APRIL 10, 2015, 7:42 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015, 10:48 PM
BY SALVADOR RIZZO
STATE HOUSE BUREAU |
THE RECORD
Companies with public contracts in New Jersey gave a record amount of money last year to a new breed of political advocacy groups that can influence elections without facing the state’s tough pay-to-play restrictions and disclosure requirements.
Although it was an electoral off-year with no statewide candidates on the ballot, contractors gave $1.8 million to PACs and outside groups in 2014, a 16 percent rise over the previous year, according to a report released Tuesday by the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. Direct donations from contractors to candidates’ campaigns fell 15 percent, to $9.1 million, ELEC reported.
“Independent groups are becoming a major force in politics, both nationally and in New Jersey,” said Jeff Brindle, the executive director of ELEC. Contractors are pouring more funds into those groups because “it’s a way around the law — it’s a way around pay-to-play” restrictions, and it allows many donors to remain anonymous, Brindle said.
New Jersey law generally bars any company with a contract worth more than $17,500 from giving more than $300 to gubernatorial candidates and party fundraising committees. Any contractor that gives money has to file a disclosure with ELEC.
Union thugs, stealing from the rest of us and laughing at private sector taxpayers