The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders has announced, thru the County Manager, that there will be 28 employees laid off shortly. Many of those employees who will be effected by the job cuts converged on the freeholder meeting last evening and it has been reported that they were joined by about 35 or so fellow workers, all members of union Council 8. Council 8 represents approximately 875 county workers the largest bargaining unit and includes practical nurses, mechanics, secretaries and inspectors. County Manager Devanney sites a $24million county shortfall and a crippled US economy as the reasons for the layoffs which would be effective in early April.

There are many out there who would say that there isn’t an industry that is safe these days however these layoffs are particularly distasteful as the freeholders frequently use the county employees’ job security as an election issue. Beating up on their GOP opponents the incumbent freeholders have repeatedly, year after year, accused the Republicans of being heartless beasts who would, for sure, be responsible for a merciless bloodbath should they be elected to sit on the board and have anything to do with managing the county budget. The Democrats of Union County have claimed that they have been able to maintain the jobs of county employees and have bragged repeatedly that they would not be the ones to do the cutting as every employee they have hired is absolutely necessary. And that it seems would include those high ticket friends and relatives who mysteriously show up on the county payroll unannounced. It is doubtful that the rank and file types who are getting cut this go round are the ones on the county payroll that those “pesky” Republicans would be cutting if they in fact were sitting on the board.

The layoff announcement this week has brought out the usual political hack or two who are attempting some early behind the scenes damage control by trying to shift the blame for the layoffs away from the freeholders and onto others where ever it will stick even onto some political activists. Claiming that the County Watchers could be even partly responsible for the coming carnage because they have spoken out frequently about county hiring practices and are finally being listened to is just too outrageous for words. Let’s be serious here folks no one will buy that one for even a minute so give it up.

Numerous freeholder candidates and some private citizens have over the past few years issued warnings to the board that they were leading us into troubled territory. Pointing out to the board that they have relied much too heavily on dwindling surplus money as well as federal and state grants to mask out of control spending and poor business practices the freeholders have finally spent themselves into a corner. Devanny has said that they have reached a point where there is no option left but to reduce the payroll, which would not have been the case if only they had listened sooner. There should have been a hiring freeze honored on all positions to include a new hire in January at a salary of $91,000+ for a confidential assistant, the county manager did not need a new truck this year why not an economy car with front wheel drive to handle the snow, and what about using our in-house attorneys instead of paying almost a half million in additional legal fees to a political supporter and how about that concert down payment that the board made for Music Fest 2009 what was up with that? And how can we forget the out of pocket expenses to settle law suits brought by employees that have cost the taxpayers millions? So much money wasted that can never be recovered again, it is mind boggling..

Cutting the jobs of 28 persons is certainly not the answer to make up for a $24 Mil shortfall, the employees know better perhaps than anyone else what can go and what needs to stay and according to one quoted in the Star Ledger there is “a lot of fat there before they get to the meat. There are a lot of other ways they can cut without cutting jobs.”

For the second time in as many years I turned to the county website for directions to the administration building where freeholder meetings are held. Despite telling the freeholders at a meeting that they had the wrong directions on their website, I found the same wrong directions today. We spend about a half million dollars on public information department salaries, and you can’t get directions to the administration building on the county website.

That pretty much sums up Union County government’s rampant incompetence and utter contempt for the public.

The Union County Watchdog Association endeavors to provide citizens with tools to do their own research into county government and about 2,500 visitors hit our website monthly. We also field several requests for documents monthly. The County Watchers blog endeavors to pick-up where the media left off, the Star-Ledger hasn’t had a reporter on county government since last August, and inform the public as issues come up and unfortunately, we never run out of things to report on.

It is evident that the all Democrat controlled freeholder board is a visible tumor of the powerbroker cancer infecting county government. Senator Raymond Lesniak’s nephew being appointed the county manager has proven to be a disaster and the final stages of this government disease that is afflicting the entire state of New Jersey has been set in place. Many believe it is now hopeless. Spending has already straddled future generations with impossible debt and societal problems have been set in place by government which is not for the people, its by and for the powerbrokers.

Some costs and affects when machine politics run government

Payroll

In 2000 there were 24 employee’s earning over 100,000

In 2008 there are 127 employee’s earning over 100,000

Senator Raymond Lesniak’s nephew, is the appointed county manager - George Devanney

In 2000 the County Manager’s salary was $132,498 today it is $163,831. George Devanney’s arrogance is raging on. It’s always been outrageous from when he jointed the county payroll when two part-time positions were created for him, to this current year in which he had his office remodeled and will be issued, after this budget is signed, a brand new Chevy Tahoe for which no purchase orders have been provided to date – to his yearly retroactive pay raises, to his wife’s mother-in-law being put on the county payroll – to his wife being the Open Space Trust Fund Administrator and giving a children’s museum $500,000 with nothing to show for it - to selling government land without an auction to a group that was listed on his wife’s website as a client - to the taxpayer funded Union County Directions Newsletter where recently his Uncle Ray Lesniak promoted his book and Devanney promoted his juvenile fantasy to climb a mountain because he thought he had cancer - to the Music Fest which is Devanney’s birthday party. Any sane government that is accountable to their constituents would cut back on a music fest in these hard financial times but our county government has doubled it to two days to fulfill Senator Lesniak’s nephew’s fantasy of being a music promoter. The county also created a department and staff to oversee the musicfest and promoted Freeholder Sullivan’s niece to be the department head.

