Bergen County Executive Donovan Vetoes Freeholders Pay-to-Play Ordinance – Again
May 31,2013
Once again as she stated she would, Bergen County Executive Kathleen A. Donovan has vetoed Freeholder Ordinance 13-06 voted upon by the Freeholder Board on May 22, 2013. The Freeholder Board originally passed the ordinance at the May 15th meeting, but due to an error in postings, the board had to vote for a second time.
As with the first Veto, the Freeholder’s ill-conceived attempt would weaken what has been described as one of the strongest ordinances banning pay-to-play in the State of New Jersey.
In her current Veto letter, County Executive Donovan remains steadfast on her position. “I emphasize my position again that there should be one statewide law covering pay-to-play disclosure. I believe that such a law should be designed to limit the influence of both vendors and political leaders whose power lies in the political purse. We, in Bergen County, are all too aware of the impact of late, undisclosed money “wheeled” in from all over the State, and probably elsewhere, to unfairly tip the balance in an election.”
Donovan cited numerous reasons for the Veto including that in its current language raises many legal concerns. “The Ordinance, as written, is being applied in the middle of an election cycle (Election Year 2013) and by law, should not be applied retroactively. This Ordinance is clearly intended to act retroactively.” The County Executive also re-emphasized her non-support for the Ordinance as it is currently constituted.
The County Executive ended her May 31st Veto letter with a powerful message. “I offer to the Freeholder Board, as I have in the past, that we should join together to urge the Governor and Legislature to adopt a comprehensive state-wide law banning the corrupting practice of play-to-play while allowing candidates and political parties to raise the funds needed to conduct campaigns guaranteeing transparency to the public and enhancing public confidence that government-generate contracts are not a disguised mechanism of political campaign financing.”