What Needs to Happen to Truly Kill Corruption

by: njnewsgrrl

Fri Jul 31, 2009 at 11:37:07 AM EDT

While explaining the atmosphere in the Garden State following the indictment of 44 individuals on corruption charges, an NPR reporter appearing on PBS's "The News Hour" last week compared the situation to the launch of the space shuttle. When it first began, everyone was interested, everyone was talking about it, and it was a big deal, she said. But now, we're so used to it that we just shrug our shoulders and go about our business.

Sad, but true.

We've been dealt this deck of cards. And it's pretty embarrassing, not to mention harmful to our state and communities. So what can we do to change the situation? How can we make it better?

First, we have to accept the fact that there are too many people who profit - financially or otherwise - from the current system. These people run the system, whether they be elected officials, political operatives or lobbyists. And they have zero motivation to affect the kind of substantial, systemic change that our state really needs. Sure, they will talk about reforms in the law enacted in the past few years. But clearly, the little that has changed is not enough.

Second, we will have to accept that as long as politicians need money to get elected, there will be corruption in the system. A functioning system of publicly financed elections is crucial to reducing the influence of money in politics. There have been noble efforts to institute such a system, but it's been very, very slow in development. Wonder why? See the previous paragraph.

What we really need is a complete overhaul of state law to reduce the influence of, for lack of a better term, skuzzy politicians, in our government. In an ideal world, that overhaul would do the following:

Christie wants to run a "pay-for-play" campaign

by: Hopeful

Mon May 11, 2009 at 12:08:31 PM EDT

McGreevey's executive order banned the state from awarding contracts of more than $17,500 to companies in which high-ranking officials contributed more than $300 to a gubernatorial candidate or state or county party organization... McGreevey's order covered contributors who controlled 10 percent or more of companies getting state contracts. Corzine included any partner, officer, or principal of a vendor firm, further limiting the number of people who would be willing to contribute to gubernatorial campaigns.

...And that has Republican gubernatorial candidate Christopher J. Christie in a lather.

"This governor is a hypocrite. He signs this executive order which he doesn't live by, yet he forces everybody else in the race to live by it," he said.

Let's get this straight:

Will Frank LoBiondo block defense contracting reform again?

by: Hopeful

Wed Mar 04, 2009 at 04:40:07 PM EST

Recently that public trust has not always been kept.  Over the last eight years, government spending on contracts has doubled to over half a trillion dollars.  Far too often, the spending is plagued by massive cost overruns, outright fraud, and the absence of oversight and accountability.  In some cases, contracts are awarded without competition.  In others, contractors actually oversee other contractors.  We are spending money on things that we don't need, and we're paying more than we need to pay.  And that's completely unacceptable.

Last year, the Government Accountability Office, GAO, looked into 95 major defense projects and found cost overruns that totaled $295 billion.  Let me repeat:  That's $295 billion in wasteful spending.  And this wasteful spending has many sources.  It comes from investments and unproven technologies.  It comes from a lack of oversight.  It comes from influence peddling and indefensible no-bid contracts that have cost American taxpayers billions of dollars.

"Contractors actually oversee other contractors" is a major part of what wrong in Deepwater. Obama's new presidential memorandum should help, but Congress also needs to act:

Michael Kasparian Releases Party Reform Platform

by: Bill W

Sat Jan 17, 2009 at 12:09:16 PM EST

Bergen County Democratic Committee members should be receiving a correspondence from Mike Kasparian outlining his platform for party reform should he be elected BCDO Chair. Skipping to the meat of the matter, here are the six points he lists :  (retyped by me, so I'll take credit for any typos)

1. Mandatory ethics training: Our reform package must start with Ethics Reform. All BCDO Officers, members of the Executive Committee, staffers and candidates must receive mandatory ethics training similar to that which Governor Corzine mandated for all State Commission and Advisory Board members.

2. Internet Accessibility of BCDO Information: Posting on the Internet of all County Committee members names, along with all BCDO by-laws, governing documents and notices.

3. Independent Audit: We must conduct an independent third party audit of BCDO finances and make that information available to all members.

4. Open and Fair Conventions: All special conventions will be admnistered by an impartial third party, such as a retired member of the judiciary.

5. Charitable Outreach: BCDO should establish a fund in support of outreach organizations, such as Meals on Wheels, YMCA/YWCA and the Red Cross as examples.

6. A Committee Process: In accordance with our by-laws we must conduct regularly scheduled sub-committee meetings and seek the input of the full County Committee on all issues including fundraising, candidate selection, and policy issues.

Now, you can count me as skeptical of a candidate who seems to be drawing the support of all the wrong people, and lacking the support of many of the right people, but if he did manage to implement these six ideas, and if they were carried out conscientiously and fairly, I think it would be a good step in the right direction. I know, though, that's a couple of big "ifs".