George, take a good look at this picture. You’re middle aged, fat, dopey looking and untalented – get over the music promotion thing and off our tax backs.

Union County Democrat Chairman and Executive Director of the Improvement Authority Charlotte DeFilippo

In 1999 the democrats took control of the freeholder board and replaced a part-time Union County Improvement Authority director position with a salary of $40,000. Since then this salary has gone up $103,409. Charlotte DeFilippo’s salary in 2000 was set at $104,000. Charlotte’s current 2008 salary is $143, 409. This year the county added 6 new captain positions to the sheriff’s department, most likely because DeFilippo’s daughter-in-law scored 7th on the Lieutenant’s exam and she needed a spot to move up to. The promotions waiting list was replaced with a new one. In 2000 Melissa’s salary was $37,213 today her salary is $94,503, Charlottes son is also on the Sheriffs payroll he currently makes $86,089. It would have been so much more cheaper for taxpayers had we simply hired a tutor for Melissa to improve her test score. Her scoring 7th caused an approximate added annual cost to payroll: $300,000. Cost to future pension payments – priceless.

Lawsuits and investigations
This past week DeFilippo was scheduled to give a deposition in a lawsuit in which a county employee is charging her with political interference in eliminating his job. She’s accused of running county government operations from her dining room table in Hillside. I can’t wait to read all the depositions stemming from the Robert Travisano lawsuit. It’s expensive entertainment. It cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees to date with no end in site. Charlotte is also under investigation by the State’s AG’s office, there is no official word on what she is being investigated for but chances are that one issue is that she also runs the Union County Improvement Authority from her dining room table. Taxpayers are also paying the legal bills in connection with this investigation.

Freeholders and campaigning
Summit recently passed a resolution calling for a more equitable way to have representation on the freeholder board. Freeholder Adrian Mapp who fell out of favor with the Democrat machine last year and lost the line went on to serve several more months on the board. In that short time he proved how even one outsider on the freeholder board could make a huge difference in not only saving tax dollars, but keeping things under control. It was Adrian Mapp who introduced an ordinance that lowered the cost of copies for public records to 10 cents a page (down from .75). When Mapp was in office the county canned it’s taxpayer funded election season kick-off by not producing and airing a TV commercial and following up with a 4 page glossy color mailer. This campaign initiative historically cost taxpayers $200,000, I fully expect this cancer symptom to reoccur this August. The county manager’s furniture was built by the county carpenters, but not installed until after Mapp left the building. I imagine if Mapp was elected to another 3 years Ray Lesniak’s nephew would not have had his office remodeled, nor would he be getting a brand new Chevy Tahoe, ahh the possibilities for more competent government are endless…and gone as I do not see any relief from powerbroker controlled county government in the near future.

The 2008 Budget

I didn’t get a copy of the 2008 proposed budget until the Star-Ledger ran the county’s press release on it. The UCWA has filed a complaint with the States Government Records Council, because budgets are supposed to be made available upon request. This goes to further prove that the county has so much to hide and they fear public scrutiny.

Golf courses

They lost 500,000 last year.

Prison

The county feigned outrage over prisoner fugitives and praised the prosecutor’s office for a quick capture, even though, it took them 26 days to recapture the prisoners. It was George Devanney who squashed a plan to install camera’s. Where is the freeholders outrage over Devanney’s incompetence? Instead he was rewarded with a renovated office, a Chevy Tahoe and a two-day MusicFest birthday party.

Some of the measures the county has taken after this international embarrassment and destroying a young family because of the county’s handling of the escape: Hired 51 new corrections officers to help improve the operations at the facility and cut down on overtime; A phase I installation of additional cameras (Budget doesn’t mention how many more phases are in store) cost $800,000; Razor wire around the jail’s perimeter and sub-roofs $56,000; Hired a new jail director who used to be in charge of transportation at Rikers Island, he lives approximately 2 hours away in Atlantic County and drives a county vehicle with free gas too and from work, and wherever else he damn well pleases just as the county manager does.

Created a new Department of Corrections. Given the complex issues that include overtime, physical structure, and manpower that have historically plagued this facility, the freeholders now believe that should have the same access and accountability to the county manager’s office and freeholder board as a Department Director. This will serve to simplify communication, provide better oversight, and response to all situations. What this doesn’t say is what the freeholders used to believe, that although the jail is a basic service of county government, and pretty much all we need county government to do, the freeholders never believed the jail was something they needed to fret about in order to get reelected.

Vo Tech Schools

They are bonding $20 million dollars to add a performing arts high school. They are also spening $150,00 for fitness center upgrades and $170,000 for new furniture – the county manager’s sister-in-law is a furniture saleswoman.

Runnells Specialized Hospital

Lost 500,000 last year and is projected to lose 2-million this year. The Runnell’s Director retired and is now receiving his pension and was hired back as a consultant. The county manager’s mother-in-law was added to the Runnells payroll where she joined an illustrious long line of cronies as the hospital is a patronage pit. She originally worked for Assemblywoman Linda Stender who became a Runnells employee when she left the freeholder board to be an Assemblywoman, Stender left the Runnells payroll when she announced her run for Congress and hasn’t returned yet, she’s still running for Congress.

