COLLUSION IN MANSFIELD: TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE PROTECTS ITSELF, NOT TAXPAYERS
The Township Committee, instead of protecting taxpayers, acted to protect themselves. When Committeeman Ron Hayes admitted to violating New Jersey’s ethics law, the Committee illegally spent $6,500 in public funds on his personal legal defense — a blatant violation of Mansfield’s own Township Code, which prohibits public money from being used for ethics violations and willful misconduct.
Chapter 24 of the Mansfield Code forbids:
Using tax dollars to defend officials who commit intentional wrongdoing
Indemnification when the case doesn’t result in dismissal or acquittal
Any payments without proper authorization or resolution
And yet, they paid anyway. Worse still — they tried to hide it.
When I filed an OPRA request for all legal invoices and authorizations related to Hayes’s ethics case, they failed to disclose the full truth. It was only after a second follow-up request that I uncovered the reality:
Only $2,400 was publicly authorized. The remaining $4,100 was hidden — unauthorized, unexplained, and deliberately shielded from public view.
The Township Committee did not submit the claim to Mansfield’s insurance provider — likely because insurance doesn’t cover official misconduct. So they quietly spent your tax dollars to shield their colleague — and themselves — from political fallout.
This is more than a policy violation — it’s a coordinated cover-up and an abuse of public funds.
View the evidence for yourself:
This wasn’t an oversight. This was a decision — made behind closed doors — to help one of their own avoid personal accountability, at your expense.
Ron Hayes must resign immediately.
He must repay every dollar.
And every Township Committee member who took part in this concealment must be held accountable.
The Mansfield Township Committee isn’t a private club. It’s public service — and it comes with accountability.