Obstacles Ahead For Political Reformers

The Record
November 12, 2007
By Serdar Tumgoren

BERGENFIELD -- Newly elected Democrats looking to "clean up" Borough Hall may be headed toward a clash with members of their own party.

Plans by Mayor-elect Timothy Driscoll to audit the operations and budgets of municipal departments, quash the influence of campaign contributions and fire a politically connected borough attorney are already inciting opposition from Borough Council members allied with the Bergen County Democratic Organization.

Driscoll is not shying away from a potential fight. But he said he hopes to cooperate with an all-Democratic council to rid the town of its ties to the county Democratic organization. He and his running mates, incumbent Councilman Bruce Carlson and Councilman-elect Barry Doll, say their resounding election victory last week was a mandate for their clean-government platform.

When Driscoll takes office in January, they plan to propose a "pay-to-play" ordinance that would limit political contributions from businesses that work for the borough or hope to win lucrative government contracts.

"The reason we're so hot on pay-to-play is that because ... of the quantity of money one side can get, the opposing candidates can't do anything. They know they can't win," Driscoll said. "And the boss who controls the contributions can pick who gets the jobs and contracts. It corrupts the system. It's got to go."

Also on the chopping block is the law firm of Dennis Oury, the legal counsel to the BCDO, who has publicly questioned the constitutionality of the state's pay-to-play law.

"[Oury] is part of a group trying to get people elected," Driscoll said. "I want somebody outside the process."

Council President Elaine Rabbitt, head of the borough Democratic Committee, defended Oury as a "top municipal attorney" and said she would oppose a move to replace him. She also said the state's pay-to-play law "might be unconstitutional" and that she prefers to see if it stands up to a legal challenge.

"I don't agree with some of the things they say and are interested in doing, but that's why we're there -- to discuss it and put it all on the table," Rabbitt said.

Councilman Dennis Mulligan, whose write-in campaign against Driscoll earned him fewer than 200 votes, shared Rabbitt's sentiments on Oury and the pay-to-play law. And both council members questioned the mayor-elect's call for an audit.

Driscoll said a group of accountants and lawyers who supported his campaign has volunteered to comb through each department's budget and assess its operations. The hope, Driscoll said, is to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

Doll, a retired accountant who plans to lead the audit, said the process would differ from a typical yearly financial audit that only ensures compliance with accounting regulations.

"A management audit looks at the type of spending and whether it's necessary," he said. "Can there be some efficiencies found?"

Doll and Driscoll said that some potential savings might come from privatizing certain government services, though they would not name any departments.

"We're short-staffed in Borough Hall as it is," Mulligan said. "We've got people working two to three positions. I am against privatization. Totally against it. When you talk about privatization, you're talking about layoffs. I'm a union man."

The wild cards in the new administration may prove to be Councilmen Robert Gillman and Thomas Lodato. Both said they're "open" to the idea of a pay-to-play law, but would hold off judgment until they see the proposal. Gillman said he would oppose any privatization that would mean the loss of union jobs, but said he would consider replacing Oury as long as Driscoll can find a firm with similar qualifications. Lodato, a lawyer based in Hackensack, said he would oppose a move to replace the town attorney.

"When they speak of Dennis Oury," Lodato said of his new council colleagues, "they always describe him as connected to the Democratic organization. I think an equal label for him is 'expert in municipal law.' He really is experienced in all aspects of that law, and we're fortunate to have him as our attorney."

Driscoll said the pay-to-play ordinance aims to loosen former Mayor Kevin Clancy's continued influence on local politics through Rabbitt, Clancy's live-in girlfriend.

"Mr. Driscoll has a very active imagination," Clancy said. "Everything's a conspiracy with him. It's over two years now that I haven't been involved in politics. But I do make political contributions to candidates that I like. For them to mention me ... I guess I'm like Clinton with the conservative talk-show hosts."

The pay-to-play ordinance Driscoll and his running mates will propose would not only limit spending on candidates running for Bergenfield offices, but also cap the amount businesses could give to county committees such as those controlled by BCDO Chairman Joseph Ferriero.

Carlson acknowledged that Clancy, Ferriero and Oury are linked in the public mind with the pay-to-play system, but he said no one person is to blame for that style of politics.

"The way I look at things is that it's a political machine that has utilized the pay-to-play system, and at this point has gone too far and needs to be reeled in," he said. "Getting our town free from that whole machine is the most important thing."

Mulligan was skeptical of the agenda being pushed by the mayor-elect and his running mates.

"They're walking in with a dream that they can change the whole structure of government," he said. "You can't do it. You simply can't do it."