April 6,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, a very interesting document indeed. Megan Fraser is VP of communications and marketing at Valley. She and her (now deceased) husband gave to Gwenn’s campaign. So Gwenn was given money by a Valley big-wig, and yet she served on the mediation team . The same team that allowed this terrible non-compromise to go through last night.
In any other government this would disqualify her.
How does this happen in anything other than a corrupt Village government?
$870 bucks…what a strange amount…
Like I’ve said before, Follow the Money….
Unbelievable. How the hell did we get shafted like this???
I agree about the strange amount. Weird. If you ask Gwenn she will just bat her baby blues and say that she is impartial. Total bullshit.
So does she get to vote when it comes to council?
How the hell did we get shafted like this??? Are you kidding. Ridgewood residents voted in these bums
She will be remembered by hundreds of residents for their reduced property values. This is going to haunt her forever.
Her every vote should be dos qualified from then until now.
This is not going to haunt her forever. She is the greatest thing that ever happened to Ridgewood, in her opinion
What do the lawyers have to say about this? Isn’t this pretty blatant? Why don’t the lawyers representing the citizen groups raise this?
8:45am it’s all about karma. It will haunt her just like all those dead turtles.
It is the only reason she ran in the first place…..
I noted this point and other significant conflicts of interest by Ms. Hauck re: Valley from the lectern at a public council meeting on August 7, 2013. I stated that Ms. Hauck should recuse herself from anything the council did related to Valley.The only press coverage of my statement appeared in an article by John Koster in now-defunct The Villadom Times. A couple of years later the mayor appointed her to the Valley mediation team as one of two council representatives, effectively not only thumbing his nose at the town but essentially shoving his thumb in our collective eye.
Here is the statement I made:
“As the council debated the Mobi-Chair on July 10, Ms. Walsh asked Ms. Hauck, ‘Did you discuss it [the Mobi-Chair] at the last Parks & Rec meeting?’ Ms. Hauck said ‘No.’
“Her answer should have been ‘I don’t know; I wasn’t there’—also unmentioned during her report of that meeting. The Mobi-Chair was on the agenda of the June 25 board meeting and was discussed there. The minutes confirm this and Ms. Hauck’s absence.
“Friday’s front-page Ridgewood News article on the telephone pole uproar concluded: ‘Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck said, ‘I hope they [PSE&G] learn from this experience that communication is the key to success in every relationship.”’ Would that be honest communication, or any communication?
“The board meeting thing was a little lie. Let’s look at a bigger one.
“Ms. Hauck’s longtime commitment to Valley Hospital as a volunteer and fundraiser is well known. In addition, at a Council hearing in the fall of 2011, she supported Valley’s expansion plans, saying she trusted Valley implicitly, and they should get whatever they want. A few months later she announced her candidacy for Council, saying she’d be objective on Valley.
“Another conflict of interest is the $870 donated to Ms. Hauck’s council campaign by an officer of Valley Hospital on May 8, 2012, Election Day, according to the website of the New Jersey Campaign Financing and Lobbying Disclosure section of the Election Law Enforcement Commission.
“At the very least, these issues raise the appearance of a conflict of interest by a council member—a taint Ms. Hauck vocally deplored when openly criticizing a fellow council member in the recent brouhaha concerning services provided to the Village by his company.
“Yet Ms. Hauck says she won’t recuse herself in the Council vote on Valley, as quoted on the front page of the Ridgewood News and in The Record, Villadom Times, Patch.com, and the Ridgewood Blog. This recusal situation isn’t the elephant in the room—it’s the herd of woolly mammoths in the room, and they can’t find the door.
“The Council won’t merely—a big “merely”—determine whether to let Valley nearly double in size. Granting Valley’s request would involve rewriting the carefully constructed Master Plan—our planning Constitution—with profound repercussions altering our Village forever.
“A vote on the Valley proposal by a council member with a demonstrable, widely recognized potential conflict of interest, which according to the law need not include personal financial gain, would place the Council’s decision in jeopardy, inviting criticism, legal scrutiny, and possibly years of litigation, with further delay and expense.
“Whether to vote is unrelated to the councilwoman’s integrity, sincerity, or commitment to the community. It’s a legal matter supported by ample evidence and there is only one right thing to do.
To protect her reputation, and for the good of the Council and Village, Ms. Hauck must recuse herself from any council hearing, discussion, or vote regarding any matter related to Valley Hospital.”
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The minutes of that meeting summarize my statement in some detail, followed by this: “Mayor Aronsohn responded that the Planning Board is still dealing with many Valley Hospital issues, and if the proposal is approved and it does come before the Village Council, Mayor Aronsohn believes that the interests and relationships of all Councilmembers should be scrutinized, but it should be looked at when the time comes.”
https://archive.ridgewoodnj.net/minutes/WORK8.713.htm
The time came, Mr. Aronsohn. And it went. Thanks for nothing!
Residents don’t raise concerns except on this blog. That’s how it happened. The concern was raised by a couple of people years ago at a council meeting, but was never followed up, because most people are chicken shit. That’s why it happened. Only at the end of a process when the final decision is already made do most people try to change the decisions a council is making and then it is too late. That’s why it happened.
From what I understand if valley paid her, that makes it a conflict. Having said that, given that and the lifetime amount donated it would seem obviousbabe is not impartial to valley.
This is what’s called The Smoking Gun.
