>‘Reforms are Overdue and Needed to Protect Tax Dollars’
Ridgewood, NJ – Today the Agostinelli & Bombace campaign for real world values and bold new leadership in New Jersey’s 40th District released a 8-point plan to reform the political system in our State. The events of the past 6 months in New Jersey and abuses within the political system show the glaring need for reform. John Agostinelli and Mark Bombace are not career politicians looking to benefit from being elected to the State Assembly. They are looking to serve the families of the 40th District, not the corporate lobbyists and political insiders. Therefore, they are proposing the following 8 reforms to rework how are system operates to make legislators are more accountable, the system is more transparent and tax payers’ money is being spent efficiently:
1. A total ban on dual office holding. The current law that allows dual office holders to be grandfathered, keeping both of their offices. We need to work on a bipartisan basis to pass a bill that outlaws all dual office holding in New Jersey.
2. Make “wheeling” of political donations illegal. “Wheeling” a common political term where one political campaign or political party wheels money around the State is one of the biggest exploitations of politicians of campaign finance laws. We need to end this practice to stop abuses of the system by public officials.
3. Create more transparency and accountability. The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) needs to create more stringent reporting standards. We would propose amending the law to require weekly reports of campaign contributions and a total revamping of the ELEC website to make it more accessible and easier to use for citizens. Additionally, we would suggest to making it mandatory that every municipality in New Jersey be forced to publish their local budget on the Internet for review by citizens of that town.
4. A cap on campaign contributions for PACs, special interest groups, and individuals. The influence of money in New Jersey politics is evident. A more stringent cap is needed on the amount a person can donate to a campaign.
5. All government positions and contracts must be open for public bidding. Any municipality that has any open positions must collect resumes and undertake an open process to hire new employees and appoint people to jobs within their town. Political appointments have been abused and must be stopped. Furthermore, there must be an open and transparent process to receive Request for Proposals (RFPs) for any municipal or State contract in New Jersey.
6. Terms limits for all State Legislators. State Assembly members should not have an unlimited hold on any legislative seat. Turnover in the State Legislature will bring more people into the political process and prevent politicians from becoming too entrenched.
7. Make all State Legislators schedules public. State legislators are public servants; therefore, their schedules should be available for the public to see. Any lobbyist or special interest group that meets with a State Legislator should be a matter of public record.
8. Amend the current State Constitution to elect the Attorney General by a popular vote. The Attorney General needs to be a watchdog in New Jersey, and when they are beholden to the Governor for their job, they cannot properly investigate powerful political figures. The Attorney General’s office needs to be autonomous and have the resources to go after corrupt political and officials on both sides of the aisle.
“Career politicians and Trenton insiders like Scott Rumana and Dave Russo have been largely silent on these important issues facing New Jersey,” stated Agostinelli. Instead of working to make our political system more accountable, transparent, and less corrupt, they have abused the system to the benefit of themselves and their political allies. We need fresh voices to truly reform our system of government and end the corruption that has plagued our State.”
“The above 8 reforms are common sense approaches that need to be taken in order to end the culture of corruption in New Jersey,” stated Bombace. “This plan is in line with our basic political philosophy that a common sense approach will yield the most beneficial legislation for 40th District families, and most importantly, will make legislators in New Jersey more accountable to their constituents.”
Campaign Manager Jim Tighe reiterated the campaigns call for debates over 2 weeks ago. “We are still waiting to hear from Trenton Insiders Scott Rumana and David Russo about holding debates across the 40th District,” stated Tighe. “We hope they will contact the campaign and schedule debates. They have shown a lack of accountability to their constituents.”
Election Day is Tuesday November 3rd, 2009. The 40th Legislative District encompasses parts of Bergen, Essex, and Passaic Counties, including the following towns: Cedar Grove Township, Franklin Lakes Borough, Little Falls Township, Mahwah Township, Midland Park Borough, Oakland Borough, Ridgewood Village, Ringwood Borough, Verona Township, Wanaque Borough, Wayne Township, and Wyckoff Township.
www.40thDistrict.com
