To the Editor:
First off, I would like to applaud Mayor Davis on how he has started off his term. Meeting with the residents of the First Ward affected by the construction of the Bayonne Bridge (as well as meeting with many residents from around town) and calling for a study of the land behind the former A&P for development are several items which I am encouraged by with this administration. However, there is one thing I do have to question the mayor on.
The Oxford dictionary defines nepotism as “the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs.” The origin of this word comes from the mid-17th century, from French “nepotisme,” from Italian “nepotismo,” from “nipote” which means nephew. During the most recent infamously dirty election season Mark Smith was called out for having as many as 47 family members on the municipal payroll. Despite his tough talk on nepotism many of us are getting the impression that Mayor Davis might be heading down a similar path. Within the first several weeks of his term as mayor it was revealed that the mayor’s 23-year-old nephew, who does not even live in Bayonne, was chosen to the high-paying job of Bayonne’s Chief of Staff. As someone who paid very close attention to everything that went on in this past election I listened to a lot of what Mr. Davis had to say and I really liked a lot of what he had to offer and deep down I still believe much of what he had to offer because so far he has followed through with many things he had to say. The only complaint I have is for him to cut down or cut out the typical nepotism. It is well known that his nephew is not the only person loyal to him that Mayor Davis has rewarded with a comfortable municipal position. I simply ask that you follow through with your tough talk on the subject of nepotism by withdrawing your nephew, who was pretty under qualified, from such a prestigious post. My wish is for you to remain a man of your word and not play the role of typical Hudson County politician when it comes to nepotism. With all due respect to Andrew Casais, who I am sure is a very intelligent young gentleman, I do not want to hear the typical political defense of “Well, he is overqualified for the position and blah, blah, blah.” We have already heard this defense from within the administration, and it is something I am not so willing to accept because it is this same administration that would have roasted previous administrations for this line of reasoning for appointing a family member to a well-paying municipal job.
RICHARD MCCARTHY