The Overall County Budget Spin

The county maintains their commitment to funding popular county services, what they don’t mention is that these services are mostly funded by the state, such as meals on wheels (State grant funded), road repaving (state grant funded) and infrastructure improvements (state grant funded), VoTech Schools, Homeland Security (Federal grant funded), the Sheriff’s Office (6 new captains $300,000; Union County is one of only 2 counties that have both a Sheriff’s and Police Department. Neither patrol the jail, the public safety department does that), the Prosecutor’s office (will be getting 50 new personal computers), our county parks system (Lenape Park Bike Trail is State grant funded), and child safety seat inspections (State grant funded and cost only $37,250.00. This “service” is used annualy in campaign literature).

Keep in mind the salary increases mentioned above and read what the county wrote in their budget introduction: “We cannot ignore the steady rise of mandated salary, pension and health insurance costs continuing to eat at revenue”. So they are implementing fiscal measures to provide budget relief in these areas where they have had “traditional” shortfalls. First they have delayed salary increases for all exclusionary county employees until July 1st of this year, but this didn’t include the county manager. George Devanney got his retroactive pay raise check on time. Why bother to read the rest of the spin?

Submitted by:
Joseph P. Doherty
Elizabeth, New Jersey

On April 10, I appeared before the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders to express my opinion on the subject of Union County Government and its lack of involvement in the illegal immigration crisis. Unfortunately, I was not able to deliver the entire text of my prepared statement, as the Board Chairman claimed I had exhausted my five minutes of “public comment” time. I did not get any satisfaction when I wondered aloud…”by whose watch?” The following is the complete thrust of my remarks:

I would like to preface my remarks by saying that my comments are critical of county government and may be considered “offensive” to the delicate sensibilities of some listeners.

As a concerned citizen I would like to know what this Board, the Prosecutor’s Office, the sheriff’s Department and the County Police are doing to address the illegal alien crisis that is impacting the quality-of-life in this city (Elizabeth), county, state and nation. Allow me to answer my own inquiry….little, if anything, and not enough! It is a well-known fact that this issue has reached the critical stage and the majority of American citizens want a comprehensive immigration reform initiative that includes border security, no amnesty and an aggressive campaign against the illegal interlopers who plot, plan, scheme and scam their way into this country, using forged documents and stealing the identities of American citizens in the process. The smuggling of people, weapons and drugs into America has reached epidemic proportions. The violence associated with such activity is staggering! Murderous cross-border drug wars have engulfed once-peaceful sleepy towns, turning them into killing fields and are spreading throughout the land at an alarming rate. While the local scene in Union County has yet to rise to the level of murder and mayhem I just described, it has the potential to do so, as we are plagued with gang and drug-related violence on an almost daily basis. Take Elizabeth, it is a prime example of a dying city, that despite the political propaganda spouted by its defenders to the contrary, has been transformed from a once-upon-a-time typical American city into a seedy, shabby, trashy environment, thanks in part to the scourge of illegal immigration. Let us not, however, ignore the generous contributions of that certain home-grown element amongst us who also bear a huge responsibility for this disgraceful destruction and downfall of a once-clean and wholesome city.

Let me cite just one local example of the negativity involved as it pertains to the abuse of county property. Some people may regard this example as trivial, irrelevant and even silly, but in fact, it is a vital snapshot of a much broader picture. Warinanco Park, a tax-payer funded facility is being transformed from a reasonably well-maintained facility into an abused stomping ground by hordes of soccer players, many of whom are, I suspect, much like the congregating day laborers we see and hear so much about, of questionable legal residency. On any given weekend hundreds running, romping, stomping and scampering feet scar the landscape, laying waste to everything in their path. They pick their spots, set up shop and proceed to destroy public property with impunity, content in the knowledge that they will not be challenged by any authority. In short, they come, they see, they conquer! Once pleasant and serene fields of green are now “brown and bald” as a result of this relentless onslaught. Hastily constructed goal posts dot the landscape, cutting across the domain of once-manicured baseball fields, resulting in a sloppy, shabby, ghetto-like atmosphere. allowing such conditions to take root, flourish and become accepted routine is just another example of the lunacy that reigns supreme in our politically-correct “New America,” where illegal alien invaders are treated with a “DO NOT DISTURB” attitude by public officials and law enforcement agencies, who, by their failure to act for the common good, are granting rights and privileges to foreign nationals that are generally reserved for American citizens. Such outrageous conduct poses a potential threat to our national security, while assaulting our sovereignty, ignoring the rule of law and abusing the American values of honesty and fair play. By not acting, the peoples’ elected representatives, along with bureaucratic civil servants and “selective” law enforcement officials are lending credence and legitimacy to the presence of foreign feet on American soil. The day I saw a county police officer standing on the sidelines watching a soccer game with his hands in his pockets and cheering, while a cast of questionable characters ran circles around him, I knew we had gone from the ridiculous to the sublime on the illegal immigration issue.

It is time for the mute and mummy-like amongst us to rise up and demand action on this issue. It is time to cast off the yoke of political-correctness, servitude and repression and put a stop to this foreign free-for-all! Do not allow the white flag of surrender to be raised over Warinanco Park or any other part of Union County! Stop embracing a sanctuary-like philosophy! Help enforce immigration laws! I may be old-fashioned and naive and in some ways even corny, but I still believe that politicians are elected by the citizenry to represent the people and conduct the peoples’ business in a manner consistent with the wishes and best interest of their constituents, and that discharging those responsibilities in an honest, forthright manner is paramount, and must trump all other conditions and influences that might bring pressure to bear to do otherwise.

