Bergen County pay-to-play changes face Donovan’s veto
Democrats look to skirt Pay to Play reform
Tuesday April 23, 2013, 8:35 AM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER
The Record
Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan, hospitalized for a month for severe back problems, will return to her post in time to veto a pay-to-play ordinance that would “gut” a law aimed at curbing campaign contributions from no-bid contractors who do business with the county, her staff said Monday.
If Donovan, a Republican, vetoes the proposed ordinance, it could put Democrats in a bind.
With a majority on the Board of Freeholders, Democrats would be put in the politically tricky position of having to override her decision in order to bring about sweeping changes to how campaign finance is regulated in Bergen County. The proposed law would allow no-bid contractors such as lawyers, engineers and accountants, to contribute up to $20,000 per year to county political parties, giving the party chairmen control over large swaths of money and greater political influence. Current law limits contributions to the county parties to $2,500.
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