Embattled Medford mayor faces the public

For the first time since the news broke that allegations arose that he had solicited sex with a male escort on a business trip in California, Medford Mayor Chris Myers faced residents at a Township Council meeting Wednesday night.

The meeting was a special session to discuss a land deal involving 750 high-density residences off Route 70, a busy Jersey Shore route. About 200 residents packed the Public Safety Center.

Myers, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2008 as a Republican in the Third District against the late John Adler, addressed the controversy early in the meeting.

"On the personal issue regarding the things surrounding me, I categorically deny the allegations," Myers said.

On Oct. 21, the Burlington County Times reported that a man who wouldn't identify himself told the paper that Myers had paid him $500 during an encounter in a hotel more than a year ago and promised him a car and other gifts. The man provided a website narrative of the encounter, which has since been removed from the Internet.

The website contained a picture of Myers lying on a bed in his underwear, according to the story, as well as photos of a township identification badge.

Referring to the anonymous person who gave his account to the newspaper, Myers said: "Anyone could just say anything they want . . . and that's just plain wrong.

"I'm not making any more comments on this issue," Myers added. "We're going back to the business at hand in Medford."

About 10 people addressed the council Wednesday night, but only a couple of them pressed the issue.

"You're stonewalling - that's what you're doing," Mike Reilly said. "The people of this community have a right to know what's going on."

He told council members that "if you people have any decency, you will get him to explain how his picture and ID got on the Internet or take a vote of no confidence."

In response, Myers said: "The Internet is a murky, anonymous place. I'm denying the allegations and making no further comment."

Councilman Mark Sander told Reilly his remarks were "an ugly personal attack."

Terri Palmer asked Myers: "Are you going to consider stepping down due to what's going on?"

Myers repeated that he would not comment further.

Late-night host Jay Leno had referred to the story in an opening monologue last week, comparing the matter to Anthony Weiner's troubles. Leno also riffed on a news report that quoted Myers saying someone may have sneaked into his hotel room to take photos of him sleeping.

Neither Myers nor his attorney, Hersh Kozlov, returned calls for comment, but he was quoted in some news reports as denying the incident and then suggesting he may have been framed.

"I can't comment on something I don't know," he also said.

Myers, an executive at Lockheed-Martin in Moorestown, has been on the Medford council for 10 years. He's married and has two children.

Township Manager Chris Schultz said Myers had told him "that he's denied it and that he's consulting with his lawyer on how to deal with it." But beyond that, Schultz said, Myers was silent.

Schultz said that TV cameramen had staked out the township offices and that he received a few calls from upset residents. One, he said, questioned why Schultz had not started an investigation or asked Myers to resign.

"It's an allegation, and it happened out of state," Schultz said. "It's not my role." No charges have been filed, he said.

Burlington County GOP chairman Bill Layton said: "I'm not going to comment on a story based on an anonymous person."

Township Councilman Bob Martin said that he didn't feel it was his place to question Myers and that Myers offered no explanation other than to tell him he had "a bad week."

"It's a sad day for Medford, another dark mark," he said.

Martin said the land deal, which was the subject of the special meeting, also had brought Medford bad publicity in recent months.

At Wednesday night's meeting, after a short closed session, Myers announced the deal was dead.

"The parties have not been able to reach an agreement," he said, referring to the developer, the landowner, and the town.

The news met with sustained applause.

Martin said the deal "just didn't seem like it was right."

Myers had been a leading proponent of the deal, which initially called for the township to give Lennar Corp., the developer, $35 million for the project's infrastructure. That number was later reduced to a $20 million bond. The company also would have been poised to receive a tax abatement for 30 years. Lennar would have paid $7 million the first four years as a "payment in lieu of taxes," followed by other fixed payments.

Myers had argued that the infusion of money from Lennar the first few years would help with the township's budget crisis and had defended the plan against a chorus of critics at township meetings.