In conclusion, may I be so bold as to say that if this Board spent just a fraction of the time on the illegal immigration issue as they do on figuring out ways to raise taxes, Union County might be a better place.

P.S. Why is the Warinanco Park “water works” project taking so long to complete?

NOTE: The above commentary may be considered somewhat lengthy by some standards, but in order to get the “full meaning and flavor” of the words and appreciate the emotional passion and impact of same, one must deliver them in an inflective manner, not in a “rapid fire” voice that is more like hurry up and “beat the clock.” While the Board Chairman exercised his right to restrict my comments, it is my opinion that he did so because he heard enough truth for one evening and did not want to hear anymore. His utterance of a few Spanish words to me as I prepared to leave the podium was an obvious “dig” and a feeble attempt to ridicule an American citizen who was exercising his right to free speech and expression, as granted by God and the founding fathers of this great land. A Board member also displayed contempt for my presentation by laughing as I neared the exit door. Such a public display of mocking ignorance and arrogance directed towards a concerned citizen with a legitimate complaint is a prime example of a political coward, who lacks the courage to confront an “adversary” to his face, opting instead to snicker and sneer when his back is turned.

This one-party lock on the Board of Freeholders has dealt a death blow to true democratic representation and produced a breed of politician that stifles dissent and is not responsive to the will of the people.

When are nonpartisan elections really nonpartisan?

About 85 of New Jersey’s 566 municipalities have what is known as the nonpartisan system of local government and most hold their elections in the spring rather than in November. The municipalities range in size from large like the City of Newark to small as is the case of Hillside here in Union County. What makes their elections nonpartisan is that the candidates do not declare or do not formally have a political party affiliation. Though one can say that traditional party politics has been officially banded from the electoral process in these communities the reality of the situation is that partisan politics is actually alive and quite well.

In some towns it is not a secret which candidates are members of and supported by which party; these are “shadow organizations” of Democrats, Republicans and independents who support opposing candidates or slates of candidates. Sometimes coalition slates of candidates come together when there is a specific hot issue that is polarizing the community however even without Democratic and Republican Party lines on the ballot the level of squabbling can still be excessive. Dr. Ray Bodner, professor emeritus of political science at Rutgers, said in a 1993 NY Times article that nonpartisan elections were the byproduct of a political reform movement that appeared on the national scene in about 1900 as a response to rampant political corruption. Further, Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson were among those who sought ways to make the electoral process more “open and honest”, terms we still hear frequently today.

A definite point of interest regarding nonpartisan towns is that Republican and Democratic county organizations may not contribute to those local races however individual political clubs can make such contributions. And in Union County’s own “nonpartisan” Hillside Township contribute they do based on filings with NJ Elec.

The 2007 elections in nonpartisan Hillside had no less than 14 residents filing to be on the ballot competing for council seats representing various wards. Three incumbents formed a Joint Candidate Committee shown as – CTE Brewer Stroud & Kulish with the treasurer being one Rosemary McClave. Though the Hillside Council has been under Democratic control for a number of years, one name on the slate of incumbents jumped out, John G. Kulish.

The following is taken directly from a 2006 newspaper article quoting Councilman John Kulish regarding the discord between Hillside’s mayor and the council: Kulish stressed that residents are not complaining about the mayor, but that the criticism is coming from people in town hall.”A recall is normal when there’s friction between the mayor and departments, or when a mayor is performing what she feels are her duties and rights and someone disagrees,” said Kulish, the only member of the GOP on the council. “The only option is, don’t vote her in or have a recall.”"But they don’t tell me anything,” Kulish added. “I’m a Republican.”Published in the Star-Ledger, Sunday, February 12, 2006, page 39.

Kulish and his running mates showed total receipts of $25,717.80 of both “In-Kind” and Monetary Contributions coming from the Hillside Democratic Campaign Committee and the 20th Legislative District Committee, both by the way show the same Virginia Street address. The address is also listed for the CTE Brewer Stroud & Kulish committee and unsurprisingly Rosemary McClave is also listed as the treasurer of the Hillside Democratic Committee.

Mr. Kulish has what appears to be a distinguished career in public service; the following is taken directly from the Hillside Township website:

3rd Ward Council

John G. Kulish

John has been a resident of Hillside for 53 years. John has been a former Hillside Township Mayor in addition in being a former municipal clerk. He has been a past president of both the Hillside Board of Education and the Hillside Board of Health. John has served Hillside as Commissioner of the Police, Fire, Recreation, and Finance Departments. Additionally he has been a commissioner of the Joint Meeting of Essex and Union Counties; he presently serves as a commissioner of the Union County Utilities Authority

However the following appointment from the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders has been omitted from that bio:

60-2004 FREEHOLDER SULLIVAN, appointing the following individuals as
Members
to serve on the Union County Open Space, Recreation and Historic
Preservation
Trust Fund Public Advisory Committee:
John Kulish, Elected Official
(Republican)
George Jorn, Elected Official (Democrat)
effective
1/1/05 to 12/31/07.

And most recently:

2008-47 CHAIRMAN ESTRADA, appointing the following as members to the Open
Space,
Recreation and Historic Preservation Trust Fund Public Advisory
Committee:
January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2008: Environmental: James
Lynch;
Environmental: Joseph Spatola; Historic: Michael Yesenko; Labor: John
Malcolm;
Business: Ralph Salermo; Education: Dr. Frank Deo; and January 1,
2008 through
December 31, 2010: Elected Republican Official: John Kulish;
Elected Democrat
Official: Brenda Restivo; Public Member: Clarence
Cunningham; Public Member:
Oscar Ocasio; Public Member: Ruby Green; Public
Member: Pete Corvelli, Jr.

