BAYONNE – City employee Patrick Leonard appeared before the Bayonne City Council in the public portion of its Oct. 21 meeting, making several charges about city administration actions now and during the spring 2014 mayoral campaign.
Leonard, a former supporter of Mayor James Davis, worked on Davis’s mayoral run from late 2013 into the spring of 2014. Leonard said that during the campaign he introduced Davis to Robert Wondolowski, now municipal services director, who introduced Davis to Joseph DeMarco, now the city business administrator. Both Wondolowski and DeMarco worked on Davis’s run.
“During the course of the campaign, I was privileged to [hear] many conversations about what could be done to personally benefit [them] financially,” Leonard said, reading from a prepared statement.
Among Leonard’s charges are that campaign workers had allegedly received preferential treatment when it comes to city contracts, that DeMarco has allegedly tried to negotiate with the City Council to secure 25-percent raises for himself and Wondolowski, that City Council members, part-time employees, had allegedly received illegal health benefits, and that Hudson County TV had allegedly received a $20,000 sweetheart contract.
Leonard’s most explosive charge was that the surreptitious taping of City Hall station firefighters allegedly working on the mayoral campaign on city time, and aired by Hudson County TV, was allegedly handed over to the news outlet by DeMarco.
Davis and DeMarco could not be reached for comment on Leonard’s charges.
Wondolowski said that he and DeMarco did seek increases on their salaries, but that they had been receiving less than their predecessors.
Leonard also said he was being singled out for retribution by the city because of his whistle blowing.
Leonard, who worked for the city for months addressing constituent concerns, is on a leave of absence, he said. –Joseph Passantino
City worker makes charges while addressing Bayonne City Council
