Dear Editor:
There has been a lot of discussion recently about the “spirit” of pay to play laws. A few weeks ago, 2nd Ward Councilwoman Beth Mason demanded the resignation of one of her Council colleagues due to a legal campaign contribution to a Newark PAC that she believed violated the “spirit” of pay to play. Well, I was curious about whether Mrs. Mason had ever herself made a suspicious contribution that might violate the “spirit” of pay to play. I read through her ELEC reports from the last few election cycles and what I found surprised me, to say the least.
It seems that back in March 2009, when the newspapers were reporting that Mrs. Mason was seeking the endorsement of Union City Mayor Brian Stack for her campaign for Mayor, Mrs. Mason contributed $7,200 to a PAC called Union City First that is closely associated with Mayor Stack. While it is certainly possible that Mrs. Mason made the donation because of all the good work done by Union City First, a reasonable person might jump to the conclusion that Mrs. Mason was trying to “buy” Mayor Stack’s endorsement. While her contribution was certainly legal, giving money to a politician in hopes that it will help you to get a job (in this case Mayor of Hoboken) is in my opinion the definition of the “spirit” of pay to play.
Pay to play is a serious matter, too serious to be demagogued by cynical and hypocritical politicians trying to score cheap political points. I hope all of our politicians will stop calling each other names and focus on making our pay to play laws as comprehensive as possible.
Sincerely,
Matt Harris