27 of 120 legislators report additional income on top of $49K-a-year salary
View of the Assembly Chamber at the Statehouse. Nearly a third of New Jersey legislators hold a second publicly-funded or government job. TRENTON — Nearly one-third of New Jersey’s 120 legislators hold another elected office or publicly funded job, something most states already limit and Gov. Chris Christie wants to outlaw.
Twenty-seven legislators reported additional income on top of their $49,000-a-year legislative salary from a position, contract or business relationship with at least one other government agency in New Jersey, according to a Record analysis of public disclosure and employment forms filed earlier this year.
And despite a ban enacted three years ago, 10 New Jersey lawmakers still hold another elected office.
Three lawmakers fell into both categories in 2009, the last year for which complete disclosure information is available. The three, a Democrat and two Republicans, reported that they served simultaneously as a lawmaker, local elected official and employee of another government agency.
Christie has proposed legislation that would prohibit lawmakers from holding another elected office — closing the loophole written into the 2007 ban — and bar them from working for another government agency in New Jersey.
“Ethics reform in New Jersey has been a patchwork of half-measures that failed to be fair and uniform, left gaping loopholes for special interests to maneuver through and fell far short of what the public demands,” said Christie, a former federal prosecutor who made a name for himself by targeting corrupt politicians.
“These measures are about good, open and honest government, where the playing field is level for everyone and the rules are unambiguous,” he said.
Most states have curbs
Half of the 50 states currently ban dual office-holding of any kind, and most of the rest restrict the type of elected office that can be held by lawmakers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
New Jersey’s 2007 ban on dual office-holding, however, grandfathered those who already held two elected offices, including Senate President Stephen Sweeney, who is also a freeholder in Gloucester County, and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Paul Sarlo, who is also the mayor of Wood-Ridge.
Sarlo did not respond to an interview request, but aide Chris Eilert said the senator believes voters have the opportunity to reject dual office-holding when they go to the polls — and he keeps getting reelected.
“That’s democracy in action,” Eilert said.
Most states also place some type of limit on the kind of government job a legislator can hold, and nine ban the practice altogether, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Twenty states are like New Jersey, which has no restrictions on lawmakers working for other governments, such as Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, who also serves as Essex County administrator, and Assembly Majority Leader Joe Cryan, who is an undersheriff in Union County.
Oliver, through a spokesman, declined to be interviewed. In a statement, Oliver said she opposes Christie’s proposal.
“Devoted public servants like teachers, police officers and firefighters have as much a right in our democracy to serve in public office as everyone else,” Oliver said. “I will not support legislation that restricts their ability to add to the diversity of thought so vital to a strong democracy.”
‘Conflicts of obligation’
New Jersey Policy Perspective, a liberal Trenton think tank, targeted dual office-holding in a 2006 report that cited examples of how the practice can “create conflicts of obligation, erode accountability and promote parochialism.”
And the think tank’s 2007 report on legislators who hold another public job documented the ways it can foster corruption and lead to “mutual back-scratching that can benefit the participants at the public’s expense.”
Now, Christie — a Republican who is enjoying a more than 50 percent approval rating, according to a recent Fairleigh Dickinson University poll — is pushing to end both practices.
To get the reforms passed, however, he’ll need cooperation from a Democratic-controlled Legislature that has been taking its time reviewing a whole host of reforms the governor has proposed this fall as part of a larger reform effort that also includes changes intended to lower local property taxes.
And it’s unclear how many lawmakers’ jobs his bill will apply to since the governor has yet to release a copy of the proposed legislation.
Still, Christie has a “credibility advantage” over the Democrats when it comes to public support for reform, according to Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.
In a recent survey conducted by Murray’s institute, more than 70 percent of those polled said they share Christie’s view that no one should receive two public paychecks, while more than 80 percent said they have little to no faith in the Democratic lawmakers’ commitment to reform.
Which legislators hold more than one publicly-funded job:
State lawmakers are paid $49,000 annually during their terms, with leaders in the Assembly and Senate making a third more.
Lawmakers are required to report all other sources of income every year, including from other elected offices and government jobs, but they are not required to disclose exactly how much they make. Current law requires lawmakers to disclose only whether their pay fits into four categories, ranging from less than $10,000 to $50,000 and above.
