South Jersey mayor charged with DUI while toddler in car faces calls to resign

LUMBERTON TWP. N.J. - A South Jersey mayor is facing heated calls to resign after she was arrested for DUI with her toddler in the car.

Residents sounded off at a meeting in Lumberton Township Thursday.

What they're saying:

The only way anyone heard from the mayor was when a Lumberton business operator told the crowd and township committee that she had received an email from Mayor LaPlaca responding to a request for resignation.

The email from the mayor read "I will not be resigning my position. Our community needs to be more kind and understanding about people trying to better themselves. As we all know, there is a huge black eye and black cloud over our town right now."

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Every seat at the Lumberton Township committee meeting was filled Thursday night. 

Mayor Gina LaPlaca was absent from the meeting, which came days after her arrest for drunk driving with her two-year-old son and an open container of alcoholic beverage in the car on Saint Patrick's Day, police confirmed.

"She shouldn't be here, shouldn't be the mayor," said one resident.

A photo of Mayor LaPlaca's empty seat during Thursday night's meeting.

The seat wasn't empty because she resigned, as many here demand, but because her husband posted a message earlier in the day saying ,"She's getting the help she needs." 

The public packed the place for their first chance to speak to the rest of the Lumberton Township government leaders at their first meeting since the mayor's arrest.

"We're watching someone’s life spiral out of control," said another attendee.

Mid-meeting, a strong thunderstorm knocked out power, and the lights flickered on and off for the rest as an emergency generator kicked in, and the thunder inside continued too as speakers demanded the mayor's resignation.

"I'm asking for a motion that you deem her non-competent and remove her from town council," said Amy Callahan, a Lumberton resident and business owner, to applause.

"I'm asking you guys to do the right thing if she doesn't, and she needs to resign," another resident added.

One homeowner and business owner says she was contacted by the mayor while in rehab, telling her she was not resigning.

"Our mayor is conducting town business while in rehab. She copied you all in the email calling me out. She will not be resigning, and I should be supporting her," said Amy Callahan.

What's next:

The solicitor told the crowd that by law, there is nothing the committee can do to force the mayor out. 

"Under New Jersey law, there's nothing the committee can do today to remove Gina LaPlaca as a person on the committee. She was elected by you, and the only way for her to be removed is for her to resign or for you to move forward with a recall election," he explained.

FOX 29 News calls to the mayor go straight to voicemail. 

She began that email to the local business operator and Lumberton homeowner with: "Despite my issues, which I'm working diligently and responsibly to address and improve myself, my work for Lumberton has NEVER suffered or been neglected, nor will it be."