Prioritization, Planning and Compromise: Key Elements of Successful Legislative Dealings
It was a sweltering evening at the Ethical Culture Society in Teaneck where the Republican Freeholder incumbent Rob Hermansen and Democratic hopefuls Tracy Zur and Steve Tanelli presented their goals and aspirations for Bergen County.
The event, hosted by Bergen Grassroots, seemed to be attended primarily by members of the Democratic party. As a result, I tried to keep a low profile, until Freeholder Hermansen came over to introduce himself. I felt like I might be his only friend in the room! When I told him I was with Save Jersey, he smiled and said, “Good.” And then the woman next to me quickly introduced herself as a tea party activist, very quietly.
Three of us! Excellent.
The other Republican candidate, as well as the Green Party candidates, were not in attendance for the debate, so we only got the viewpoints of half the ballot. And overall, I have to say it was rather civil. It got a little intense at times, but the candidates overall were respectful and engaging. Not too much drama. I guess the lack of air conditioning in the building mellowed everyone out.
The three candidates that were present highlighted their viewpoints on several major issues, beginning with the pay to play ordinance…
Context: on Wednesday evening, modifications to the pay to play ordinance were passed by the Bergen County Freeholders to remove requirements imposing limits on contractors making contributions to federal, state and municipal candidates, as well as to county political committees. However, county campaigns including county executive, sheriff, surrogate, freeholders, clerk would still be subject to these limits.
Freeholder Hermansen maintained his dissent when questioned about the vote. He strongly supports Kathe Donovan’s position on pay to play and her veto on the changes that were passed, as well as a grassroots process for collecting campaign funds. Zur and Tanelli also both support pay to play and transparency in campaign donations. Zur went on to further state that she believes all county officials and parties should be governed by pay to play reform, but that the reform should not have the reach to regulate federal campaign contributions.
The next big topic was around the consolidation of the county police and sheriff’s departments, which was met with resistance from Freeholder Hermansen, not because he doesn’t see the value in reducing taxpayer burden, but because there is no specific plan of action in place to carry out the merger efficiently and effectively. Zur and Tanelli also maintained that a plan needs to be created to ensure that public safety is never in jeopardy. And when Hermansen’s opponents pointed out that he could have had a voice at the table for the recent vote but opted out, he justified his decision by stating that the information to be voted on was only provided 15 minutes prior to the meeting when in fact it should have been provided 48 hours prior. He suggest there might might have been back room politicking going on around this vote.
One of the general arguments against this consolidation is the fact that the entirety of county law enforcement functions should not fall under the sheriff, which is an elected position not requiring a background in law enforcement. This point resonates with me – from a corporate standpoint, it is like merging the Sales Department under the Chief Information Officer who runs technology operations for a company. These are very disparate functions, each requiring very specific leadership, proficiencies and experience levels. It is unreasonable to think that the CIO of a company can provide sufficient direction and guidance to a Sales organization. There are very different skill sets required for each type of position in order to maintain efficiencies and be successful.
The next major topic for debate was “RGGI” (Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative) and this is where the conversation got a bit more heated. “RGGI” is a multi-state cap-and-trade program with the goal to reduce carbon emissions 10 percent by 2018. Zur and Tanelli were staunchly opposed to the state withdrawal from this initiative.
According to Governor Christie, the initiative has been a “failure” and he believes that it has been ineffective in battling global emissions (www.northjersey.com).
“RGGI” has a great deal of Democratic support so it was not surprising that contenders Zur and Tanelli were very much opposed to a withdrawal, although Freeholder Hermansen maintains that corporations should not be subjected to a forced tax if they do not operate according to the guidelines set out for the initiative. Instead, he maintains that there are already regulations in place to govern corporate actions, and that the already-established local laws should be enforced and companies penalized when applicable. I certainly concur with that. Creation of jobs to duplicate efforts of existing legislation seems to be counterproductive and will ultimately cost the taxpayers more money in the long run.
Finally, we approached the subject of Xanadu, the eye sore off of the New Jersey Turnpike located in East Rutherford. I was very curious to see what the candidates’ reactions would be around progressing this venture that was originally intended to be a mega-mall slash entertainment center.
County Executive Kathe Donovan recently took issue with the respective owners of the Jets and Giants over their aversion to furthering the development of this building. The teams filed a lawsuit to prevent progress on the complex, which is scheduled to be completed in 2014.
The team ownership is concerned that the center will cause excessive congestion and traffic that will impede the fan base from being able to commute to the stadium. They do not want the overall fan experience to be tainted by difficult travel. However, the developers, as well as the County Executive maintain that completing this complex will provide for the betterment of the residents and the economy on the whole because of all of the new jobs that will be created for the construction, maintenance and ongoing operations.
Refreshingly, all three candidates see this project as a benefit to residents and to the creation of jobs and they agree that the current infrastructure needs to be evaluated so as not to interrupt status quo of the nearby towns. Transit definitely requires an overhaul, and blue laws need to be upheld for the county. And I am certain that residents will be happy to know that they all support the continued development with as much private equity as possible, so as not to use additional tax dollars that should be applied to other areas.
In closing, all three candidates had an opportunity to present their final remarks. The main message I took away from this debate was that prioritization and planning are key to success in county government. The Freeholders have done a great deal for Bergen in the past couple of years, and they also recognize the value of compromise.
Freeholder Hermansen’s record shows that he is a proven advocate for the advancement of Bergen County, and I believe that Bergen County residents will choose to move forward with candidates who uphold these objectives.
Does Hermansen have a chance? That party is at each other's throats 24/7 and Barack Hussein is going to win Bergen by 10 or more points.
I agree, there is not much cohesion among Republican party members on the Bergen Freeholder Board. However, Hermansen has a solid record – hopefully voters will remember his accomplishments when they visit the polls on Nov. 6.