Politics brought Hudson County to a constitutional crisis last week in one of four politically-related cases heard in Superior Court in Jersey City. Amid dramatic legal presentations that pitted the Hudson County executive’s office against the Hudson County freeholders, State Superior Court Judge Maurice Gallipoli ruled Thursday that the Board of Freeholders had the authority to review and reverse the county executive’s recent firing of five employees.
The ruling marked a series of court defeats for current County Executive Bernard Hartnett, and promised to create a showdown between the two branches of county government in the coming weeks.
Hartnett is running for county executive in the June Democratic primary against former Jersey City Councilman Tom DeGise. Recently, several DeGise supporters were fired from county jobs by Hartnett, making some suspicious that the move was political.
Hartnett’s attorney, Kenneth Marino, initially presented arguments on Thursday, April 19, stating that the county executive could fire certain employees without the supervision of the freeholders.
In papers filed with the count, Hartnett said the firings occurred because the employees had thrown their support behind another candidate for county executive. Since Hartnett had to rely on the judgments of these people, he said, their decision to remove him from office made it necessary to find people he could feel more confident in.
“If a boss finds an employee working against him, that employee ain’t going to work for that boss any more,” Marino said in one of many dramatic presentations.
Citing a 1985 State Supreme Court case that allowed the Hudson County Executive to fire the county administrator with no review from the freeholders, Marino said they were employed “at the will of the county executive” and could be terminated by him without review.
Gallipoli said that the 1995 case was limited to the county administrator and does not apply in this case, agreeing with arguments presented by Ed Florio, attorney for the county freeholders, and Attorney Kevin Sluka, representing the five employees. Under state statute, the administrator is considered a special case.
Gallipoli grilled both sets of attorneys, and then ruled to delay an April 19 confrontation with the freeholders. He said he wanted to see written arguments before he ruled on Thursday, April 25.
This past Thursday, in reviewing the case, Gallipoli said state statute clearly established a difference between the administrator and other employees, allowing the county freeholders to move ahead with an appeal by the employees and to a showdown between the two branches of government.
Special ballot shot down; appeal is filed
Hartnett also lost in a Superior Court move two weeks ago to have the court order the printing of a special ballot that would put the two Democratic county executive candidates in a position separated from other candidates.
Gallipoli said he saw no reason to adjust the ballot and left any ballot printing decisions up to the county clerk.
Hartnett had made an effort to have himself and his Democratic primary opponent, former Jersey City Council President Tom DeGise, listed on a separate part of the ballot.
Hartnett contended it is a special primary because it is for nomination in a special election.
But the county Democratic organization, represented by Dennis Oury, argued it should be regarded as a regular election, and that DeGise should be permitted to run on a line that includes Menendez. Hartnett later said he would not appeal the court decision on this matter.
In another setback for the Hartnett team, Congressman Robert Menendez was successful in challenging the nominating petitions of Democratic primary opponent Edgar Martinez in the 13th District. A review of Martinez’s petitions before Administrative Law Judge Eleanor Reiner at the office of the County Superintendent of Elections disqualified numerous signatures, dropping Martinez from the race.
Martinez, who serves as a Jersey City deputy police director, was supported by Mayor Glenn Cunningham as part of a team of candidates running as an alternative slate to the current Regular Hudson County Democratic Organization, of which Menendez is chairman. Martinez said he would not appeal.
McCann will run in fourth freeholder district
In what may prove the most interesting race in the upcoming June 4 primary, the court ruled April 19 that Former Jersey City Mayor Gerald McCann can run for the county Board of Freeholders in the Fourth District, pitting himself against Freeholder Nidia Davila-Colon, who is supported by Menendez, and Eliu Rivera, backed by Cunningham.
McCann’s injecting himself into the race poses problems for the Puerto Rican community, since his victory would eliminate Davila-Colon, the only Puerto Rican on the nine-member board.
The court ruled in McCann’s favor partly because attorneys representing Davila-Colon had used the wrong districting map in their challenge. Earlier this year, the county established new maps that changed the geographical shape of districts in Hudson County. The 4th District moved north, acquiring significant portions of Jersey City Heights.
In what sounded like the beginning of his campaign, McCann said he supported numerous initiatives, including the redevelopment of Journal Square and repairs to Newark Avenue. If elected, he would also have the county sheriff’s department look into speeding along Kennedy Boulevard.
Judge to attorney: ‘You can stand on your head’
In a clash of wills, state Superior Court Judge Maurice Gallipoli and attorney Kenneth Marino struggled to find the meaning of “special election” at a hearing on April 19, which was supposed to determine what the June county primary ballot would look like and whether or not the two Democratic candidates for county executive would be placed on a different part of the ballot.
Marino claimed that because the upcoming November election was “a special election” to determine who would fill the unexpired term of former County Executive Robert Janiszewski, the primary should be considered special as well, and thus require a special ballot.
In banter that resembled a Marx Brother’s routine, the judge and the attorney dueled over definitions, which neither could agree upon. Gallipoli eventually ruled against Marino, saying that the attorney had not made a case for changing the ballot, and left the choice of ballot up to the county clerk.
Marino, who represented County Executive Bernard Hartnett in the proceedings, asked the court to consider adopting a ballot similar to one used in the 1998 freeholder primary dispute. In 1998, after the death of Freeholder Hank Gallo in the Second District, the Democratic Committee opted to adopt a ballot that put neither candidate on the same line as the Democratic ticket.
In response to one argument raised by Marino, Gallipoli said, “I’m only a simple person, I go by what the law says on paper.”
“I’m simple, too, your honor,” Marino replied.
“Then maybe you can explain this to me and we can decide which one of us is more simple,” the judge said. In another exchange, the judge asked, “Are you saying that voters are so stupid they can’t understand the ballot?”
“I’m not saying they’re stupid, your honor; but look at what happened with the chads in Florida.”
At one point, one of Marino’s assistants shook her head.
“Don’t shake your head at me,” the judge said. “That isn’t going to help me decide in your favor. You can stand on your head for all the difference it will make to me.”
When Marino objected to this, the judge turned to him and said “You can stand on your head, too.” – Al Sullivan