Calling Tom DeGise an incumbent after he has served only a year in the seat as county executive is a bit of a misnomer until you realize he already developed a record of accomplishments.
But in a race overshadowed by former County Executive Robert Janiszewski’s reign of admitted corruption, voters will have to decide if DeGise is the man they want to help with the county’s reconstruction.
Two candidates are seeking to replace DeGise: former Assemblyman Charles Catrillo, a Republican, and perennial independent candidate Herb Shaw of North Bergen.
Born and raised in Jersey City, Catrillo brings to this general election the first stiff competition from a non-Democratic candidate since Bill Macchi in 1995. He is a graduate of Saint Peter’s Prep, Seton Hall University, and the Seton Hall University School of Law. Catrillo began his legal career as Special Counsel for the Jersey City Department of Finance, and later became the Administrator of the Jersey City Municipal Court. Catrillo served in the state Assembly where he was vice chairman of the Assembly’s Law and Public Safety Committee, which is responsible for all criminal statutes for the State of New Jersey he was also a member of the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Shaw, who has run for various offices over the last few years, could not be reached for comment despite attempts over several weeks. Shaw is running as an independent from North Bergen, and has run for state Assembly in the 32nd District in the past.
DeGise comes to politics out of a tradition of reform, following the footsteps of his sister who served with Mayor Paul Jordan’s administration from 1973 to 1977. He eventually became a force in Jersey City as council president, and was a staunch challenger to Glenn Cunningham during his 2001 mayoral bid. Over the last two years, he has rolled to victory in two primaries and one special election, and hopes that he can finally settle down to a four-year term.
“I would like to stop campaigning,” DeGise admitted during an interview last week.
While Catrillo has centered his own campaign on rooting out corruption and rebuilding Hudson County government with an administration voters can trust, DeGise seems bent on getting the government to function despite the overshadowing of continually breaking scandals.
Quality of life for residents is one theme DeGise has presented, especially in seeking to get voters support for a small open space tax. He said this would allow the county to purchase and cultivate new parks, upgrade old parks and restore historic sites.
“I would love to get a signature park for Hudson County,” he said, “something that will make people want to come here.”
Such park development, he said, would also accomplish the cleaning up and creative use of properties made vacant by previous development, areas that may be currently unused because of pollution.
Catrillo said he opposes the tax, not the concept of open space. He said people in Hudson County are already overburdened with taxes and one more doesn’t make sense to him.
“Making parks is what people already pay taxes for,” he said.
DeGise argues that Hudson County is among the last counties in the state to impose the open space tax and that by generating the additional revenue, the county will get additional money from the state as well.
Catrillo said, “there is no such thing as free money,” and that the grants given from the state still ultimately come out of the taxpayer’s pocket.
DeGise wants to finish what he’s started
DeGise said a four-year term would allow him to work on and hopefully solve some of the nagging problems that have faced the county for years, such as the final development of Kopper’s Coke site in Kearny or the sale of now-vacant hospitals such as Pollak in Jersey City. In both cases, he said he has already made progress and will soon come up with solutions that will solve the problems and generate revenue for the county – thus bringing tax relief to the taxpayers.
DeGise also hopes to continue progress Hudson County Community College has made, especially in the most recent moves to open a new campus in North Hudson – a campus that will be accessed via the light rail system.
Balancing the budget, DeGise admitted, is always a chore, partly because the county’s taxes are configured differently than municipal taxes. Municipal taxes are based on assessed value, but the county taxes are by law based on actual value. This often leads to confusion among taxpayers, and it becomes difficult to explain why taxes might go up in one situation and not in the other. The county budget also operates on a calendar year while many municipalities operate on a fiscal year. This means that taxpayers are often hit with county taxes during two quarters of the year.
“People see their taxes go up for two quarters and don’t realize they will go down again for the next two quarters,” DeGise said. “It is difficult to convince them that their taxes may not really being going up.”
During his first year in office, DeGise has revamped the welfare system so that the county complies with conditions for grants.
“Before this, we sometimes had to give money back,” he said.
Homeland Security is a big issue after 9/11, he said, but because of the uncertain condition of county government after the resignation of Janiszewski, nothing had been done until he took over a year ago.
DeGise has not let the corruption issue pass him by and under his administration, he has helped establish an ethics board and brought in experts to give county employees training in ethical behavior.
Catrillo is running on anti-corruption
Anti-corruption and lowering taxes are at the heart of Catrillo’s campaign. He said corruption saps the strength of the county, not merely in a financial way, but also in morale. He said rooting out the causes of corruption helps restore the public’s confidence in government.
“How can people have confidence if they see government officials stealing their money,” Catrillo said. “The culture of corruption has to change. We have to clear out county government of anyone and everyone who is involved.”
Catrillo said he would lead that effort if elected, but will also keep in mind who pays the bills.
“People work and work and get poor service and high taxes,” he said.
Catrillo said as county executive he would work hard to stabilize taxes, and claims increasing taxes are driving many good citizens out of Hudson County. He said senior citizens are being forced to sell their homes or take up reverse mortgages just to keep up with taxes.
“These are people who have worked hard all their lives,” he said.
Catrillo said he is running in order to provide voters in Hudson County with another choice, noting that for years nearly everyone involved in the current corruption evolved out of the Hudson County Democratic Organization.
“I want people to know they don’t have to select from the same group of people,” he said. “I represent a new path and a complete change from the culture of corruption. We now have a chance to make a change. It is up to the voters to decide if they will take that path or not.”