The Town of Secaucus will have a tougher campaign finance law on the books before summer.
Independent Town Councilman Gary Jeffas (2nd Ward) said at the governing body meeting Tuesday that he is drafting language for a beefed-up “pay to play” ordinance to share with the rest of the council within the next few weeks. The tougher language will, Jeffas said, specifically set new limits on municipal contracts given to developers who make political contributions.
It’s currently unclear whether the new language will be an amendment to the town’s current ordinance, or whether it will be a separate, new ordinance.
Jeffas drafted in 2007 the pay to play ordinance that was finally passed by the Town Council last year after much bickering between the Secaucus Democrats, who controlled the governing body until this year, and the Independents, who championed the legislation.
Residents who can’t attend council meetings can view them on Channel 36.
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“That ordinance, as drafted, did not include developers. That is something I had wanted to bring into the fold,” Jeffas said last week.
As development has become more lucrative throughout Hudson County, including Secaucus, advocates of campaign finance reform have feared that developers are able to buy favors from elected officials by donating to political campaigns.
Corruption bust highlighted dangers
Advocates reference last year’s massive corruption bust, in which 44 people were arrested – including then-Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell – as a case in point. Elwell and others were arrested on charges that they allegedly took money from a would-be developer who wanted favorable zoning and quick approvals for his projects. The developer was really Solomon Dwek, a cooperating witness who was working with state and federal investigators. Posing as a developer, federal investigators claim Dwek sought Elwell’s support for a hotel Dwek wanted to build in Secaucus.
Elwell has pleaded not guilty to the charges. But the July 2009 sting operation forced the passage of campaign finance laws throughout New Jersey, including the ordinance in Secaucus.
Resident Richard Steffens, who was appointed acting mayor after Elwell’s arrest, suggested at Tuesday’s meeting that the council further strengthen the local law by extending the number of years political contributors must be barred from receiving municipal contracts.
“Gary, you and I had a conversation about changing the number of years from two years to four years, so it would be commensurate with [council members’] term of office,” Steffens said.
In Secaucus, the mayor and members of the council serve four-year terms.
Jeffas has said in the past that the two-year time limit was in line with similar laws around the state. But he said on Tuesday that the council would consider extending the contract ban to four years.
Road improvements and TV schedule
The Secaucus Town Council announced Tuesday that the town is taking bids for road improvement work to be done on Secaucus Road and Paterson Plank Road.
Through a $932,000 federal grant approved in May 2009, most of Secaucus Road will be repaved, and concrete will replace the black tar currently at the intersection of Paterson Plank Road and County, where truck traffic has caused the street to buckle. Residents say the intersection has been problematic for years and the uneven road surface causes drivers to slow down significantly to prevent damage to their vehicles.
Money for the repairs will come from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the stimulus package passed early last year, not from property taxes. Contractors must bid for the resurfacing project by March 25.
TV schedule set
Residents who can’t attend the biweekly Town Council meetings now have four opportunities to view them on Channel 36, the local public access station on Comcast.
Town councilman Gary Jeffas said the station will air taped footage of council sessions the week after each meeting is held. On Mondays and Wednesdays the broadcasts will be at 7 p.m.; on Thursdays and Saturdays the meetings can be seen at 1 p.m. There will be no live broadcasts.
The governing body last month awarded a one-year contract to Flanagan Productions, a local company that will tape and edit footage of the Town Council meetings. The meetings will be filmed and aired in their entirety, including comments from members of the public.
The Feb. 23 Town Council session was the first to be filmed and aired. – EAW
E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.