MARLBORO — An ethics complaint that was filed against Democratic Marlboro Mayor Jonathan Hornik has been dismissed by the township’s Ethics Board.
The Marlboro Ethics Board is an independent body whose members are appointed by the mayor with the approval of the Township Council. There are six members on the panel (three Democrats and three Republicans). The members make determinations on complaints which allege that officials and municipal employees have violated Marlboro’s ethics code.
During a Feb. 24 meeting the members of the Ethics Board unanimously voted to dismiss a second filing of a complaint against Hornik. The board had officially dismissed the first complaint at the end of January.
The complaint was filed by Marlboro Republican Party Chairman John C. Gibardi in September 2009. Gibardi alleged that Hornik, who is a Democrat, interfered with a Republican fundraising party that year.
The matter involved Republican candidates who were running for the Township Council and who had scheduled a fundraiser at Bella Vista Country Club in Marlboro.
The event was canceled and the Republican candidates and Gibardi later said the mayor interfered with the fundraiser and caused the event to be canceled by sending an email to the owners of the country club.
At the time, Hornik denied having a part in the Republican event’s cancellation, although he did acknowledge writing an email in response to Republican campaign literature that the mayor believed targeted his late father, former Marlboro Mayor Saul Hornik, in an unfair manner.
Gibardi filed an ethics complaint against the mayor in regard to the issue.
During the Feb. 4 Township Council meeting, Gibardi spoke about manner in which his ethics complaint had been handled. He stated that the case had been dismissed on Jan. 27 due to the fact that he had not been able to make the night’s meeting.
He said he received notification of the Jan. 27 meeting earlier that day. He also was concerned that the hearing before the Ethics Board occurred four months after his complaint had been filed.
At the request of Township Council President Frank LaRocca, the Ethics Board’s attorney, Andrew Hamelsky, appeared before the council on Feb. 18 to discuss the issues that had been raised by Gibardi on Feb. 4.
Hamelsky presented a chronology of dates on which certified letters had been sent to Gibardi, but were ultimately returned to the Ethics Board after they were not accepted.
Hamelsky went on to explain that a mail carrier attempted to deliver two certified letters to Gibardi on three or four occasions but had no luck. Those letters were then sent through the regular mail.
The attorney said telephone messages were left for Gibardi prior to the Jan. 27 Ethics Board meeting, but he said those messages were not returned until after the board’s Jan. 27 meeting.
During their Feb. 24 meeting the Ethics Board members noted that Hornik submitted evidence about the Republican fundraiser which overshadowed Gibardi’s evidence, leading to their vote to dismiss the ethics charges against the mayor.
Hornik told the News Transcript he submitted affidavits from the individuals who canceled the Republicans’ event. Those individuals stated that the mayor had no involvement in their decision to cancel their sponsorship of the event at the country club.
At that Feb. 24 meeting, Ethics Board Chairman Michael Cali informed his fellow members that Gibardi had once again filed a complaint against the mayor. Cali said the new complaint was a duplicate of the prior one which they had dismissed the previous month.
The board members decided to dismiss Gibardi’s second complaint based on the fact that the matter had already been dismissed and because there was no new information presented by Gibardi.
Gibardi retains the right to appeal the Marlboro Ethics Board’s decision at the state level if he so chooses.
Following the board’s decision Hornik said he was happy to have the matter settled.
“I was surprised that Mr. Gibardi filed any complaint in the first instance. I had nothing to do with the cancellation of the event (at the country club). I’m glad that after the Ethics Board did its investigation they agreed with me,” the mayor said.
Hornik said he believes Gibardi’s complaint against him was filed as part of a political game during the 2009 election season.
“It is very important that we preserve the integrity of the Ethics Board and keep politics out of it,” Hornik said.
Gibardi did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.
Contact Rebecca Morton at [email protected].