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Pay-To-Play |
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 Ann Graham of People for Open Government Campaign Finance
Reform The people spoke and the politicians quickly shut up after a small band of citizens calling themselves People for Open Government managed to win at the polls on Nov. 2. It took two rounds in court and several city council meetings, the People for Open Government (POG) just to place it's referendum for campaign finance reform on the ballot. By law the ordinance they proposed by petition appeared on the ballot as a binding referendum. The law cannot be changed for three years. Pay-for-Play, or the appearance of trading campaign contributions for no bid city contracts has always cast a shadow of mistrust on elected officials. Mayors, county political bosses and even the governor have denied that there is any conflict but their behavior surrounding the referendum has not helped their argument and could be described as obstructionist. Round One: Council Rejects Reforms In September the People for Open Government were present at a city council meeting when Fourth Ward city councilman Chris Campos rejected their ordinance. His behavior at the meeting has brought him strong criticism from some of Hoboken's most respected citizen activists. Instead of supporting the POG referendum Campos sponsored his own less restrictive Pay-for-Play ordinance. The city council voted to place it on this November's ballot next to the POG's referendum. Round Two: POG Wins in Court POG took the city council to superior court claiming that the council has no right to place a question on the ballot. POG won. Hudson County superior court judge Maurice Gallipoli found that while the Hoboken City Council has the right to vote on ordinances, it does not have a right to place ordinances on the ballot as referendums. Appearing for the city council, attorney Denis Murphy could not cite a single statute that would allow a city council to place questions on the ballot. When asked by the judge to do so Murphy replied "If I could cite it, your Honor I would." Appearing for the People for Open Government, attorneys Renee Steinhagen of New Jersey Appleseed Public Interest Law Center and former mayoral candidate Ira Karasick , called it a typical Hudson County machine trick to dilute the ballot and confuse the voters. The judge found that the city council was doing nothing more than trying to interfere with the process. The most lighthearted moment came when Judge Gallipoli said of the the POG ordinance "What person in his right mind would vote against this thing?" Round Three: One Machine or Two? Someone in Hoboken city hall wrote a Pay-for-Play ballot question that was too long to fit on the ballot. So the county clerk was forced to put the referendum on a second machine which would have voters standing in a second line. The People for Open Government cried foul and again landed in front of Judge Gallipoli. Gallipoli's staff managed to rewrite the question so it could fit onto the machine. POG and the county clerk agreed to the change on Oct.4. County Clerk Javier Inclan told the judge he was obligated to place the question as the Hoboken city clerk presented it to him. Sour Grapes? Mayor Roberts support of the referendum could be described best as lukewarm. Back and fourth attacks in the letters column of the Hoboken Reporter continue. Roberts claiming that his former campaign manager and city CFO Michael Lenz is a hypocrite. Supporters of the referendum pointing out all the barriers that Roberts and his allies on the city council put into place to keep the voters away from the referendum. Either way the Hoboken win has raised eyebrows across the state. At a Pay for Play seminar at the NJ League of Municipalities, Hoboken was the city everyone wanted to hear from-six Hoboken residents were in the audience. Mayors and attorneys from other municipalities were not happy with the seminar. One Hudson county mayor walked out of the seminar. His aide stayed behind and made sarcastic remarks.
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Joan Verplanck, the president of the state Chamber of Commerce, called the practice legalized extortion. "Pay
to play is the single biggest blight on New Jersey.
...It's time to clean it up," Verplanck said.
State Senate's Action May Kill Hoboken's Pay-to-Play Law. The following is an email CityofHoboken.com received from the Quality of Life Coalition
In November the people of Hoboken voted 9 to 1 to control
the amount of money that those doing business
with the city are allowed to donate to politicians
and political parties. A so-called pay
to play law passed in Trenton last year that
effects state-level contributions to politicians
and political parties is to take effect in January
2006. That law also hurts us here in Hoboken
since it takes precedence over our local law
and makes it moot. We have to stop that
from happening. Here's how.
Bill S-1987 can address this
problem. It will protect current
laws already adopted at the local level and
provide authority for municipalities as well as
school boards, independent authorities and
fire districts to have pay to play laws. We
need to support this legislation sponsored by
Senators Vitale, Inverso, Turner, Baer and Codey
(the latter is acting Governor as well as Senate
President).
Here's how to support S 1987. Send a
letter to:
Acting Governor Richard Codey and Senate
President
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 001
Trenton, NJ 08625
Dear Governor Codey:
I urge you in your dual roles as Acting
Governor and Senate President to post Senate Bill
S-1987 for a vote on Monday,
February 14, 2005. This bill will provide us
in Hoboken as well as in 34 other municipalities
with the preservation of pay to play legislation
already passesd. It will provide the right
for all citizens throughout the state to
initiate strong and effective pay to play reform
at the local and county levels.
We need your determination and legislative
skills to get this legislation passed.
The State at every level of govenrment needs
effective pay to play laws. Please post
S-1987 immediately. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Please copy this text or create your
own but whatever you do, send a letter today.
As always, many thanks for taking care of Hoboken.
You really can make it happen.
Helen Manogue, Coordinator
Quality of LIfe Coalition
McGreevey Signs Order to Ban
Pay-for-Play; Holding all the political chips as a lame duck Governor, Jim McGreevey signed executive order no. 1,000 placing limits on contributions from state vendors and contractors. Anyone who donates to either a county or state party or a gubernatorial candidate is banned from accepting any contract worth $17,500 from the state for 18 months. The ban goes into effect on October 15, 2004. Vendors or contractors can still make contributions directly to an individual candidate for municipal, county or state legislative office. The ban on donations to county parties however might be most effective however.
Who is Giving to Our Friends
of David Roberts Hoboken
United Council 2003
Pay-to-Play
Ordinance to be The People for Open Government, POG, is a grassroots organization. POG collected over 1,000 signatures calling for the passage of an ordinance that would limit campaign contributions from city vendors and call for competitive bidding on city contracts. The city council failed to pass the POG ordinance and by law must now appear on the Nov. 3rd ballot. City
councilman Chris Campos critized the POG and then sponsored a
less restictive bill which the city council voted to place it on the Nov. 3rd
ballot. There will now be two very similar referendums
on the ballot which may be confusing to the voters. The following is an Email from POG to CityofHoboken.com.
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View the POG Pay-for-Play ordinance in .pdf format
Read the Executive Order and the Announcement of Governor McGreevey that Bans Pay-for-Play
Come
to the public hearing on September 1 on 'pay to
play' ordinance by Ann Graham
August 29, 2004
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