Former mayor sues over councilman's resignation

Vernon — Former Vernon mayor Victor Marotta has filed a lawsuit against the township, mayor and council as well as the Vernon Township Republican Committee charging them with improper handling of the recent resignation of Councilman Glenn McLaughlin. Township Mayor Austin Carew said he stands by his previous comments that the township did nothing wrong in the way it replaced the outgoing councilman. Further, he said he hopes the suit will be dismissed and the township taxpayers spared unnecessary expenditures to defend against the suit. According to the lawsuit, filed June 19 with the Sussex County Court, Marotta wants the court to void the council’s appointment of Paul Emilius Jr. to fill McLaughlin’s seat. He wants the seat to remain open until the next general election and he seeks to recover his own attorney fees. McLaughlin’s resignation had been a source of controversy since his first e-mailed resignation in April, which was sent to the wrong township officials. It was unclear at that time whether he had resigned only from his post as deputy mayor or from the council as well. A subsequent e-mailed resignation cleared that up, but its timing effectively meant that no one would be on the official ballot come November.