his shouted threat and restrained exit captured on the township’s own meeting footage and broadcast nationwide. His refusal to apologize — framed by him as a family-defense principle — hung over the campaign as a live issue, and the GOP’s write-in split deepened a defeat that carried Democrats into every township seat on the ballot. The pending court complaint leaves the criminal question open even as voters have removed him from office.

Sources

• NY Post, “New Jersey Pemberton Mayor Matthew Bianchini loses election after charging at critic”, November 5, 2026 — source
• New Jersey Globe, “Pemberton Democrats sweep mayor, council races”, November 4, 2026 — source
• Shore News Network, “New Jersey Mayor Who Charged at a Resident Just Lost Re-election Bid”, November 4, 2026 — source
• NY Post, “Fuming NJ mayor charges at resident during fiery meeting: ‘I am f–king getting you!’”, October 22, 2026 — source
• NBC10 Philadelphia, “Pemberton Township mayor confronts resident during council meeting”, October 22, 2026 — source
• ABC7 New York, “Video shows Pemberton, New Jersey Mayor Matthew Bianchini charging at resident during council meeting”, October 22, 2026 — source
• PIX11, “‘I’m [expletive] getting you’: NJ mayor restrained after charging at resident”, October 22, 2026 — source
• Shore News Network, “Pemberton mayor snaps and charges resident at town hall meeting”, October 22, 2026 — source
• Shore News Network, “Bianchini lunges at resident before being held back — mayor’s act caught on camera”, October 22, 2026 — source