Clash at Committee Meeting

The Nov. 10 Township Committee meeting lasted less than an hour and was sparsely attended, but was punctuated by a pointed exchange between Springfield Mayor Bart Fraenkel and Springfield resident Sandy Weinger.

Fraenkel accused Weinger, a regular at government meetings, of irresponsibly spreading misinformation regarding the public pool. Weinger responded by accusing Fraenkel of bullying tactics. The exchange occurred during the time allotted for comments from the Committee and Fraenkel said Weinger had to wait until the time allotted for public comments before he could respond. Weinger said that being singled out in the Mayor’s comments gave him the right to respond and refused to concede. Some minutes into the argument, Fraenkel called the police into the chambers when Weinger did not step down.

The police, who stayed in the chamber until after the meeting broke up, were not called into action.  Weinger, who walks with a pronounced limp, stayed for the duration of the meeting and left of his own volition.

The argument broke during the Committee’s comments, when Fraenkel read minutes from the public comments made by Weinger at the Oct. 13 Committee meeting. Fraenkel read Weinger’s comments about pool contamination from the October meeting, comments that Fraenkel believes were inaccurate and negatively influenced the election’s pool referendum vote.

“The public should be responsible and accountable,” Fraenkel said, adding that “unfounded statements” are “unfair to everyone involved.”

Weinger approached the stand to defend himself. Fraenkel instructed him to sit down and wait for the public comments for his turn to speak. Weinger continued to speak. Fraenkel told him that if he did not sit down, police would be called. Weinger didn’t move, and Fraenkel asked for police to be called in.

“Your bullying days are over, my friend,” Weinger said to Fraenkel, who responded by calling Weinger an “embarrassment.”

Two uniformed police officers came into the chambers, where they remained for the duration of the meeting.

After the meeting, Weinger said there had been tensions between him and Fraenkel for some time, which he partially attributed to their common athletic background.

“He’s a basketball player and I’m a basketball player,” Weinger said.

Fraenkel said wasn’t looking to chastise Weinger, but wanted to correct inaccurate information that had gone on the town’s record.

“If we don’t respond to a comment like that, the assumption is that it’s accurate,” Fraenkel said.