the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, Republican women legislators sent a letter today to Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin calling for a bipartisan legislative investigation into the hiring practices of Governor Philip D. Murphy.The letter follows revelations that the administration hired one individual clearly prohibited by state law from public employment and another who was under criminal investigation for sexual misconduct.
Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean, who also serves as a member of the Senate Legislative Oversight Committee, expressed support for a call by Republican women legislators for an investigation into the hiring practices of the Murphy Administration:
Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean expressed support for a call by Republican women legislators for an investigation into the hiring practices of the Murphy Administration. (SenateNJ.com)
“We’ve seen a number of recent instances where it’s clear that the Murphy Administration hasn’t properly vetted candidates for employment in important positions in our New Jersey government, including an individual convicted of corruption and another who was under investigation for criminal sexual misconduct.
“To preserve the public’s faith in our state government, we should hold legislative hearings to learn how the Governor’s hiring process broke down, and to determine if others were hired into the administration who shouldn’t be there.”
Assembly Republican Leader Jon Bramnick spoke out after reports last night that Albert J. Alvarez resigned from his post as School Development Authority chief of staff over accusations of sexual misconduct against a woman last year.
“It is extremely important that all relevant information is revealed as soon as possible related to these allegations,” said Bramnick (R-Union). “Public hearings by the legislature are the only way all information is provided to the public. I am convinced that this will be a bipartisan effort because Democrats and Republicans want to know what happened and whether appropriate action was taken.”
Even Senate President Steve Sweeney, Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, Senator Paul Sarlo, Senator M. Teresa Ruiz, Senator Sandra Cunningham and Senator Nick Scutari issued the following joint statement in response to the accounts of sexual misconduct by a high-level state official:
“We are disturbed by the news reports of alleged sexual misconduct leveled against a high-level state official. This type of behavior has too often been tolerated, ignored or dismissed. Public officials have a leadership responsibility to help bring about the change in attitudes and actions that is long overdue.”
