Dover Town Council Approves New Rodriguez Legal Defense Fees

Mayor Dodd backs move to pay more than $30,000 to fight claims against Council member in various incidents. 

Dover Town Hall has been the scene of many Town Council disputes in 2025. (DOVERNOW photo)

Dover Town Council voted Tuesday night to approve separate payments of $32,000 and $9,000 to cover councilman Sergio Rodriguez's additional legal fees. 

The decision was passed by a 5-3-1 vote, with "no" votes from Arturo Santana, Marcos Tapia, and Sandra Wittner, and Rodriguez abstaining. Rodriguez, who represents the Second Ward, was defeated by returning Council member Judy Rugg in the June 10 Democratic primary. His term expires December 31.

Before and after the vote, residents and members of the public, who spoke via Zoom, were divided about the locals’ responsibility for footing the bill for the legal fees resulting from the council member’s incidents last year. 

Many residents complained that the Council authorized taxpayer funds to cover Rodriguez’s legal fees. Others compared the situation to Dover’s $750,000 civil settlement paid to Police Captain William Newton. Newton sued Dover when then-Mayor Carolyn Blackman named Delaney to the top post; Newton claims he was passed over for the promotion because he supported Dodd, who lost the 2019 mayoral election to Blackman. 

This vote marks the second time the Council has approved money for the outgoing council member's legal defense regarding three incidents involving Rodriguez and allegedly drunken homeless men. The incidents resulted in assault, aggravated assault, and criminal coercion over allegedly claiming that he would strip the license of the liquor store that he claimed was selling alcohol to drunk patrons.

In April, the Council authorized $35,000 in legal fees for Rodriguez's defense. The costly legal defense has significantly improved his legal standing; the aggravated assault charge has been dropped, and the coercion charge downgraded.

Rodriguez and Mayor Dodd, a steadfast ally, have consistently maintained that he was targeted for arrest by the Dover Police Department as a form of political retribution. Chief Delaney has repeatedly denied the claims.

“The town of Dover has an obligation to defend him,” Mayor Dodd said Tuesday night. “[People] sit up here and say $30,000 is the bottom line to defend a council member, who, I believe, became a target. But not one person is sitting up here and complaining that the taxpayers spent $750,000 to appoint a [police] chief knowing it was wrong.”

Rodriguez echoed the same sentiment, noting that the individuals, allegedly drunken homeless men, involved in the incident were not even aware that charges had been filed on their behalf. 

“The flaws in these allegations speak for themselves,” Rodriguez said. “If the accusations had any merit, this would have been resolved long ago, and taxpayers would not be footing the bill for a defense. When someone is guilty, they are guilty, and I am not.”

Council member Sandra Wittner, who called for the two payments to be voted on separately, said, "For years, I have asked for the bill lists to be posted online along with the agenda so the public can see how their tax dollars are being utilized. Forty-one thousand dollars might not seem like a big deal... but our constituents should feel confident that we are using every penny in the most efficient way possible."

While the public debate over Rodriguez’s legal defense was the main course of the evening, the appetizer for this week’s holiday-themed meeting has been marinating for about a week, after New Jersey Superior Court Assignment Judge Stuart A. Minkowitz ruled in favor of a legal challenge from the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office to Dover’s controversial Ordinance 30-2025. That ordinance, adopted at the end of September, would eliminate the positions of Chief of Police, Deputy Police Chief, Dover Fire Chief, and Deputy Fire Chief. 

Judge Minkowitz had issued a ruling temporarily stopping the ordinance from taking effect, pending the legal challenge. Town council members then voted on a subsequent version of the same ordinance, which was intended to conform to Judge Minkowitz’s interpretation of the law.

DoverNow.com has learned that Mayor James P. Dodd rescinded yet another ordinance that would have attempted to fire Dover Police Chief Jonathan Delaney. Mayor Dodd withdrew Ordinance No. 48-2025 from the Town Council before it was read for the first time. The ordinance, which was not on the agenda, stated:

“AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 57 OF THE CODE OF THE TOWN OF DOVER TO ELIMINATE THE POSITIONS OF CHIEF OF POLICE AND DEPUTY CHIEF OF POLICE.”

Minkowitz initially barred the adoption of Ordinance 30-2025 by injunction on October 24. His ruling last week also voided the replacement ordinance introduced by Mayor Dodd and approved by the Council on October 28.

Mayor Dodd and Chief Delaney have been at odds for months. The Mayor has accused the Chief of everything from abusing the department’s overtime budget to recording town hall phone calls. Chief Delaney has denied all claims. He sued Dover over the attempts to install the Public Safety Director. Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll also sued Dover; ultimately, the two suits were merged.

Mayor Dodd did not return a request for comment from DoverNow.com. Chief Delaney declined to comment on the rescinded ordinance.