Recent stories printed in the Philadelphia Inquirer about the maneuvering in Secaucus to get authorization for two billboards have highlighted a continuing problem in Hudson County.
Former County Administrator Geoffrey Perselay, who acts as a lobbyist in the county for several companies providing services to county institutions, was named in the article as the recipient of a $60,000 finder’s fee for bringing Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell and his town administrator, Anthony Iacono together with two key figures from Jim McGreevey’s 2001 gubernatorial campaign who also had a billboard business. These two figures, Paul Levinsohn and Gary Taffet, later became chief counsel and chief of staff for McGreevey.
While both men divested their interests in the company days before McGreevey took office, the Inquirer has suggested that Secaucus officials, using Perselay as a conduit, had sought and been granted favorable treatment by the new state administration. (Perselay was not working for the county at the time he reportedly got the finders’ fee.)
Whether or not this is true, Perselay’s participation in the introduction raises questions about the close relationship of former members of various county and state administrations with current administrative processes. As a former county official, Perselay has lobbied successfully for county contracts, because his former position gave him access to people other vendors may lack.
While this does not imply wrongdoing, it adds fuel to public distrust of officials.
“This is what people do when they leave office,” one local official said. “They use their connections to make introductions. That does not mean they are doing anything wrong.”
The Secaucus billboard deal is the perfect example of this. Because of the location of the proposed billboard near the New Jersey Turnpike, local officials needed to get a waiver from the State Department of Transportation.
Levinsohn hired Roger Bodman, former state commissioner of the DOT, to lobby James Weinstein, the DOT commissioner in 2001, to grant the necessary waivers.
People like Perselay, who resigned his county job in 1995 while under then-County Executive Robert Janiszewski to take up private business practices, pose some challenge for the current county executive, Tom DeGise, who is reviewing contracts to find ways to increase competitive bidding. DeGise would like to change the culture.
In response to an earlier item in this column, DeGise said, “This is not business as usual.”
When will justice be served?
Janiszewski, who resigned as county executive under a cloud of suspicion in September, 2001 and has since pleaded guilty to extortion, made the news again last week when his scheduled March 24 sentencing was postponed.
U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, the man taking credit for Janiszewski’s conviction as well as the indictments of two sitting freeholders and a host of other public officials outside Hudson County, apparently said sentencing would be postponed as long as Janiszewski is still talking. By this, Christie meant Janiszewski is supposedly telling federal authorities about other corrupt officials. Whether anything comes of it remains to be seen and recalls a quote from Will Rogers: “Out public men are speaking every day about everything, but they ain’t saying anything.”
Janiszewski left his mark on this county in a way few men did since Jersey City Mayor Frank Hague. While Janiszewski has been credited with modernizing Hudson County, in some ways, he also modernized Hudson County politics. Rated as one of the great fundraising machines of the state, Janiszewski’s campaigns relied more and more upon donations from vendors and professionals doing business within the county.
This changed the nature of the Democratic organization in Hudson County, shifting from what political scientists call an “an inclusive” party to one that has become more and more exclusive.
Inclusive in this sense means parties seek to get more ordinary people involved in the process, through ward clubs and other organizations. While the Democrats still want to get votes around election time, the party tends to cater to those who can bring them big bucks.
In some ways, the battle for the heart and soul of the Democratic Party seems to center around this issue. While both sides still believe in patronage – supplying jobs and business to people who support them – the 31st District Assembly slate led by Jersey City Mayor Glenn Cunningham, along with Freeholder Bill O’Dea and former Jersey City mayoral hopeful Lou Manzo, seems to emphasize the old school, working through a system of clubs to which jobs and other favors are granted. On the other side is the Frankenstein Janiszewski created, with streams of professionals and vendors donating large chunks of money to win contracts. With lots of money, any slate backed by Rep. Bob Menendez and County Executive Tom DeGise can wage media campaigns that the Cunningham camp would be pressed to afford.
Although former Hoboken Mayor Anthony Russo, when interviewed last year, said the power of civic clubs in Hoboken has faded in recent years, Jersey City still has a host of them. Sometimes they support candidates generated out of their own membership; sometimes a politician will invest in them by paying rent and other gratuities to generate a workforce at campaign time and a base from which to build a voting block.
But some civic organizations such as the Catholic Knights of Columbus can also function as political clubs, offering a budding politician a chance to build a base of support, and hold functions for the neighborhood. O’Dea, Manzo, and others based in Jersey City have clubs and can consider other neighborhood clubs their supporters. These groups hold fundraisers that generally depend upon a large number of people to show up. These are a far cry from the Janiszewski fundraisers for which wealthy vendors used to show up, purchasing tickets at exorbitant prices – easily explaining how Janiszewski was able to compile a $700,000 personal war chest, and still have money leftover to give to fellow Democrats.
Since all politicians are expected to feel obligated to those who supply money to their campaign, the older style politics tend to spread the wealth better among the voting public, giving followers jobs and such. But older style politics tend to raise less money to purchase valuable media spots or do extensive mailings. While a councilman or even a freeholder might well depend on the clubs to get out the vote, a city or countywide election – not to mention those for state or federal office – require heavy use of media.
Cunningham, who is not completely without his favored few vendors – not to mention state Senator Ray Lesniak (a master of modern fundraising) – may need to seek out even more lucrative donations if he expects to fund a race for state Senate over the next few months.
Look out in the 31st District
Reportedly, Manzo will be making his announcement this weekend to run for the state Assembly in the 31st district at a gathering at the Knights of Columbus on West Side Avenue. His campaign is expected to have two managers: O’Dea and former Jersey City Mayor Gerald McCann. The 31st District includes most of Jersey City and all of Bayonne.
Cunningham made his announcement to run for state Senate in the 31st district on March 5. Although reports suggested that Jersey City L. Harvey Smith would run against Cunningham in the June Democratic primary, incumbent state Sen. Joseph Charles has not yet dropped out of the race, hinting that he may run against Cunningham and seek an appointment as a judge at some point after the election