Candidates trade shots over political donations
Marlboro race heats up after council revises pay-to-play ordinance
BY REBECCA MORTON Staff Writer

MARLBORO - With the Township Council's adoption last week of an amended pay-to-play ordinance, Republican and Democratic candidates in the upcoming municipal election are firing shots back and forth over money received by the other party.

In a press release dated Sept. 14 the Republican candidates announced their commitment to abide by Marlboro's new pay-to-play provisions. Republican Mayor Robert Kleinberg is seeking his second four-year term. His running mates are council members Joseph Pernice and Patti Morelli, both seeking their second fouryear terms.

Pay to play is the phrase that has come to describe donations that are made by campaign contributors, oftentimes professionals such as legal or engineering firms, with the hope or expectation of receiving public contacts following the election of the person to whom they have made the donation.

The newest form of Marlboro's pay-toplay ordinance includes limiting political contributions to $1,000 from county and state political parties, political action committees (PAC), other candidate committees, and state legislative leadership committees. According to the ordinance, developers and redevelopers are prohibited from making political contributions.

In the press release, Kleinberg said, "We are so committed to restoring honesty and integrity to town government that we have been voluntarily abiding by one of the most stringent pay-to-play provisions in the entire state before the ordinance has even been enacted."

The pay-to-play ordinance was adopted at the Sept. 20 council meeting.

The Republicans allege that Democratic candidate Jonathan Hornik has accepted contributions nearing $1,500 in "tainted money."

Kleinberg said that what the Republicans are calling "tainted money" was $1,500 that came to Hornik from Union County politicians.

Hornik is seeking his first term as mayor. His running mates seeking seats on the council are Frank LaRocca and Randi Marder.

"I challenge Mr. Hornik to stop accepting tainted money, return all contributions that violate the proposed law and join me in running a campaign that is free of the corrupting influences of the past," Kleinberg said in the press release.

Hornik fired back at the GOP, saying, "Our campaign is 100 percent in compliance with all applicable laws. Just as he doesn't tell the truth about his massive tax increases and overdevelopment, Mayor Kleinberg isn't telling the truth again."

Hornik asked Kleinberg to return money he took from former Mayor Matthew Scannapieco, indicted developers, and developers for whom his administration has recently approved projects.

Documents show funds received from the Friends of Matthew Scannapieco fund and from Triangle Ridge at Marlboro, LLC, a property of Bernard Meiterman. The money from the Scannapieco fund was delivered to the Marlboro Township Republican Club in 2004. Also in 2004, money was given to Kleinberg's cultural fundraising ball by Triangle Ridge. These amounts were given prior to this year's election race.

Hornik said in a press release that Kleinberg received $5,200 on June 3, 2007 from John and Virginia Croddick. Three months earlier approval had been given for three residential subdivisions on a 6.8-acre piece of property on Buckley Road.

Documents from the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission show that during the primary election campaign Kleinberg received $2,600 each from John Croddick and Virginia Croddick on June 3.

Croddick did have an application before the Zoning Board of Adjustment, first heard in November 2006 and then approved on Feb. 20. According to a copy of the resolution, Croddick applied to the zoning board for a density variance. A parcel of land on Buckley Road is where the subdivision is located.

"Mayor Kleinberg says he's against taking money from developers while he has the cash from them in his hands," Hornik said. "Mayor Kleinberg wants to talk about the corrupting 'influences of the past' when he's the leader of the corrupting influences of the present."

Kleinberg volleyed Hornik's shot right back, saying, "My opponent is once again distorting the truth to divert attention from the fact that he has accepted tainted money. This is typical of the Marlboro Democratic Party, which is more interested in turning back the clock on the progress we have made than in running an honest campaign."

The mayor said Hornik is aware that he (Kleinberg) is not an officer of the Marlboro Republican Club. He said he has never been involved in fundraising for the club and has never accepted penny from the club.

"Mr. Hornik is also distorting the truth regarding contributions from indicted developers, the Meitermans, to the Mayor's Ball. Mr. Hornik knows this organization was formed by the corrupt and convicted former mayor of Marlboro and is in no way connected to my office or me. In fact, on May 2, 2005, I handdelivered a letter to former Democratic Party Chair Sherry Hoffer and read it into the zoning board's public record that states this very fact," the mayor said in a press release.

The new pay-to-play was created with the help of Heather Taylor, communications director with the Citizens' Campaign, Kleinberg said.

During the public session prior to the ordinance's adoption, Taylor spoke in favor of Marlboro's strict pay-to-play regulation, saying there are too many stories in New Jersey dealing with these issues. She called the evening of the council meeting "critical."

While reading a previous article about Marlboro's tougher pay-to-play standards, one citizen of Manalapan found what he believes may be possible loopholes in the law. In a letter to Greater Media Newspapers, Raymond Kostanty described how he believes a candidate's committee could still raise up to $21,000 from counties around the state.

He noted that the law now outlaws the practice of wheeling contributions by preventing candidates from accepting political donations beyond a $1,000 limit from county political parties, state political parties, PACs, other candidate committees and state legislative leadership committees. The ordinance also prohibits developers and redevelopers from making political contributions.

Wheeling is a term that has come to describe the practice of having a third party make a contribution to a candidate in an attempt to hide the true source of the contribution (e.g. a builder does not want to be linked directly to a campaign, but wants to make a donation. The builder donates money to a political organization in another county. That political organization donates the same amount of money to the candidate. The builder's donation has been "wheeled" into the campaign, but the builder is not directly linked to the candidate).

Kostanty pointed out that a candidate's committee could accept $1,000 from each of New Jersey's 21 counties, equaling $21,000.

The candidate can receive another $1,000 from the state political party of his/her affiliation, and $1,000 from each of something called legislative leadership committees, he wrote.

"But there's more: a candidate can accept $1,000 per election from a township committee of the township in which he/she resides. Add it all up, that could be over $24,000 they are allowing each candidate to accept directly or through their committees from a single crooked company," Kostanty wrote. "And what's the penalty for taking contributions beyond the bogus $1,000 limit? A fine of $2,000. That's a pretty good return."

When asked about these possible loopholes in the law, Kleinberg replied that the process of making pay-to-play and wheeling illegal is a dynamic process.

"I'm sure people will find ways around it," the mayor said, "Right now (the Marlboro law) is one of the strictest in the state. We will have to keep making it better as time goes on."