To the Editor:
Usually former Bayonne reporter Al Sullivan is just awash with excitement as he reports the changing political landscape in his weekly column. And what Mr. Sullivan misses, well, Mr. Passantino never fails to ferret out. But they were both silent on the recent drama surrounding the extraordinary attempts made on behalf of Mayor Jimmy Davis to change New Jersey statute law so that Mr. Davis might receive his $120,000 police pension in addition to his $70,000 salary. This all came to light in reporting by Matthew Friedman at the Star Ledger which can be found at: http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/03/legislation_that_would_allow_bayonne_mayor_to_coll_1.html
Briefly, Mr. Davis, it seems, approached State Senators Nick Sacco and Brian Stack. Sacco and Stack also collect salaries as mayors of North Bergen and Union City, respectively. Apparently, being double-dippers themselves, they were very sympathetic to Mr. Davis’s plight, and promptly sponsored a bill (S2789) which would have allowed Davis to both collect his pension and his Bayonne mayoral salary.
Currently that legislation, which “sailed through the State Senate,” is on hold. Now, this raises questions as to what is really on Mr. Davis’s mind these days. Our taxes are going up, the structural deficit is back, and as former Mayor Mark Smith has written in these pages, there are no more eggs left from the Golden Goose that was supposed to be the MOTBY real estate. It’s all smoke and mirrors: there are no tax revenues and no jobs for Bayonne residents. But Mr. Davis was apparently as serious as a heart attack about getting more money for himself, although he knew full well when he ran for office what the law was on this issue.
Further, does anyone really expect such fine gentlemen as Sacco and Stack to simply rush to write a bill for Mr. Davis? Did Davis’s gum-chewing nephew drop by the senators’ offices and make his request on behalf of Uncle Jimmy? And were Sacco and Stack so struck by the cogency of Andrew Casais’s arguments, and the injustice done to Uncle Jimmy, that Sacco and Stack were emotionally moved, and in tears as they resolved to sponsor a bill?
Of course not. What did they demand in return? And that is the question Bayonne residents need to ask themselves. What exactly did Mayor Davis promise in return for his selfish interests in more compensation? What currency does the mayor of Bayonne have, anyway, aside from the MOTBY property, and the awarding of no-bid contracts to friends of Sacco and Stack? Further, how many hours were spent by Davis and Casais on this selfish project?
For those residents who have seen enough of this mayoralty, there is a solution provided by the Faulkner Act, and this is recall. It is specifically provided for in the New Jersey Constitution. After one year, with a recall petition containing at least 25 percent of the registered voters, a recall election is allowed. For more information see the Sparta, NJ blog on this: http://spartarecall.blogspot.de/.
It is clear to me, at least, that it was a mistake to have rejected Mark Smith at the polls last year.
BRUCE D. KOWAL
Certified Public Accountant