HOWELL – A resident who recently asserted that a member of the Township Council violated the municipality’s code of conduct said he has not heard back from Howell officials after he put his allegations in writing.
During the Oct. 20 meeting of the council, John Hughes’ allegations about Councilwoman Pamela Richmond were made public when an email he sent to municipal officials was read into the record. Richmond was not present at the meeting.
In his email, Hughes claimed Richmond “has violated five of the six core principles” in Howell’s Code of Conduct for Elected Officials and Members of Appointed Boards, Commissions and Committees.
Hughes forwarded his concerns to Township Attorney Joseph Clark for review because Howell does not have an identified complaint or investigation procedure for matters such as this, nor does the township have a local ethics board.
Mayor Theresa Berger asked Clark to review the matter.
On Dec. 2, in response to an inquiry from the Tri-Town News, Hughes said he has not heard anything from municipal officials regarding his allegations about Richmond.
“Total silence from the township attorney. I have heard privately that he is trying to make this go away despite having copies of the information,” Hughes said.
Clark did not respond to a request for comment.
In response to a request for comment, Richmond said, “I understand the complaint was sent to the township attorney for review, therefore, I cannot comment more.”
