As events surrounding awarding of a contract for consulting services to the Meadowview Psychiatric Hospital this week show, Hudson County continued to be caught in the grip of influential special interests.
With Laurie Rankin, former spokesperson for the county executive, and Geoffrey Perselay, former county administrator, lobbying for contracts from the county, it is difficult to see the point at which county government ends and private enterprise begins.
County Executive Bernard Hartnett was right in saying the last primary election was about contracts, but he was wrong in limiting blame to attorney Donald Scarinci when nearly every aspect of municipal and county government in Hudson County appears plagued by officials and former officials dipping into the tax payer till in a legal grab bag.
Where as Scarinci may or may not have used his closeness to Rep. Bob Menendez (D-13th Dist.) and other connections, he is hardly alone. The list of public officials and their advisors doing business at various levels of municipal and county government is so extensive, it would be far easier to publish the names of those not doing business.
As Janus Solutions shows with the immediate hiring of Rankin from her county job and the hiring of Perselay for this contract as well as others connected with the county jail, Hudson County seems to encourage a practice prohibited at other levels of government. Whereas the state and federal governments require a period of time to pass before a public official can begin lobbying efforts on behalf of vendors, in Hudson County officials sometimes don’t even leave office before starting their efforts.
Last year, several members of the Board of Freeholders called for the county to establish a code of ethics in order to curb some of these abuses. Indeed, the freeholders’ Contracts Committee has taken giant steps in requiring more formal bids and a wider range of projects in which requests for proposals are sought. But the unreasonable access of former and current governmental officials could undermine this effort.
The Associated Press this week blasted Gov. Jim McGreevey for a culture of secrecy surrounding operations of government, especially in regard to restrictions placed on public records. In this light, the Governor’s frequent visits to Hudson County take on the appearance of a student learning the craft from the masters of politics.
Deal-making on the agenda?
Former County Executive Robert Janiszewski, who is credited with perfecting Hudson County’s equivalent to insider trading, is rumored to be extremely depressed after nearly a year since his resignation. Janiszewski, who was allegedly caught up in a federal sting operation, has been shifting between locations under alleged federal protection, leading many to believe charges might soon be filed against him and others.
Also rumored is the supposed plea bargain by former North Bergen Commissioner Peter Perez, who was indicted last month on charges he allegedly took work from vendors. If tales are true, he would receive three years probation in exchange for testimony against others. These rumored deals lead some Hudson political figures to wonder who or what these figures are giving up. Can Hudson be so corrupt as to have an inexhaustible supply of corrupt public officials?
Does Byrne have a hit list?
Some former Janiszewski associates have complained recently about a campaign of innuendo being waged against them by former Janiszewski confidant Paul Byrne.
"Paul seems to be out to get everyone he used to associate with," one such figure complained.
Byrne, who quickly became a convert to the Menendez camp after Janiszewski’s resignation last fall, denied he has targeted anyone.
"I still like most of them," he said.
Byrne, however, supposedly soured on Janiszewski, his childhood friend, in Spring 2001, when Janiszewski asked Freeholder Nidia Davila-Colon to run against Byrne’s sister, Barbara Donnelly, for Hudson County Registrar in the primary.
"I love my sister more than anybody in the world," Byrne said. "Anyone that tries to hurt her would make me angry."
Byrne, however, blamed Marybeth "Beth" Janiszewski, the former county executive’s wife, not Janiszewski.
"Beth didn’t like my sister," he said. "Bobby J didn’t want to hurt my sister."
Yet according to Davila-Colon, it was Bobby J who called her to make the request, not Beth.
There are some in Hudson County who believe the whole effort to unseat Donnelly a ruse, calling it "the Soprano gambit."
In the hit HBO TV series, the Godfather once told his followers that if the feds ever caught him and wired him, he would attack someone close to him in order to warn his closest allies not to come near him. Considering that Bobby J was wired during the whole Donnelly debacle, the scenario seems to fit.
Municipal issues?
Union City Mayor Brian Stack disputed perceptions that he had given special treatment to two allies on the Union City Board of Education when authorizing their raises late in July.
Stack said Robert Ruitz and Chris Irizarry had been passed over for raises during the recent rounds and that he had merely given them their due.
In Secaucus, the upcoming municipal election took a new twist with the proposed construction of 212 townhouses in the 2nd Ward. Until the project stirred up residents, incumbent Councilman Bob Kickey seemed a certain winner. While he said he understood the concerns of residents in the area, he believed the project would not have a negative impact on the town. His opponent, Board of Education Member Tom Troyer, disagreed. Troyer not only came out against the project, but also said the untimely proposal created a campaign issue that would help him in the election.