Bergen County Exec’s race: Attempt to add two freeholders to county police merger lawsuits fans family ties flames
HACKENSACK – The ongoing legal battle related to the proposed merger of the Bergen County Police Department and the county’s Sheriff’s Office took another twist last week when County Executive Kathleen Donovan, the Republican incumbent seeking re-election in November, attempted to add an ethics complaint against two Democratic freeholders into the police merger lawsuit.
Donovan has struggled with the freeholder board over plans to merge the Bergen County Police Department and the county Sheriff’s Office. Donovan is opposed to the plan, while the majority of the freeholder board, now controlled by the Democrats by a 5-2 veto-proof margin, supports the move. The final decision depends on the outcome of ongoing legal battles related to the merger proposal.
As part of this wider struggle, Donovan has called on two Democratic freeholders, Steve Tanelli and David Ganz, whose son and daughter respectively are employed by the Sherriff”s Office, to recuse themselves from law enforcement issues.
Tanelli, whose son Dan is an investigator with the crime scene unit, and Ganz, whose daughter Pam works a a clerk for the sheriff, declined to do so. (Bonamo/PolitickerNJ)