WESTFIELD — A regular meeting of the Westfield mayor and council took a divisive turn on Tuesday evening when members of the town’s governing body clashed over the partisan introduction of a new publicsafety initiative.

Earlier this month, the council’s newest members — Todd Saunders (Ward 1), Michael Armento (Ward 2), Michal Domogala (Ward 3) and David Kiefer (Ward 4) — drafted a letter to Senator Jon Bramnick, Assemblywoman Michele Matsikoudis and Assemblywoman Nancy Muñoz to urge the state to enact a more decisive action plan to curb car thefts and home break-ins throughout the region.

“The frustration among our residents is palpable, and we believe urgent action is required to address this alarming situation,” the four Republican councilmen wrote in a letter dated January 23. “Criminals from other parts of the state have identified Westfield as a target for theft and have shown a complete disregard for any deterrence created by home security systems and our police.”

Shortly thereafter, Assemblywoman Matsikoudis, who represents the 21st district, introduced a new bill, A3806, that would, among other provisions, seek to enact harsher penalties against car thieves by elevating all such crimes to second-degree offenses; impose new pretrial and homedetention standards for juvenile offenders; and create a communitybased grant initiative designed to deter crime among minors.

“We appreciate the mayor finally recognizing that there has indeed been an increase in attempted car thefts in town after previously downplaying the severity of the problem and thank her for following our lead in speaking out about the rise in crime,” the councilmen wrote in a follow-up letter, dated February 12.

And while the council did vote to give its unanimous support to a resolution on Tuesday urging state legislators and Governor Phil Murphy to “swiftly adopt a multifaceted legislative framework that aligns with the initiatives outlined in the various bills pending in Trenton to combat vehicle theft, safeguard communities, and ensure swift and fair justice for victims of car thefts,” Mayor Shelley Brindle and the governing body’s four other Democratic representatives — Linda Habgood (Ward 1), Michael Dardia (Ward 2), David Contract (Ward 3) and Dawn Mackey (Ward 4) — said the letters penned by the GOP both misrepresented and undermined previous local efforts.

“Typically, any issues that we have get worked through committees before they are pushed through as resolutions,” Mayor Brindle said, adding that neither she nor any of the other council members were included in whatever conversations may have been had before the letters were drafted. “The fact that they put out these letters…outside of our normal legislative process was a bit surprising and disappointing.”

Mayor Brindle went on to note that the tone of the letters felt “dismissive and disrespectful” towards the local police department and the efforts that have been made over the course of the past several years to address public- safety concerns.

The council began to argue in earnest across the dais after Mayor Brindle stated that claims that the GOP had been “working tirelessly” to address the town’s crime problem fell short of reality given the fact that the four councilmen have only been in office for about six weeks.

“When I first read these letters, I felt like I was reading an article in The Onion,” Mayor Brindle said, referencing a popular satiric publication that often pokes fun at politicians and their policy decisions. Other Democratic members of the council chimed in, reminding residents of recent public- safety initiatives (like hiring new police officers and installing a network of license plate-reading cameras throughout the community) that had been completed before the new councilmen had been sworn in.

Mr. Kiefer, meanwhile, said that he and his running mates had been forced into action after watching the council downplay the crime issue in the months leading up to last year’s election.

“The people that were running against us took the stance that we were over-reacting and that data showed that crime was down in town. That’s a fact,” Mr. Kiefer said. “So, when we first got up here, we didn’t think we were aligned on this.”

“We felt that it was necessary to take a stand and to go ahead and put something forward,” Mr. Domogala said, adding that while he and the rest of the new councilmen would be willing to “come together” with the rest of the governing body in the future, previous efforts to address car thefts and break-ins had simply not gone far enough. “I think this resolution would have made sense a year ago, or even two years ago, but nothing was done, and now here we are,” Mr. Domogala said.