Click here for freeholder minutes
http://www.ucnj.org/freeholders/agendas/Minutes%20-%20Reorganization%20Meeting%20-%201-6-2008.pdf

What a Sham!!!!

nonpartisan, nonpartizan (free from party affiliation or bias)

Mr. Kulish’s appointment by the Freeholders to the Open Space, Recreation and Historic Preservation Trust Fund Committee is outrageous, he is a NOT an Elected Republican Official, he is an elected official to a nonpartisan governing body, so it would appear that he does NOT fill the bill even if his voter registration is Republican.

Further, he was elected on a slate whose campaign has been totally funded by Union County Democrats to include state legislators and coincidently the Hillside Democratic Committee just so happens to have one vacancy and it is not at all a surprise that it is for a male committee member in his, Kulish’s, ward/district.

It would seem that Mr. Kulish being a Republican is an absolute joke.

“SNA can be defined as the mapping and measuring of relationships and flows between people, groups, organizations, computers, or other information- or knowledge-processing entities.”

Kudos are in order for Charlotte DeFilippo, the Chairman of the Union County Democratic Committee, (she prefers to be referred to as Chairman as opposed to Chairwoman, ……..whatever). Ms DeFilippo also happens to be the Chair of the Hillside Township Democratic Committee and she has done an absolutely outstanding job of keeping her committee people busy and off the streets least they get themselves into trouble. We all know what they say about idle hands.

What is curious about Hillside is that they have non-partisan elections, meaning that the political parties, Democrat, Republican, and Green Party etc. don’t get involved in municipal elections. There are no primaries and the municipal elections are held in May which is intended to reduce the influence of partisan identification and loyalties this is the intention with school board elections as well. (Click here to learn more about party politics in NJ….http://www.aljbs.org/php/govt/party.php )

Just recently those interested in running for posts on the Board of Education submitted their petitions to be on the ballot in early April. It is no secret that in some Union County municipalities the political parties field full slates of candidates and provide backing in various ways from producing campaign literature and signs to running full scale GOTV operations for their preferred candidates.

This year it is said that the Hillside Democratic Chair Charlotte DeFilippo is backing a slate of three candidates and what makes this especially interesting is that all three candidates are county employees, two of which were hired in the first half of 2007, Jamar Cherry and Salonia Saxton-Tompson. And two, Salonia Saxton-Tompson and Richard Samiec where given appointments by the all Democratic Freeholder Board as delegates to the Motion Picture and TV Advisory Board in January of 2006 till December of 2008. And further, one of those, Richard Samiec, also has a four year term on the Hillside Board of Adjustment. And Salonia Saxton-Tompson represents Ward 2 Dist. 2 on the Hillside Democratic Committee. This information was gleaned simply by going to a couple of internet search engines and putting in the names.

The Hillside Democratic Committee currently has 25 persons listed as committee members…. http://www.unioncountydems.com/ just click on Hillside on the Union County map ….Sixteen of those committee people, including Charlotte herself either have been appointed to one or more boards or authorities by the Freeholders, are county employees or in some cases are both employees and appointees to county or Hillside Municipal positions.. To her credit this arrangement allows Charlotte to keep on top of what is going on with County and Hillside Government inside and out.

This leaves one to ponder what level of influence the Union County Democratic Chair has in other Union County Municipalities under Democratic control.

Page Down for Charlotte’s Hillside SNA………whoops…..the Hillside Democratic Committee

The following links were among those accessed to prepare this blog.

Union Couty Employee Lists 2007 and 2008
http://unioncountywatchdog.org/docs/2007UCEmployeeList.xls

http://unioncountywatchdog.org/docs/2008UCEmployeeList.XLS

Union County Advisory Boards Sept 2007
http://www.ucnj.org/freeholders/Union%20County%20Advisory%20Board%20Members.pdf

New Jersey by the Numbers- Data base of public information – find info on public employees past and present -
http://www.nj.com/news/bythenumbers/

Hillside Democratic Committee - SNA

Ward 1, Dist 1
Peter Krill
Hillside Twsp emp.

Teresa Hale
Commissioner UC Board of Elections paid position $13,013 9/95 to present
Appointment…UC Advisory Council on Aging 1/07-1/09
Appointment …Commission on the Status of Women in UC 1/07-1/09

Ward 1,Dist 2
Charles Watts
Appointment …UC Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse 1/07 – 12/09
Retired Newark Public Schools
Gwendolyn Watts
Retired Newark Public Schools

Ward 2, Dist 3
Dr. Frank Deo (it is unclear where Deo’s legal residence is, some entries indicate Hillside other entries show Scotch Plains)
Councilman Township of Hillside w/committee assignments
Director of Special Services Hillside HS
Appointment: UC Open Space, Recreation and Historic Preservation Trust Fund Advisory Committee
Appointnent: Union County College – Board of Trustees

Helen Marie Troiano
Retired Township of Hillside

Ward 2, Dist 1
Cristian Pardo – No information available

Marie Pardo
Retired Township of Hillside
Appointment - UC Advisory Board Status of Minorities 1/07-12/09

Ward 2, Dist 2
Keith D. Burroughs
Employee - UC Runnells Hospital 5/73 to present…Bldg Maintenance

