MARLBORO – During the public comment portion of the Township Council’s Feb. 1 meeting, resident Paul Schlaflin read a letter into the record from U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie.
For the past two years Schlaflin has taken issue with numerous decisions made by Mayor Robert Kleinberg and the council regarding township business. In a recent letter to Christie, he expressed some of those concerns.
Schlaflin wrote to Christie in the wake of the U.S. Attorney’s appearance and remarks at the council’s reorganization meeting in January.
Schlaflin quoted Christie’s letter as saying, “Thank you for your letter. While not commenting upon the specifics of your concerns about the mayor, let me be perfectly clear. I am not and have no intention of endorsing Mayor Kleinberg or any other candidate in Marlboro.
“I came to the reorganization meeting for the reasons I clearly stated that night – to thank the people of Marlboro for their patience and support during our lengthy probe.
“No other reason for my visit, political or otherwise. Any comments to the contrary are simply wrong. Finally, if my photo shows up in any campaign material you can be assured I will put a stop to it immediately. I support the citizens of Marlboro – not any particular political figure or figures,” Christie wrote.
Schlaflin said Christie’s letter “runs counter to the perception that has been perpetrated to the public that Marlboro has a crime fighter in the mayor’s office. Let’s have a mayor in the mayor’s office … and leave the corruption fighting to Christie and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
In response to an inquiry, Kleinberg said that he had no comment regarding Christie’s letter to Schlaflin.
“However, I will have a comment once I have consulted with Mr. Christie,” the mayor told the News Transcript.