Mayor John F. Roth/FacebookA New Jersey mayor has admitted he took off his trousers and passed out drunk in an employee’s bed after having too much to drink at a party.
Mahwah Mayor John Roth went to the unnamed employee’s house on January 10 for her house party, to which roughly two dozen town employees had also been invited.
Details of the night’s events began circulating last week, when ‘concerned employees of the township of Mahwah’ released an anonymous letter about what had happened.
PixabayRoth, 71, was interviewed about the incident yesterday, January 29, where he confirmed he had been at the party and admitted he had ‘too much to drink’, North Jersey reports.
The mayor said he ‘did go upstairs to bed’, and responded ‘yes that’s true’ when asked if he took his pants off before getting into bed. He was later woken by his fellow partygoers before his wife, Andrea, arrived to take him home.
Roth, who is a retired communications executive, told North Jersey he has since apologised to the employee for his behaviour, though he believes the whole episode to be a private matter.
It is not immediately clear whether Roth will face any ramifications for his actions, though the revelations come as New Jersey lawmakers are dealing with accusations of widespread misogyny in the state’s halls of power.
Township of MahwahThe township attorney and Council President David May have declined to comment on the incident involving Roth.
The mayor came into power in 2018, after voters recalled his predecessor, Bill Laforet. The 71-year-old had previously been a councilman for 12 years and a school board member for five.
Roth believes his political opponents may be responsible for spreading rumours about his actions at the party in an effort to derail him in the next mayoral election, which is happening in November.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.