One I find somewhat puzzling is the "Charitable Outreach" business -- it doesn't seem to me something that a party organization would typically involve itself in. Do other County Committees do this?

Any other thoughts on these proposals?

What Do We Do On November 5th???

by: Nick Lento

Thu Oct 09, 2008 at 10:27:27 AM EDT

Absolutely RIGHT!  There's STILL time for ALL of New Jersey's Democrats with safe seats and deep pockets to get off their butts and open their wallets in support of the WHOLE ticket!

(This started out as a comment in Thurman's excellent diary The Senate Race that Wasn't http://www.bluejersey.net/show...  but it went a bit far afield from his immediate subject......)

..........I wish Lautenberg and Stender had used their financial advantages and momentum to call upon ALL of the NJ congressional delegation to make it a CRUSADE to put win in ALL the contested seats.

Frank and Linda will likely win; but they could have been far more aggressive and won for the whole state instead of just focusing on their own elections.

The same applies to all the congressional incumbents like Rothman and Pallone et al who have safe seats.  Why aren't they all all over the state stumping for every challenger???   Makes no sense to me.   Is that considered "rude"?   Is there an unwritten law against congresspeople supporting challengers to sitting members???

We could have had a statewide reform movement that would have garnered another half a million new voters to vote for Barack and to create a downticket landslide that just might have swept folks like Tom Wyka and certainly Dennis Shulman into office.   As it is they are still fighting long odds

I really do wonder about the intelligence, competence and motivations of the NJ Democratic party.

Do they REALLY want to win big and REALLY clean up/transform our state?   Or is it just about maintaining a corrupt status quo that puts more money into the hands of the same individuals and corporations that have been raping us forever?

Yeah sure, I'll vote Democratic across the line.....but only because the Republicans would be even worse for New Jersey.....but is that really the best we can do???

It's time the people of New Jersey, MOST of whom will back a progressive reform agenda that provides fundamental root to branch change, literally TAKE OVER the state Democratic party from the morally/ethically corrupt hacks who are now in control.

Nothing less will do the job.

The people, institutions and corporations who have been living "high on the hog" off of the hard work and sweat pf NJ taxpayers have to be thrown out of office and thrown into jail (where possible).   There is no more "fat of the land" for them to live off of.

Christie's Probe of Katz May Cause Him More Harm than Good

by: mikeshapiro

Wed Jul 23, 2008 at 09:36:50 AM EDT

A Victory for "Pay to Play" Reformers

by: mikeshapiro

Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 11:16:42 PM EDT

Time for a poker rule

by: Hopeful

Wed Jun 04, 2008 at 12:54:03 PM EDT

I suggest that this is the time to reform the law. In New Mexico, a tied election is settled by a game of chance.  It sure beats counting on one of the candidates to withdraw.

Why Joe Vas Lost

by: Thurman Hart

Thu May 15, 2008 at 10:25:12 PM EDT

When I first heard of Joe Vas, he was running for the seat just vacated by now-Senator Bob Menendez.  A lot of my friends who were so involved in battling the myriad mini-machines of Hudson County flocked to his side - convinced that his sweet words were sincere and that he would break the back of the Hudson County machine.

Like most fairy tales, this one didn't translate into reality so well.  Machines are machines because they are not easily broken.  And the fairy god-father, in this case, had more than just feet made of clay.

Mayor Booker visited my classroom this week.

by: Dvd Avins

Wed May 07, 2008 at 06:02:30 PM EDT

Who goes to Pathways Academy? Well, first, it's in Newark, so the kids are those growing up in the extraordinarily unsafe environment that is Newark today. Many Newark students who have involved parents go to schools that are not part of Newark Public Schools (NPS)—either private or charter schools. Of those who go to NPS high schools, many are siphoned away from the general population into magnet schools. Many of the magnet school teachers will tell you that there's no difference between the lack of ambition and poor mental health of their students and those in the general high schools, but again, the students who go to the magnet schools disproportionately have parents who are engaged with their children's education.

Why Commend Inclan?

by: mikeshapiro

Tue May 06, 2008 at 11:06:00 AM EDT

Why Mrs. Andrews?

by: mikeshapiro

Tue Apr 15, 2008 at 08:29:44 PM EDT

Lieutenant Governor: No Longer a Patronage Job

by: mikeshapiro

Tue Mar 18, 2008 at 10:20:25 PM EDT

Frank LoBiondo votes for ethics reform? Not really.

by: Hopeful

Wed Mar 12, 2008 at 10:49:54 PM EDT

It might not surprise you that Representative Frank LoBiondo (NJ2), one of the few "moderate" Repulicans voting yea on Vote 122, actually tried to defeat the measure in Vote 121.   At least Reps. Frelinghuysen, Garrett, and Smith, and lame ducks Saxton and Ferguson, were open about their votes to kill it both times.  It'll be interesting to see if local papers notice LoBiondo's trick... Anyone willing to bet that they will?

