Bergen County donors retreated as pay-to-play law took effect

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Bergen County donors retreated as pay-to-play law took effect
Thursday April 25, 2013, 12:07 AM
BY  JOHN C. ENSSLIN AND DAVE SHEINGOLD
STAFF WRITERS
The Record

Five major professional firms gave a total of more than $136,000 to candidates vying for elected office in Bergen County government in the seven years before a law that limited campaign spending by county vendors, an analysis of campaign spending reports shows.

But in the year after the pay-to-play law took effect, those same five companies — each of which received hundreds of thousands in county contracts over the last five years — spent exactly zero on the 2012 freeholder election. The Record’s analysis included only donations made in the companies’ names, not those of their principals or employees.

The dramatic drop in donations comes at a time when a fierce debate has broken out over an attempt to relax regulations on what no-bid contractors such as attorneys, accountants and engineers should be allowed to contribute to county political parties.

The Bergen County Freeholder Board has introduced an ordinance to relax the restrictions currently in place on donations. Most notably, the ordinance seeks to change the $2,500 limit on donations to county political parties to $20,000.

However, the Democrats who control the board signaled on Tuesday that they would be willing to change it to just $2,600 in exchange for the support of Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/Bergen_County_donors_retreated_as_pay-to-play_law_took_effect.html