* * Bricktown Update * *

Well • • • There’s Good News And There’s Bad News

The Good News Is That Councilman Steve Acropolis Was Able To Keep A Straight Face As He Charged The Scarpelli Administration With Operating A “Spoils System"

The Bad News Is That Hypocrisy Like This Almost Guarantees The Republican Spoils System, More Spoiled Than Even Scarpelli Dreamed Of, Will Almost Certainly Be Back If The GOP Sweeps In 2003 Council Election

And Then There’s Senator Bennett - Showing Us All Once Again That Sanctimony Always Lurks Just Below The Surface

Brick Township: Councilman Steve Acropolis says the Scarpelli administration is engaging in Play for Pay.

He cites several projects like Paramount Properties application before the Zoning Board and says it’s getting favorable consideration because Paramount provides campaign funds for Brick Pride Democratic Municipal Committee, the Political Action Committee slush fund that finances Democratic campaigns in Brick.

Scarpelli Says Acropolis Is Punching Smoke

Scarpelli says Acropolis is punching smoke: “It is something that is common all over the state and I would think the same thing is going on in the Republican Party. It is all legal”, he told the Asbury Park Press.

The mayor would be right about the Republicans, who can hold their own regarding hypocrisy and fund raising every day of the week.

What the mayor didn’t mention about play for pay is the present system, with all its flaws, preserves a certain level of accountability and visibility: we know al about the amounts and the frequency of campaign contributions because, they are reported as required.

If You Outlawed Play For Pay, The Perps Would Just Go Underground

If you outlawed play for pay, the perps would just go underground, and you wouldn’t know a thing about who’s making the contributions; who’s paying and who’s playing.

Like in the Pajama Game, the labor negotiation musical from the 1950's, “Let’s Take An Example Just For Fun”.

Take Senator Bennett • • • Please!

Take Senator John Bennett, who got a bond counsel job in Dover Township last year. ($250 an hour) If John Bennett wanted to show his gratitude for the Bond counsel job in Dover Township last year, what would he do?

Maybe the local Republicans would tell him he could show proper gratitude by giving $15,000 to the walkin’ around euphemism called “Citizens for Affordable Government” that was propping up the unaffordable local government disaster in Dover Township by opposing the change of government referendum that wanted to change it so it got more • • • affordable?

Fork Over The $15,000 Himself? No Way, Jack!

So Senator John Bennett would be faced with two choices: he could fork over the $15,000 himself, in which case it would be nice and public and accountable, but his name would be mentioned, which might make him uncomfortable and, by the way, the $15,000 is more than double the maximum permitted by “law”.

The other alternative would be much cleaner and more antiseptic: he could give the fifteen large through any one of a number of statewide PACs he might control; there would be no messy complications, like some upstart idealist accusing him of play for pay - and, he might even escape the discomfort of using his own money.

The Senate Republican Majority

Let’s see; John is a State Senator; John is a Republican; John is the Senate Co-President, representing the • • • • Senate Republican Majority.

Why not call it that, Jack? The Senate Republican Majority?? Good name for a PAC, Jack?

Connect the dots, Steve, and you’ll soon know why the proposed “reforms” are nothing but baloney.

Which would you rather have, the semi-accountability and semi-visibility of the current system, where everything is nice and direct (sometimes), or the Bennett-style hidden $15,000 routine, where integrity is simply swallowed up by an institutionalized quarterly cover-up somewhere on the other side of the state.

If anybody ever asked him, what would Bennett say about why the “Senate Republican Majority” would be giving $15,000 to a change of government referendum in Dover Township - in an off year?

Just good government, probably.

For a related letter from Theresa Casares of Brick, check out the letters to the editor section.             (4/3/03)

For previous article where Barrett attacked Max The Puppet, Click here.

© Copyright 2003-2007 Ocean County Politics .com. All Rights Reserved.
Questions & Comments: gvgeditor@aol.com