Reforming New Jersey State Government

by: Matthew Jordan

Thu Jan 24, 2008 at 12:13:40 AM EST

New Jersey?s political system following the Constitutional Convention in 1947 arranged the government to create the most powerful executive branch in the United States.  The political corruption that runs rampant in the state can be directly linked to the structure that has been set in place, the consolidation of power in the executive, the strength of the party organizations, and sometimes conflicting roles that government officials can play.  

To root out these issues in New Jersey and create a more efficient and effect state government reforms must be made.  Dual office holding must be fully abolished and not grandfathered.  Pay-to-play and no bid contracts must be made illegal on all levels of New Jersey government, even if it initially means an executive order by Governor Corzine.  The wheeling of campaign funds by the legislative leadership must be eliminated.  

Furthermore, there are several reforms that can be made concerning the structure of the government that could be essential in creating more oversight and rooting out corruption.  The Attorney General & State Comptroller should become statewide elected officials.  This is an important reform on several levels.  For one, it weakens the executive branch and creates credible agents to provide oversight and conduct investigations.  Also, it makes both of the positions more responsive to the public because they become elected officials.  Appointed officials are historical ineffective at providing oversight over their own political party and in some cases become an arm of the Governor.    

The incoming Lt. Governor should be given the Senate President role; much like how the Vice-President resides over the United States Senate.  This gives the office more authority and allows the Lt. Governor to act as a liaison between the State Legislature and the Governor?s office.  In its current form New Jersey?s Lt. Governor is going to be nothing more than a ticket-balancer that?s only function is to wait and around and step in if the Governor is killed, injured, or out the state.  

In order to enact a progressive agenda and enact serious social change the Democratic Party in New Jersey must create a progressive atmosphere.  By enacting sweeping reforms and creating more checks and balances our government will become more effective and create a more progressive ambiance.  

Finally, sweeping changes must be made the current Legislative and Congressional district maps.  Districts must be drawn more balanced to create as many competitive races as possible.  Legislators that are constantly facing tough reelection prospects will be more responsive and accountable to their constituents.  Additionally, matching public funds must be enacted statewide in primary and general elections.  Third party candidates must be given equal matching funds and Speaker Roberts has indicated that this will be on the upcoming Legislative agenda which is a step in the right direction.  Legislators should be able to become independent of the county organizations and given the ability to raise money in a more democratic, grassroots manner.  These are bold and radical steps in reforming how our state government operates, but in my opinion necessary in creating a more democratic society.  

A Modest Proposal for Reform

by: Thurman Hart

Fri Jan 18, 2008 at 03:36:52 PM EST

Why not install "kickback cameras" on housing inspectors and such?  "pay-to-play cameras" could be installed in contactors who compete for public contracts.  "General corruption cameras" could be embedded in the foreheads of our elected officials.

The Party Democracy Act -- a Step in the Right Direction

by: mikeshapiro

Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 08:51:44 PM EST

Open thread: Setting the agenda

by: Hank Kalet

Thu Nov 08, 2007 at 03:13:46 PM EST

Jump in and offer your thoughs. Mine are below the fold.

Genuine Leadership-A Pipe Dream?

by: mikeshapiro

Thu Oct 25, 2007 at 12:23:42 AM EDT

LD37 Legislators uncover NJ "Shadow Governments" & Initiate "Clean Up New Jersey"

by: carolh

Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 02:33:49 PM EDT

At an 11 am press conference today, the LD37 Legislators, Senator Loretta Weinberg & Assemblymembers Valerie Huttle and Gordon Johnson explained their findings after months of painstaking research of NJ corruption, and announced their plans to reform NJ ethics laws.  Their approach is based firmly on the hard facts obtained that show clearly that the current laws are full of loopholes that allow literally MILLIONS of dollars to flow from the taxpayers to a few individuals.  What they uncovered, they said was only "the tip of the iceberg". 

They want to clean house and end the "Seven Habits of Highly Ineffective Government":

1) "Shadow Governments" - like the Passaic Valley Sewer Authority and the Bergen County Improvement Authority. These public entities have absolutely no oversight and you need to be a detective to connect where the money goes.  Also, the Governor has no veto power over their meeting minutes - which means he has no ability to stop an action taken by the body. 

2) Part Time legislature - which can present conflict of interest issues.

3) Loopholes in State "Pay to Play" laws.  Currently, there is not enough trransparency about where the money goes when PACs are involved.  Also, Pay-to-Play laws don't stop redevelopers from seeking eminent domain to cash in. 

