How Much Is Enough? Drawing the Lines on Multiple Public Job Holding in New Jersey

1997-2007: 10 years advancing progressive policy change JULY 2007 How Much is Enough? Drawing the Lines on Multiple Public Job Holding in New Jersey By Tom O’Neill and Bill Schluter I’m from New Jersey TIP OF THE ICEBERG I don’t expect too much New Jersey took a significant step with a new law banning any- — From the song, I’m from New Jersey, one not already doing so from holding two elected offices at the Copyright 1991, John Gorka same time. Dual office holding stifles political participation and government accountability—as detailed in the report One to a High Street Records/ Windham Hill Records Customer: The Democratic Downsides of Dual Office Holding, released in June 2006 by New Jersey Policy Perspective and It was a mistake and I apologize. Demos: a Network for Ideas and Action. I own up to it. It’s my responsibility. Dual elected office holding, however, turns out to be just the tip — Linden Councilman Ralph Strano, quoted in the of the iceberg. Serious conflicts of interest and obligation, as well as threats to government performance and trustworthiness, Star-Ledger on June 1, 2007, after being caught arise not only when one person serves as both state legislator driving his county car—he’s the Union County and mayor, or mayor and county freeholder. Those problems Mosquito Control Bureau chief—while putting arise as well from a practice that—our research shows—is more up lawn signs for his re-election bid. pervasive but, except when a high-profile scandal breaks out, less visible. Across the state, over 700 elected state, county and municipal officials also hold another, non-elected public sector position. Some hold more than one. New Jersey should now turn its attention to this issue in the effort to promote government that functions effectively in the public interest and a political system that gives less room for public suspicion—often well-ground- ed—that personal interests come first. 137 W. Hanover Street • Trenton, New Jersey 08618 • Phone 609-393-1145 • E-mail [email protected] 1 NJPP • HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH? JULY 2007 This report examines combined elected and non-elected job Though Bryant and Bennett were among the State Senate’s holding in New Jersey. It estimates the extent of the practice best known and most powerful members, public knowledge of and assesses its effects on the quality and character of govern- their non-elected positions was not widespread. Media cover- ment. It also suggests standards for what should and should not age was relatively slight, until a federal investigation in be acceptable—an important task for the leaders of our state to Bryant’s case and a newspaper expose in Bennett’s brought complete. considerable attention. If the mix of elected and non-elected positions—and the attendant questions it raises—goes unno- Two widely reported examples illustrate the mischief possible ticed for a long time in the cases of these two prominent offi- when one official holds both an elected and non-elected cials, what other potentially worrisome conflicts of interest or position. obligations are involved for those further from the spotlight? State Sen. Wayne Bryant (D-Camden), was indicted in March THE FINDINGS on six counts of mail fraud and one count of corruption. He was charged with directing millions of dollars of state funds to the To find out just how widespread is the practice of holding both University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in return elected and non-elected public office, we looked at the munici- for a $40,000 a year no-show job. The indictment also charges pal, county and state levels of government. This report exam- that Bryant used his influence as chair of the Senate Budget and ines only paid positions, as opposed to, say, a mayor serving Appropriations Committee to get work from other publicly ex officio on a planning board.1 funded entities, including the Gloucester County Board of Social Services, where he billed for his services as counsel. In Municipal addition, he is alleged to have arranged for a part-time teaching position at Rutgers-Camden Law School, while using his polit- We looked at the holding of combined elected and non-elected ical influence to attract state aid to the school. The income from positions by local elected officials in two ways: a detailed his non-elected public positions could triple Bryant’s pension. accounting for the state’s 10 most populous municipalities and He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. a survey of a random sample of all municipalities to identify what other jobs were held by members of the governing bodies. John Bennett was the Republican leader of the State Senate The results of the sample survey provide a basis to estimate the when a series of newspaper articles in 2003 raised questions