Pemberton Township’s Republican mayor conceded after taking just over 30 percent of the vote, weeks after he lunged toward a critic at a committee hearing.

Matthew Bianchini conceded Wednesday morning to Democratic challenger Belinda Fontanez after unofficial Burlington County results showed he won only 1,983 votes, just over 30 percent of the ballot, the New York Post reported.

The loss came nearly two weeks after an Oct. 22 township committee meeting in which Bianchini advanced on resident Michael Sawka, screaming threats while others held him back.

Voters in the New Jersey township delivered a clear verdict. Bianchini accepted it in a Facebook post and pledged a smooth handoff.

Bianchini congratulated Fontanez and accepted the outcome

In his concession message, Bianchini wrote that the voters had spoken.

"The voters of Pemberton Township have spoken, and the results are clear. I offer Belinda Fontanez my sincere congratulations on her victory,"

He added that her success leading the community mattered more than any single race.

"As she prepares to take on the responsibility of leading our community, she has my full support for a smooth transition. I care deeply about the future of this township, and its success matters far more than any single election,"

Bianchini also described campaigns as emotional tests and said leadership means learning from every chapter.

"Campaigns are intense, emotional, and testing journeys. There are moments we look back on with pride, and moments that teach us humility. Leadership requires learning from every chapter, I accept this outcome with an open heart and a deep respect for our democratic process,"

Fontanez, a former township employee, had previously sued former Mayor Jack Tompkins. No further details on that lawsuit appeared in the available reporting.

October meeting turned into a shouting match

The confrontation that defined the final stretch of the race happened at a committee hearing on Oct. 22 at the town hall center.

Bianchini and Township Engineer Jennifer Harris stared down critics in the gallery. Former town Community Development director Ken Garber accused the mayor and his administration of wrongdoing. Sawka, a vocal local critic, was present.

Bianchini later claimed Sawka made a hostile gesture toward his daughter. He said his wife and daughter had both been physically and verbally attacked. Independent accounts of the specific gesture or any physical contact with his family were not detailed beyond his own statements.

Bianchini then moved toward Sawka. He screamed, “I am getting you, I am f***** getting you!” Councilman Perry Doyle Jr. and others blocked his path. Someone yelled, “Matt, stop.”

Sawka shouted for police.

"I want the police here to arrest him for that threat! That is assault!"

One man called for Bianchini’s immediate resignation. No injuries, arrests, or charges were reported as following from the meeting.

Mayor refused to apologize and called his response justified

That night Bianchini posted a defense on Facebook. He admitted he “just basically snapped,” yet stood by what he did.

"I will not apologize for my actions last night. If you attack my family, as that resident did last night, I will act,"

He framed the choice in blunt family terms.

"My wife and daughter were both physically and verbally attacked. Were my actions wrong? Probably. Were they justified? Absolutely!"

He closed with a line aimed at any husband or father reading it.

"Don’t attack my family. I think any good husband, any good father, would’ve done just what I did."

The clip and posts spread. Two weeks before Election Day he was already under heavy fire for the outburst.

He finished a term that began with another mayor’s exit

Bianchini had not won the mayor’s seat in a prior open race. He was serving as a township committee member when former Mayor Jack Tompkins resigned in January 2026 after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.

The local Republican Party selected Bianchini to replace Tompkins and serve out the remaining term. That appointment put him in the chair for the committee meetings that followed, including the Oct. 22 hearing that later dominated the campaign’s final days.

By Wednesday morning the unofficial Burlington County tally left little doubt. Bianchini’s 1,983 votes amounted to just over 30 percent. He conceded rather than wait for every last ballot.

Pemberton Township sits in Burlington County, New Jersey. The race was local, but the sequence was simple: a public confrontation, an unapologetic defense, and a decisive rejection at the polls less than two weeks later.

Voters expect officials to keep order in the room they run. When that standard slips, ballots remain the cleanest form of accountability.