The following details which lawmakers have reported holding another elected office, government job, or both, since 2009.
Legislators who hold another elected office:
1. Sen. Nicholas Sacco, D-Hudson, North Bergen mayor
2. Sen. Paul Sarlo, D-Bergen, Wood-Ridge mayor
3. Sen. Robert Singer, R-Ocean, Lakewood Township Committee member
4. Sen. Brian Stack, D-Hudson, Union City mayor
5. Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, Gloucester County freeholder
6. Assemblyman John Burzichelli, D-Gloucester, Paulsboro mayor
7. Assemblyman Ralph Caputo, D-Essex, Essex County freeholder
8. Assemblyman Ronald Dancer, R-Ocean, Plumsted mayor
9. Assemblyman Joseph V. Egan, D-Middlesex, New Brunswick city councilman
10. Assemblyman Gary Schaer, D-Passaic, Passaic city councilman
Legislators who work for or have a business relationship with another government agency:
1. Sen. Christopher Bateman, R-Somerset, Bridgewater prosecutor, Bound Brook prosecutor
2. Sen. Nia Gill, Essex County Improvement Authority attorney
3. Sen. Sean Kean, R-Monmouth, Howell prosecutor, Tinton Falls prosecutor, Union Beach assistant prosecutor
4. Sen. Fred Madden, D-Gloucester, Gloucester County College Dean of Security
5. Sen. Kevin O’Toole, D-Essex, O’Toole, Fernandez Weiner, Van Lieu law firm retained by Union City
6. Sen. Teresa Ruiz, D-Essex, deputy chief of staff, Essex County Executive’s Office
7. Sen. Nicholas Sacco, D-Hudson, North Bergen Board of Education assistant superintendent of schools
8. Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, Linden prosecutor
9. Sen. Robert Singer, R-Ocean, Lakewood Municipal Utilities Authority
10. Sen. Robert Smith, D-Middlesex, Bob Smith & Associates has legal contracts with many Middlesex County towns
11. Sen. Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic, Atlantic City school teacher
12. Assemblyman Peter J. Barnes, D-Middlesex, Franklin Fire District attorne
13. Assemblyman Anthony Bucco, R-Morris, Netcong borough attorney; Roxbury Township attorney; Randolph associate counsel; Parsippany associate counsel; Montville Township Fire District attorney; Parsippany Fire District attorney; Hanover Fire District attorney
14. Assemblyman Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, Woodbridge Township attorney
15. Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, D-Union, Union County undersheriff
16. Assemblyman Ronald Dancer, R-Ocean, Ocean County Adjusters Office interviewer
17. Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan, R-Middlesex, Spotswood Borough attorney
18. Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, D-Mercer, Lawrence prosecutor, Hopewell prosecutor, The College of New Jersey adjunct professor
19. Assemblyman Charles Mainor, D-Hudson, Jersey City police detective
20. Assemblyman Joseph Malone, R-Burlington, Bordentown Sewerage Authority
21. Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, Essex County administrator
22. Assemblyman Vince Polistina, R-Atlantic, Egg Harbor Township Municipal Utilities Authority engineer
23. Assemblyman Vincent Prieto, D-Hudson, Secaucus construction official, Guttenberg construction official
24. Assemblywoman Annette Quijano, D-Union, Elizabeth legal department, Hillside Municipal Court, Kean University adjunct professor
25. Assemblyman Ruben Ramos, D-Hudson, Paterson school teacher
26. Assemblywoman Grace Spencer, D-Essex, West Orange prosecutor
27. Assemblyman David Wolfe, R-Ocean, Ocean County College professor
Legislators who hold both another elected office and receive a publicly funded paycheck:
1. Sen. Nicholas Sacco, D-Hudson, North Bergen mayor, North Bergen Board of Education assistant superintendent of schools
2. Sen. Robert Singer, R-Ocean, Lakewood committee, Lakewood Municipal Utilities Authority
3. Assemblyman Ronald Dancer, R-Ocean, Plumsted mayor, Ocean County Adjusters Office interviewer
Source: New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure and assumption of public employment forms