My neighbor ran for a position a few years. Two days after her picture appeared in the paper she got a call from MF.
Vast New Wing Conspiracy….
Why exactly can’t Megan Fraser (a longtime Ridgewood resident and taxpayer) contribute her own money to whom ever she chooses in a local ellection? What difference does it make that she works at Valley? Maybe, just maybe, Mrs Fraser supports the expansion because she honestly believes it will benefit the residents of Ridgewood and the surrounding towns.
Bernie Walsh ran for council as a “STOP VALLEY” candidate, period, end of story, and that’s her right. She also has a very large house (one might say “out of character” for her block) that’s within 750 feet of Valley. One could assume she might be personally worried that a large expansion of Valley could lower her home’s value. Personally I disagree that it would, but that’s another issue. Isn’t this a conflict of interest by the bar that Megan Fraser is being held to?
It seems the CCR is fine with conflicts of interest if they go their way but not if they don’t. If someone could please explain the double standard I’d love to hear it.
Thank you, Marcia. It even looks worse when you see it all in writing. NJ Law states that a conflict of interest need not be financial in nature but merely a perception of partiality to the issue in question. This is clearly more than a perception, it is a reality. Gwenn morally should have recused herself but since she hasn’t , the Council should have asked her. It is their right and also protects the reputation of the governing body.
“chicken shit.” Really Diane. I guess our Mayor should have a talk with you about civility.
3:43- The bottom line is no one really cares about a double standard regarding Megan Fraser or anyone else. She cares about the salary Valley is paying her and nothing else because there is nothing this expansion is going to provide the residents of Ridgewood except a hell of a lot of short and long term grief.
Bill H. (7:46)
I care…why should anyone’s opinion be dismissed out of hand because of where they work? Could it be possible that some “insiders” like Mrs Fraser might actually have a better understanding of this issue than an outsider? Further, might it be possible that Mrs Fraser does indeed care about Ridgewood but is speaking a truth that some refuse to hear/accept? Kinda of like when you tell your kids something they don’t want to hear/accept but you know in the end it is best for them. The sad thing about this whole affair is what some of us are teaching our kids through our actions. The personal vitriol being slung at residents that don’t agree with the vocal minority’s point of view is disgusting and reprehensible. In my opinion, it’s far more damaging to our kids then any air or noise pollution that will come for the expansion.
Imagine if Albano didn’t get outed by the League of Women Voters….it would be a 4-1 vote on everything.
Diane, this was brought up by many people, at meetings, publicly, not just on this blog, and not just now at the end.
“Could it be possible that some “insiders” like Mrs Fraser might actually have a better understanding of this issue than an outsider?”And what would be those issues that we as residents could not possibly understand.? I guess the Hospital knows better what is good for the Village of Ridgewood and it residents. Get off your high horse about the kids. They also are learning not to accept the bulling of the Hospital what ever it takes.
8:40- You’re right, everyone on this earth has a right to an opinion. But gee, do you think it might just be a little subjective ? And by the way, it’s far from the “minority.” Oh yeah, why is this expansion good for Ridgewood ?
3:43… What???? I think you’ve looked at the wrong home. Bernie is defending her neighborhood and town because she’s a decent person. She doesn’t agree with YOU so she’s got an interior motive???? Just stop it.
And AGAIN calling these people a vocal minority is just a tactic to annoy them.
Keep going ahead and trying it but since all of like 9 people in town bother with that line, it gets easier to figure out who you are.
11:55, no money need change hands for a conflict of interest to exist (see Linda M. of the League of Women Voters at 4:21). 3:43, Ms. Fraser was more than an employee of Valley, but also an officer. And yes, she was already an officer at the time of the donation. I looked it up. Can anybody donate to a cause they approve of? Sure. But Ms. Hauck was running for a representative elective office that was going to make important decisions about the hospital. Even merely to protect her from any taint of a conflict (political donations are in the public record), most people would not donate to the campaign. The fact that that happened was one of many indications of how confident they were about being immune. Regarding Bernie Walsh, I don’t get it. Any candidate can express an opinion. That means she never pretended to be neutral. or lied to get votes, unlike some. And no money changed hands. 9:46, Ms. Fraser is of course entitled to her opinion but would have done better to protect her favored candidate by not donating to her campaign. Council members of a different stripe might have urged such a person to recuse. The killer is that recusal is entirely a matter of conscience. As for Mr. Albano, why do you think a call was made (in my opinion, not an email message) to Mike Sedon’s employer claiming a “conflict of interest” (which did not exist) to try to force him choose between his job and his council candidacy, leaving the field open to candidate Albano?
How is Bernie’s “Stop Valley Expansion” campaign platform any different from Gwenn’s support of Valley? If Bernie’s house is that close to Valley, she’s obviously conflicted, too. It’s obvious Gwen shouldn’t be mediating for the Village, but its also obvious that we’re electing “pet issue” candidates who aren’t representing all Villagers.
If you don’t think that the Valley issue will be felt by everyone in Ridgewood in both the short and long term, you really are someone who has no intention of staying here. The construction phase is obvious, but all you have to do is take a look at the extended neighborhoods around Morristown Memorial, HUMC in Hackensack, and St. Joe’s in Paterson. They all have one thing in common: Hospitals that morphed into Medical Centers. And that’s reality.
643 your definition for conflict of interest is…conflicted. I live in Ridgewood, am I conflicted too?