4) Unfairness in political party operations.  Selection of party officials and the review process used to fill legislative vacancies is currently not transparent.  If you need a reminder, see my diaries on the BCDO.

5) Campaign financing.  It currently allows Pay-to-Play to occur and removes the people from the process. Money gets funneled up down and all around the state.

6) Lack of Transparency in hiring lobbyists.  Currently in places like the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission, folks like Joe Ferriero (you knew he'd come up - didn't you?)  who not only is a paid employee of the commission - (he makes $45,000 per year WITH pension and benefits) on top of running his own private law firm, earned an additional $719,000 in legal fees in 2006 ALONE.  Nope, I didn't add an extra zero.  He made over half a million in addition to his salary and benefits.  If you count since 2001 - he has made $4.5 MILLION dollars in legal billings alone.  That's taxpayer money, folks.  YOUR Money.  With NO oversight.

7) Loopholes in local government ethics laws.  In non partisan elections, such as in Teaneck, local government officials don't need to submit financial disclosure statements until a year after they are sworn in. That's a long time. Talk about locking the barn door too late.

NJ Legislators have already brought some bills to the Legislature. Here is a rundown of each bill, by name:

S677/A1730  by Weinberg/Johnson/Voss
This would give the Governor veto power over the minutes of any commission as a check so that he can prevent the body from taking action or hiring a no show lobbyist or "consultant".

SCR122/ACR259 by Doria/Greenstein and Gusciora/Manzo/Johnson respectively
These bills would provide for a full time legislature. The difference in the two bills has to do with how the salaries are set - by either the legislature itself, or an independent commission. 

S214/A4164 by Weinberg/Karcher/Buono/Johnson/Huttle
Would close loopholes in the current "Pay-To-Play" laws.

S1599/A4235 by Weinberg/Karcher/Johnson/Huttle
This would force even those running in non-partisan elections to file their financial records withoin 30 days of being sworn in instead of a year AFTER. 

Senator Weinberg, when announcing these initiatives, collectively called "Clean Up New Jersey", stated that public service should once again be a "public mission & not a moneymaking machine for any one or any one group of people."

Assemblywoman Huttle stated that "The buck has to stop somewhere" while speaking about the use of a state comptroller who would perform an annual audit and act as  check against the kind of abuse of the public trust in matters of financial responsibility. 

As part of the initiative, Assemblywoman Huttle spoke of a new process whereby taxpayers could get online access to see exactly how many lobbyists are employed by a public entity. 

New bills will be announced on October 16 jointly with the Citizen's Campaign.  Further measures include limiting contibutions from those doing business with public entities.  and also to limit contributions by developers in discussions with public entities.  Keeping money in the district in which it is raised is one way they hope to limit the influence of PACS as well as limiting the # of PACS one individual can manage.

Gordon Johnson said that Clean Elections financing is part of the whole effort and puts "Democracy back in the people's hands".  It gets the average voter much more involved in the whole process.  While Clean Elections still needs a little tweaking paper-workwise, the LD37 team said that they hoped the rest of the state would use Clean Elections as it clearly worked.  They pointed out that Dems in clearly R districts earned their Clean Elections funds.

And now, all is clear.  I get it.  I totally understand why Joe Ferriero and Dennis Oury spent 4 million of BCDO money on the race for the County Executive in Bergen County.  You see, the County gets to appoint the folks to these "shadow governments"  with the ability to spend your money like drunken sailors WITHOUT having to ask you or even EXPLAIN it to you.  You have to control the County appointments in order to control these money making machines.  Joe Ferriero doesn't care about Hillary, or even Scott Garrett, which is why he spent so little to win the 5th seat.  It would not have affected his secret ATM the way that losing the County Executive seat would have.  Here is the explanation of what has been nagging me for so long.  It isn't about politics, or even government, it is solely about greed and personal gain for a few people. 

Now, this works the same ALL OVER THE STATE apparently, so if you are in South Jersey too, take heed.  Get your legislators on the phone and tell them you want to "Clean Up New Jersey" and that you want them to pass these initiatives or you will NOT vote for them this November.  The power is in the hands of the Counties, and to keep the money flowing, folks like Joe Ferriero will do whatever they can, to keep control of the Party Organizations and the County government in their hands for the reasons, your LD37 team outlined today.  And, they will do ANYTHING to control state legislative seats that could potentially pass laws to stop their gravy train.  The reason the Senate seats are the most valuable is because of Senatorial Courtesy which can prevent an honest judicial appointee from investigating what the folks in the shadows want to keep secret.   

If NJ folks are still wondering why living here costs so much after this explanation, they aren't paying attention.  Wake them up. 

P.S. This took a lot of homework, but no Clean Elections money was used in this act of selfless pure public service, and according to elec, it would have been allowed ANYWAY, Ms. Nibot.