For some reason, Hudson County political figures just can’t stay fired – short of being escorted out of the county in handcuffs by the FBI.
No sooner does one governmental body manage to dump a character off the taxpayer’s pay roster than he or she turns up working for some other governmental body in Hudson County.
Some like to think this is a symptom of a condition created with the resignation of County Executive Robert Janiszewski in August 2001, although it is clear it has been difficult to shed such people for years. Janiszewski was a master when it came to giving people the boot. Ask any number of his former official spokespeople, who seemed to come and go like tides along the Hudson River. In the post Janiszewski-era, of course, some of these characters have reappeared, such as Brian Dorf (now employed by Mayor Glenn Cunningham in Jersey City) and Jeff Jotz (a part time spokesperson for the county Democratic Party).
Even Janiszewski had a soft spot in his heart. While the former county executive could ruthlessly cut the Hudson County workforce, doing away with the entire Hudson County police force and hundreds of workers at the two county geriatric hospitals, he could hardly harm a hair on the heads of his army of professional consultants.
Try as you might, you just can’t get rid of some characters. Even when you finally manage to get them off the payroll – such as former County Administrator and Hudson County Correctional Facility Warden Geoffrey Perselay – they magically reappear in some other guise. Perselay, now a consultant with county contracts, wanders the halls of the county administration building like one of Scrooge’s ghosts visiting department head after department head with his haunting presence. While rumors suggest that Jersey City Housing and Economic Development Director Mark Munley may soon vanish from his post, his seat will not be vacant long, as Democratic stalwart Maggie Doyle fills it. Don’t feel too bad for Munley, who is said to have been updating his consulting clients list, one more ghost to haunt the administration building’s halls.
We just can’t get rid of these guys (and gals)
Hudson County’s inability to get rid of unwanted personnel reached new heights a few years ago with the sudden rise in political clout of then Assemblyman and Union City Mayor Rudy Garcia. In an apparent attempt to reduce the political influence of Rep. Bob Menendez throughout the county, Garcia apparently was instrumental in removing politically connected Lyndhurst-based attorney Donald Scarinci from legal posts in Union City, North Bergen, Secaucus and elsewhere. But when he attempted to remove Scarinci from the county employment rolls, the freeholders balked and split the labor contract between Scarinci and State Sen. Ray Lesniak’s firm (of which Garcia was a member).
Then, when Garcia’s political fortunes turned, Scarinci was rehired to many of the posts he formerly vacated, with the exception of places like Secaucus where he had not yet been rehired. But even with the political winds so obviously shifting in Scarinci’s favor, the freeholders maintained their dual contract, keeping Lesniak employed.
When County Executive-For-A-Year Bernard Hartnett finally got up enough gumption to fire various county employees, the kindly freeholders insisted on rehiring them. (However, this was partly because of the apparently political motives behind those firings.)
Even Janiszewski’s demise might not be permanent, despite a reported plea bargain with federal authorities. Some speculate we could see an ex-convict ticket next year with Janiszewski running with Gerry McCann. Of course, the courts would have to decide which seats each would be eligible for.
Staying unemployed is hard to do
Over the last few months, this refusal to fire people seems to be spreading. After months of rumors suggesting it would remove its corporate counsel Bob Barry, the Hudson County Improvement Authority succeeded in getting his resignation, only to immediately rehire him as temporary legal counsel.
In Hoboken, this trend has taken on an even more disturbing appearance. While Mayor Dave Roberts absolutely denied forcing his business administrator, Laurie Cotter, to resign (she was supposed to have left as of Aug. 1), Cotter has since been retained to handle the responsibilities of Kathy Stack, Hoboken’s director of revenue and finance, whose resignation Roberts said was effective as of September.
Stack, who has denied sticking a hasty resignation note to the mayor’s door over Cotter’s supposed firing in July, also claimed Roberts had released the news of her leaving too soon. She apparently had barely finished her interview for her Union City job (where her husband, Brian Stack, is mayor) when Roberts made his announcement.
While this might pose a brief embarrassment for Roberts if Stack doesn’t get her Union City job, Roberts can always rehire her.
Meanwhile, Cotter is slated to leave Hoboken at the end of October to take up a position with the Tom DeGise administration, should DeGise defeat Republican challenger Ira Jersey for county executive in November. If DeGise loses, he and Cotter are sure to turn up somewhere in some Hudson County governmental body.
Roberts also said that Cotter was never offered a $27,000 golden parachute for resigning as of Aug. 1, despite rumors from critics. The fees she will receive for working until the end of October are still in negotiation, but officials tell us they will be substantially less than her current salary of $109,000 a year.
And finally…
Meanwhile…while Secaucus council candidate Sal Barone never had an opportunity to engage in any political firings, he also denied ever patting his opponent, incumbent Councilman Mike Grecco, on the back – as jokingly posed in a previous Between the Lines.
"I never told him he did a good job even as a plumber," Barone said. "Because I never hired him."
Barone said he is leaving it up to the voters to decide if Grecco did a good job or not, and to fire him through the voting booth if they decide not.