number of combined elected and non-elected office holders about billing by his law firm for millions of dollars of legal among the state’s 566 municipalities. work for local governments. He lost reelection in District 12, Monmouth County, in a campaign that focused on his ethics. From the survey, we conclude that 600 men and women elected Most prominent in the allegations against Bennett was that his to municipal government positions have at least one other job firm overcharged Marlboro Township by $8,130. The firm had on a public sector payroll besides their elected post. That is billed the township for $1.6 million over six years. Upon his more than 20% of all local officials. Contrast that proportion forced retirement, Bennett took with him the richest retirement with the state as a whole, where public employees account for package in New Jersey State Senate history: $78,540 a year, 14% of all workers. made so lucrative by Bennett’s work as a municipal attorney. He was not charged with breaking any laws. The firm he leads, In 32 of the 58 sample municipalities (see Appendix 3) the Dilworth Paxson, continues to list “government, finance and survey found that one or more officials held another public government contracts” in its list of practice areas and its web- job—suggesting that, statewide, more than 300 municipalities site includes this statement: “Dilworth Paxson maintains a have people elected to their governing bodies who also hold a strong and unique tradition of public service and civic involve- non-elected position with a public body. In those 32 sample ment which includes many former and present members of the towns are a total of 60 elected officials who also have paid, non- firm holding a wide variety of positions at the federal, state, and elected positions with a public body, the source of our estimate local levels of government.” that 600 such dual office holders serve in New Jersey. A third of Visit our website at WWW.NJPP.ORG 2 NJPP • HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH? JULY 2007 ELECTED OFFICIALS WITH OTHER PUBLIC JOBS them are employed in public education, either as teachers (15%) or administrators (17%); 20% work in county govern- JOB SECTOR ELECTED OFFICE ment; 10% in state agencies; 14% for public authorities. At Legislature Freeholder Municipal* least one mayor works for his own town government: Carteret Mayor Dan Reiman, elected in 2002, was later appointed and Gov’t Agency 13 22 320 still serves as the borough business administrator. or Authority Education 7 11 190 We also determined the other employment of each member of Higher 6 4 30 the governing bodies in the state’s 10 most populous munici- Education palities. In these places, just over half of the council members Legal 7 2 10 have their “day jobs” in the public sector. No city in New Other Elected 20 17 50 Jersey has more than 26% of its resident workforce in the Office public sector. TOTAL 53 56 600 Combining elected and non-elected positions is more than *Estimates from sample survey—see Appendix 3 twice as common in these municipalities as in the state as a PUBLIC EMPLOYEES SERVING ON COUNCILS IN THE 10 MOST POPULOUS MUNICIPALITIES TOWN COUNCIL MEMBERS PUB. SECTOR JOB COMMENT Camden 7* 3 3 county employees Dover (Toms River) 7 2 1 county employee;1 is lawyer who spends 25% time on municipal clients Edison 8 4 2 school administrators Elizabeth 9 7 3 Elizabeth school system employees; 3 county employees; 1 director of city parking authority Hamilton 5 1 County housing authority employee Jersey City 9 5 4 county employees; 1 Asst. Exec. Dir. of city incinerator authority Newark 9 2 2 county employees, one of who also is freeholder Paterson 9 5 1 Passaic County College employee; 1 special police officer in Haledon; 1 auditor for Jersey City schools; 1 county maintenance dept. employee; 1 state Dept. of Education employee Trenton 7 5 1 state Department of Labor employee; 2 county employees; 2 Trenton school system employees Woodbridge 9 3 1 Woodbridge firefighter; 1 county park system employee; one state gov’t employee. TOTAL 72 37 (51%) * NOTE: At the time of this survey, mid 2006, one vacancy existed on the Camden City Council following the resignation (and guilty plea to corruption charges) of former Councilman Ali Sloan El. 137 W. Hanover Street • Trenton, New Jersey 08618 • Phone 609-393-1145 • E-mail [email protected] 3 NJPP • HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH? JULY 2007 whole, according to our estimate. The mayors of these 10 those organizations, drew the scrutiny of the US Attorney, municipalities are all paid as, or expected to serve, “full-time” resulting in an indictment alleging corruption involving a in their posts (but, despite that, two held another elective office low-show position at the School of Osteopathic Medicine, a at the time of the survey).

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