Mayor calls ordinance defeat "unfortunate"
BY PATRICIA A. MILLER
Staff Writer
Common Cause is hoping that township officials will reconsider a "pay-to-play" ordinance, after Millstone Township Committee members defeated the measure in a split vote at the Jan. 21 meeting.
Heather Taylor, a spokeswoman for Common Cause, said the defeat was ironic because a number of other area towns are considering using the Millstone model as their own.
"We had hoped that Millstone would be the leader in ending pay-to-play," Taylor said after the meeting. "It’s in the public’s interest. We hope they can reconsider and see this would be an important milestone for Millstone."
Late last week, Mayor Nancy Grbelja said that she plans to bring another pay-to-play ordinance to the Township Committee within the next several weeks.
Grbelja called the split vote "unfortunate."
"We are going to be diligent," she said. "There are many residents in Millstone Township that want to see pay-to-play in place. Everyone throughout the county is looking at the Millstone pay-to-play as the ideal ordinance, and I will continue to bring it up."
Township Committee members voted 3-2 against the ordinance, which Common Cause considered the most stringent in the state.
"It is the strongest that has been crafted in the state so far," Taylor told the committee before the vote was taken. "I urge the Township Committee to pass this much-needed reform. Millstone would add its thunder to the state in pushing for state reform."
The ordinance would have established a "zero-tolerance" policy on professional business entities, including banks and insurance companies that contribute to Township Committee candidates’ campaigns, political municipal and county committees and political action committees being awarded professional service contracts.
Grbelja and Committeeman Elias Abilheira voted in favor of the ordinance.
"It would be difficult in Monmouth County to find an engineering firm that didn’t contribute $100,000 to any political party," Abilheira said.
"The purpose of pay-to-play is to stop contributions to candidates," he added. "I feel this [proposed ordinance] is as far as you can go and still be constitutional."
Republican Committeeman John Pfefferkorn and Democratic Committeemen William A. Nurko and Chet Halka all voted against it.
"I have a major concern with the way this is watered down," Pfefferkorn said.
He objected to a clause in the ordinance that would have allowed professionals who contribute to Millstone political campaigns to "cure" any violations of the ordinance by asking for reimbursement of the contributions within 30 days after the general election.
At the committee meeting, Grbelja pushed for the vote.
"We can sit here and nitpick," she said. "If there are any revisions that need to be made in the future, that’s fine. I think to delay it is really not in the best interests of the residents."
Nurko said he wanted to see the state legislature adopt a measure first.
"This says you are guilty before you are proven innocent," he said. "I stand on my integrity. If I do something wrong, I think the people are smart enough to vote me out. It’s directed at the bad guys. I’d like to think we are the good guys."
Towns that have already adopted pay-to-play ordinances include Washington Township in Mercer County, Hopewell Township, Montgomery, West Windsor, Freehold Township, Old Bridge, Spring Lake Heights, Ocean Township, Holmdel, Hamilton, Ramsey, Sayreville and Bradley Beach.