Salonia Saxton-Tompson
Employee – UC Clerk of the Board 2/07 to present Clerk …$49,000
Appointment –UC Motion Picture & TV Planning Board 1/07 -1/08
Hillside Board of Education Candidate – 2008

Ward 2, Dist 3
Samuel T. McGhee – Former Hillside Mayor
Exec.Dir. Joint Meeting of Essex & Union Counties (water treatment facility) $145,728
Appointment - UC Improvement Authority 1/03 -1/13
Appointment - Board of Trustees – Hillside Public Library

Nancy Maloney Smith – no information available

Ward 3, Dist 1
Ralph N. Milteer – former Hillside Mayor
Appointment – Union County College Board of Trustees
Hillside LibraryBoard of Trustees – President
Retired East Orange Board of Ed

Shirley E. Milteer – no information available

Ward 3, Dist 2
Joseph W. Miskiewicz
Employee – Union County 1/04 to present Clerk $48,155
Appointment – Union County Improvement Authority1/06 -1/07 & 2/07 to1/12

Rosemary D. McClave
Appointment – Union County Citizens Insurance Review Board 1/07-12/07 & 1/08 – 12/08
Appointment – Union County Planning Board 1/05- 12/07 & 2/08- 12/10
Former Treasurer Hillside Township

Ward 3, Dist 3
Vacancy

Julia A. Krajcech – no information available

Ward 4, Dist 1
Richard Johnson,Jr. – no information available

Georgette Corvelli
Employee – Union County 9/99 to present Housing Dev Analyst……$72,048
Appointment – Hillside Board of Health exp June 2008

Ward 4, Dist 2
Robert Varady - Attorney w/various muni and county contracts

Gina Varady – no information available

Ward 4, Dist 3
Dennis Scott Kobitz
UC Board of Elections Dep. Admin. 3/16/85 to present $80,149
Appointment – Hillside Board of Adjustment 4 yr term

Charlotte DeFilippo – Chair Hillside Dem. Committee
Chair Union County Dem Committee
Employee Union County Mgmt Speclst 2/98 to present Dept of Finance (Director UC Improvement Authority) $143,420 yr.
Appointment Hillside Public Library Board – Mayor’s Representative
Legislative Aid – Assemblyman Neil Cohen $10,000 yr.
Appointment – State of NJ Local Finance Board resigned 6/07

Ward 4, Dist 4
Jerome Jewell, Jr. Former Hillside BOE
Councilman Hillside w/committee & board assignments
Appointment UC Parks and Recreation Advisory Board 1/07 – 12/09

Kimberly Mollett – no information available

Government can provide a nice living for a lot of people if projects touted as essential keep popping up. In Union County in 2004 it was the reconstruction of the Arts Center in Rahway that became a tax-money MacGuffin.

A former vaudeville and silent movie palace built in 1927 devolved into an X-rated movie house in the 1980s until the appearance of VCRs left it an arts center, which basically means a home to puppet shows that can come up with the rental fees. What most people would have viewed as the next home for a Walgreens the Union County freeholders saw as the first step in making Rahway an entertainment hub. Build a state-of-the-art theater, get Joe Piscopo to open a comedy club, throw around some county money and voila: Branson – East.

But like a prisoner left in solitary for years, the all-Democratic freeholder board seemed to have taken no counsel other than from the voices in their heads. They might have looked at similar venues and dreamed their dreams. The Count Basie theater in Red Bank does well but that’s in the middle of an arts town surrounded by upscale suburbs. Around here you would draw more people from Winfield Park with a tractor pull than the Bolshoi. The John Harms Center in Englewood books about one big event per month and I don’t remember anything at the Ritz Theater in Elizabeth since Raymond Lesniak brought in Ich Troje.

What possessed the decision-makers in Union County to believe that reviving a burlesque theater in the middle of Rahway would be worth the millions of dollars of tax money they were prepared to sink into it? The Worrall papers perceptively editorialized on April 1, 2004: “the taxpayers have enough of a financial burden on their collective plates without having to add this one to it. We know it’s a done deal, we know the transaction will occur, and it will occur despite what anybody says in opposition to it because that’s how the almighty freeholders conduct business – with total disregard to the populace who elected them.”

To this Freeholder Daniel Sullivan responded three weeks later by accusing the paper of “misrepresenting the facts about county government in a very partisan manner to a dwindling subscription base.” After the requisite three insults that all freeholders are obligated to hurl when addressing the public, he moved on to bandy phrases like ‘spur economic development’, ‘investment in the arts’, and ‘new jobs and increased ratables.’ All worthy goals but why a theater, why in Rahway, and why county tax money? You could hire a thousand workers to dig holes or give $300 checks to everybody making under $75,000 and claim many of the same benefits.

The theater just happened to be available. Had a hospital, racetrack, or liquor store been on the block and the freeholders needed to divert money back to their supporters through no-bid contracts we would have had similar paeans to their rehabilitations. Rahway is a Democratic town with a nice tax cow in Merck that allows their local government to play spending games with the county without much voter backlash. If the county did not undertake these development projects there would be little justification for the existence of this layer of government.

