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ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS HERALD |
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PAY-TO-PLAY ORDINANCES ARE NOT PERFECT Last week, the Atlantic Highlands Borough Council joined the growing number of towns supporting a ban on “Pay to Play” By a unanimous vote, including my own, the governing body passed a series of ordinances that deal with the “Pay to Play” issue. While the measures passed with bi-partisan support, one is left to wonder what effect the ordinances will have on our small town. Throughout New Jersey, supporters of the “Pay to Play” bills contend that passage is the first step towards cleaning up municipal government. To a certain extent, that is true but everyone knows that corrupt politicians will always find a way to skirt the law. So far in New Jersey, no politician has gone to jail for violating a “Pay to Play” ordinance. Nor are there any assurances that local “Pay to Play” ordinances will withstand court challenges over time. Furthermore, most “Pay to Play” ordinances do not cover all elections, as school board and fire district elections are exempt. It should also be noted that the version passed earlier this month by the state legislature is far weaker than that passed by Atlantic Highlands and surrounding municipalities. Unfortunately, the Trenton Democrats are in no hurry to pass a tougher ban, so smaller towns like Atlantic Highlands are left to fill the void. Will banning “Pay to Play” make a difference in Atlantic Highlands? The jury is out because most of our burg is already developed, so passing an ordinance forcing developers to disclose campaign contributions was seen as no big deal. Political veterans from both parties were openly skeptical about the ordinances and pointed out loopholes that still exist under the new ordinances. There is also some uncertainty about how to finance a campaign in a small town; to say nothing about restricting someone’s right to squander their fortune for a job that pays peanuts per year. No one was claiming that the adopted version of “Pay to Play” was bullet proof, and sometimes legislation isn’t perfect, but at the end of the day, both parties made a statement for clean government, and considered that progress.
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