Press Release: October 13, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Release Date: October 13, 2025
Official Statement of John J. Errigo III – Democratic Candidate for Mayor of Fieldsboro regarding the lack of transparency for public safety and public fund use over the NJDEP Violations issued on June 10, 2025
Contact: John Errigo, Democratic nominee for Mayor
Email: errigoformayor@gmail.com
Date: October 13, 2025
Fieldsboro, NJ – October, 13, 2025, Dr. John Errigo stated regarding the communication crisis regarding the lack of transparency of the sewer plant violation cover-up, “I have zero tolerance for cover-ups. Cover-ups are not acceptable, because if we are transparent about the problems, then we can be clear about the solutions.”
Four Months of Silence Is Enough: It’s Time to Tell Residents the Truth
For four months I have asked Borough leadership to be transparent about serious NJDEP sewer violations. Instead, I was stonewalled, told the documents were “confidential,” and residents were kept in the dark. That is unacceptable. After four months of silence, it is time for residents to know the truth about what is happening with their own sewer plant.
That is why I issued on Sept 29 a public health advisory not as a political press release, but as a responsibility to residents. People deserve to know that violations exist in our town. It is unacceptable for anyone to claim that these documents are “confidential.” They are public records that can be accessed in 20 seconds on the NJDEP website. Nothing the DEP issues is secret; calling it “confidential” is simply a stonewalling technique.
On June 10, the Mayor received the DEP violation letter the very day of the election. Yet he remained silent about it during the June 11 Council meeting, even with the letter in hand. I only learned about it on June 16, and I was shocked it had not been disclosed to Council or residents. On June 24, I formally requested that the violations be shared on the Borough website and that a public communication plan be put in place. That never happened. As Council President, after waiting four months and still receiving no answers, the truth was made public. On July 2, I showed residents how to access the violations directly on the NJDEP website, where records go back to 2000.
Even after repeated requests, I have not been included in the Borough’s NJDEP response or given access to the Borough’s NJDEP violation corrective action plan. As a Council member, I remain in the dark and if Council is in the dark, so are residents. This is a complete failure of transparency in a critical moment.
At the October Council meeting, I explained to the Mayor where nonpartisan grant funding could be obtained to fix these problems without burdening taxpayers. Instead of pursuing solutions, we’ve had silence, stonewalling, and cover-ups. To this day, residents and the full Council still don’t know whether the problems have been fixed or whether risks continue, while only the Mayor and his allies have kept that information to themselves.
That is not leadership. In a crisis, leaders must inform the public, pursue solutions, and put residents first. What we have seen instead is secrecy, stonewalling, and cover-ups.
Council should be informed of everything happening in our Borough, not left in the dark. If I am elected Mayor, that will change. As your Mayor and as a leader, I will hit problems head-on with full transparency so we can solve them as a community, not in the dark where issues fester and get worse. Under my leadership, there will be no cover-ups. Residents will always know the truth, because transparency is the only way to protect public trust and protect Fieldsboro’s future.
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