So where is the UCPAC today? It will host a stepping competition on February 9, admission $7 and there are 532 of a capacity 876 seats left. Joy Behar will be there on May 3 and an Alan Ayckbourn romantic comedy will have eight performances in February. When you go on ucpac.org and check ticket availability both acts seem to have an unusual number of available front-row center seats with the rest of the house unclickable, possibly to give the impression that you and your date won’t be the only ones in the audience to see Joy Behar and whomever on the freeholder board is up for election this year to introduce her.

So what does this whole episode teach us? That government officials may be able to run strip clubs but not an arts center? That you can’t locate an entertainment complex in Rahway without involving a happy hour?

No. The lesson here is that if you stay silent while self-dealing politicians squander your money on vanity projects then you deserve the tragicomedy that will be played out, not on any UCPAC stage but in the County Administration building.

Ballots that were signed by Roselle Councilman Jamel Holey

APPELLATE DIVISION UPHOLDS DANSEREAU VICTORY IN ROSELLE ELECTION! Cites “rampant statutory violations” of the handling of absentee ballots by Roselle Councilman Jamel Holley and other members of the Bullock campaign

The players:

Judge John Malone former Democrat Chairman, whose wife works for Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage was originally assigned to the case and threw it out. He claimed Dansereau’s argument was “convoluted, contradictory and confusing.” A Superior Court appellate panel, reversed Judge Malone’s decision to dismiss the case. They ruled that Malone was too narrow and restrictive in his view of the law in dismissing the matter.

Jamel Holley admitted there were “minor procedural issues” with the way some of the ballots were collected, but at the time, contended they should not have been invalidated. “In some instances, people left it for me to pick up. You don’t invalidate someone’s vote because of something minor like that,” Holley said. Worrall Community Newspapers 1/9/08

“I won fair and square,” “Sometimes disappointment hurts. She (Dansereau) needs to do something positive for the community.” Said Rosemary Bullock immediately after the election. The Star-Ledger

“This is a victory less for me, and more for the people,” says Councilwoman Christine Dansereau. “It is a victory for democracy.” 1/8/08

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 2008
Contact: Renée Steinhagen, Executive Director, New Jersey Appleseed Public Interest Law Center, 973-735-0523/ Diana H. Jeffrey, Esq. Director of Government Accountability Program, 973-981-5862

Roselle, NJ - The Appellate Division issued an opinion today affirming a lower court’s ruling that “improprieties” on the part of Rosemarie Bullock’s campaign workers necessitated the invalidation of 31 absentee ballots cast for Bullock in the 2006 primary for the Borough of Roselle’s 5th Ward council seat. Those invalidated ballots voided Bullock’s victory, resulting in Christine Dansereau emerging as the winner of the primary. After Bullock filed an unsuccessful emergent appeal of that decision, Dansereau went on to win in the general election. Bullock then appealed the lower court’s decision, asking the court to reverse the lower court’s ruling, install her as the winner and/or invalidate the election results and hold a special election.

The appellate court upheld the trial court’s finding that there was extensive mishandling of absentee ballots by Bullock campaign workers. Stating that “It is clear the statutory requirements for voting a valid absentee ballot were not followed here, and the deficiencies were more than the technical violations,” the court went on to describe the various ways in which Bullock campaign workers’ activities violated election laws. “The record is rampant as to the statutory violations,” writes the court, pointing to evidence of Bullock campaign workers in some instances appearing to have cast the ballot for the voter; and in many other instances, carrying unsealed voter materials outside of the voter’s presence. Testimony of the “haphazard manner of delivery of the absentee ballots pervaded the trial,” says the court, describing for instance how some voters testified that they had never met Roselle Councilman Jamal Holley or did not know who he was, but his name appeared as the bearer of their absentee ballots. “The majority of the voters had no idea how their ballots ultimately got to the Election Board. . .somehow, their ballots ended up at the Board, twenty-three of them signed by Holley.”

The court rejected Bullock’s argument that the trial court lacked sufficient evidence to rule that the invalidated absentee ballots had been cast for Bullock. Citing the “extensive testimony of the direct involvement of other Bullock campaign workers throughout the voting process of these invalidated absentee ballots,” the court ruled that “The circumstantial evidence was overwhelming that the absentee voters whose ballots were invalidated by the court cast ballots for Bullock. Given the evidence of the vigorous pursuit of absentee voters by the Bullock campaign and the skewed numbers in the overall absentee count in favor of Bullock, that most likely was a valid conclusion.”

“This is a victory less for me, and more for the people,” says Councilwoman Christine Dansereau. “It is a victory for democracy.”

“This ruling serves as an unambiguous shot across the bow to campaign workers everywhere. Illegal election schemes like this one undermine our guarantee of free and fair elections.” says NJ Appleseed’s Director of Government Accountability Programs Diana H. Jeffrey, Esq., “The clear victors today are the people of Roselle.”

For more information, contact Renée Steinhagen, Executive Director of New Jersey Appleseed Public Interest Law Center at: New Jersey Appleseed Public Interest Law Center, 973-735-0523, rsteinhagen@lawsuites.net, www.njappleseed.net, or Diana H. Jeffrey, Esq., Director of Government Accountability Program, 973-981-5862, DHJeffreypilc@aol.com.

Pay to Play, the practice of companies making monetary contributions to political parties, usually the one in power and being awarded lucrative professional contracts seemingly in return, is one of those outrageous situations that Gov. Jon Conzine promised he would tackle during his tenure.

Though legislation has been attempted on more than one occasion over the past couple of years what has resulted has been watered down and containing loopholes. Interestingly the principal players have managed to find some intriguing ways to discreetly continue to do what they always have been doing.

Reviewing the list of “sponsors”, obtained through OPRA, for the Freeholders so called free concert for county residents, MusicFest 2007 proved to be a veritable who’s who of the county’s vendor list.

Case in point:

• In 1998 the Westfield Leader reported that the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders awarded a $3.4 million contract to Correctional Health Services, Inc. of Verona, to provide health services to inmates at the County Jail and detainees at the county’s juvenile detention center, they would be helping the county switch from public to private management of the two facilities.
• Citing reports of other counties utilizing CHS then County Manager Michael Lapolla predicted the savings would be at least $350,000 over the following two years. Union County has awarded contracts to CHS since that time to provide medical/health care services at the jail, detention center and also the children’s shelter, for the term of January 2004 thru December 2006 at a cost not to exceed $3.6mil for yr. 1, $3.7mil for yr. 2 and $3,968,940 for 2006.
• According to reports filed with NJ Elec., Correctional Health Services, Inc. of Verona had awarded contributions to the Union County Democratic Committee in excess of $60,000 for the period from Sept. ’98 thru October’04.
• Double checking the NJ Elec website showed that indeed, the last contribution to the UCDC was in October of 2004 however lo and behold Correctional Health Services pops up as a MusicFest sponsor to the tune of $5,500.
• Coincidentally just this month the all Democratic Freeholder board authorized the County Manager to enter into a month-to-month contract with Correctional Health Services, Inc., Verona, New Jersey, to provide medical/health care services for inmates and residents of the Union County Jail and the Juvenile Detention Center for the period of January 1, 2008 through June 30, 2008 in the amount of $2,249,373.

Some other MusicFest sponsors doing business/having done business with the county include: Schoor DePalma Engineers, Pennoni Engineers, 4 Connections, Maser Engineers, Waste Management, Ricci Green Architects, Access Systems and Spruce Industries who contributed a combined $35,500 to the event thus giving the incumbents an actual stage to appear on before thousands of county residents without them having to spend a single campaign dollar.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Union County Watchdog Association has requested an investigation by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office into the malfunctioning of the recording equipment during the December 20, 2007 freeholder meeting. The county recently spent $110,000 on updating and installing new video equipment.

The UCWA routinely requests a copy of the meeting recordings and then has them converted to be available to the public on the Internet. An Open Public Records Act request for a copy of this meeting was returned “no document to provide”. Also not available to the public is a written statement which was read by the County Manager regarding the county’s response to the recent prisoner escapes.

During this meeting there was input from the public on many important subjects both on and off the agenda. It is the county’s habit of taking care of messy business such as retroactive pay raises at their end-of-the-year meeting. This meeting was held 5 days before Christmas.

Although the announcement hadn’t been made yet regarding the done deal of Richard Childs becoming the new County Public Safety Director the freeholders were asked repeatedly what qualifications Childs had for this position considering he was currently a part-time investigator in the County Counsel’s office and why a national search wasn’t performed to fill this position as was being done to fill the Jail Director position. The new Jail Director will be reporting to Childs.

No explanation was given or public statements made regarding this all-important position of public safety. There is no record of this position being discussed during public or closed session meetings of the freeholders.

Consider that Childs will now be in charge of a department with about 400 employees, including 74 County Police. The Public Safety Department also includes the operations of the county’s Divisions of Correctional Services, Emergency Management, Medical Examiner, Weights and Measures, and Health. Childs will also be responsible for the supervision of the Bureaus of Domestic Preparedness, Hazardous Materials, the Fire Training Academy and Fire Investigations Task Force, and the Office of Consumer Affairs.

The UCWA is requesting an investigation because we believe there may have been statements made during this meeting that could aid the current investigation into county management’s role in the prisoner escapes as well as past practices in the jail. Namely, prisoner health care, politically connected prisoners being given preferential treatment and the lack of cameras inside the facility.

Other important business during this meeting was the creation of 6 new captain positions in the Sheriff’s Department. This will bring the total number of captains to 11 and will allow for 6 Sergeants to be promoted to Lieutenant including the Union County Democrat Chairman, Charlotte DeFilipo’s daughter-in-law. Sheriff Ralph Froehlic’s step-son will be promoted to Sergeant. There are also 7 Lieutenants and 10Sergeants under 1 Sheriff and 3 Undersherriffs (one undersheriff is an assemblyman and another is the son of an assemblyman).

The main function of the Sheriff’s department is to guard the Courthouse which doesn’t include the prison. The freeholders were asked why six new Captains were needed. No explanation was given. These new captain positions and the other promotions will cost approximately $300,000 annually. Also created were 3 new lieutenant positions in the County Police Department.

Raises for the County Manager, who is appointed by the freeholders and is Senator Raymond Lesniak’s nephew, and the freeholders were also on the agenda and voted on as well as raises for all constitutional officers - including the prosecutor and sheriff.

The county allows citizens 5 minutes to speak. Freeholder Chairwoman Bette Jean Kowalski repeatedly tried to keep me from speaking on all of the above, and I repeatedly asked her why I wasn’t allowed to speak the truth. Kowalski eventually had me escorted from the meeting by a county police officer. Now the recording of the meeting isn’t available. hmmmm

Union County government takes approximately ¼ of our property taxes and can not be held accountable to the public. Citizens of Union County should be very concerned about their public safety as well as their Democratic freedoms as dictated by the county freeholders.

View OPRA response HERE