County pay-to-play ban postponed until the fall Members of public express skepticism, disappointment BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer MIDDLETOWN - For one last wild summer, it'll be politics as usual for pay-to-play in Monmouth County. On June 28, the Monmouth County Freeholders announced the controversial practice will continue until at least Sept. 1, the date they plan to enact "the toughest pay-to-play" law in the state, Freeholder Robert Clifton said. "We are at a detour, not at a dead-end," said Freeholder Barbara McMorrow during a June 28 meeting held at Middletown town hall. The board was scheduled to vote on a resolution that evening limiting political donations from firms that do business with the county at $300 per individual. This would technically allow several individuals from the same firm to donate $300 each, according to Public Information Officer William Heine. McMorrow, the board's lone Democrat, and Clifton both sit on a subcommittee in charge of examining pay-to-play reforms. McMorrow explained that the board has plans to enact two resolutions by September, one to address pay-to-play and a separate resolution to address wheeling, "which we could not agree on a definition, so we called it anti-circumvention of the law." The board faced harsh criticism during the evening meeting. A packed house voiced their disappointment for close to two hours. "In my estimation, half a pie is better than no pie," said Middletown resident Bill Thorpe. "By the time September rolls around, all the money will be in for the November campaigns," Thorpe added. As if on cue, thunder erupted at the end of Thorpe's comments, causing laughter from the crowd. In response, Freeholder Director William Barham held up one finger and lightheartedly said, "We'll be right with you." One portion of the crowd, members of a grassroots citizens campaign, wore buttons reading, "Don't play games with pay-to-play reform." Kate Mellina, co-chairwoman of the group, spoke about her involvement in the process. "This last 48 hours I feel like I've been stuck at the bottom of a roller-coaster ride," said Mellina. "I was part of the group that worked with Barbara McMorrow and Freeholder Clifton to put together the two resolutions on pay-to-play. We had a lot of experts in the room ... to put something together. It seemed solid. And then yesterday, sometime during the day, someone pulled something out of a suitcase, that I still haven't seen, that apparently packs a lot of things in like unions and stuff that weren't there before." Last-minute additions to the resolutions could potentially impact the effectiveness of the ban, Mellina explained. Although disappointed in these developments, Mellina said she was grateful the vote was put off to a later date. "I pray to God that we don't just rush something through for the sake of rushing it," Mellina said, referring to the September deadline. Holmdel Committeeman Larry Fink told the board the only way to totally eliminate pay-to-play is to lower the minimum donation amount to zero dollars. "Where did I come up with that number?" Fink asked. "It's the right thing to do." Otherwise, there are too many loopholes, Fink explained. Fink said several examples currently exist in Holmdel of firms that simply had their individual employees contribute $250 each, the maximum amount allowed in Holmdel under their current pay-to-play law. The end result adds up to thousands of dollars and politically appointed positions, Fink said. Barham said the county runs differently than a municipality. "We don't appoint," Barham said. "We're not out there giving contracts, we're just awarding." Middletown Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger commented on wheeling. "We saw it big time," Scharfenberger said regarding the township's last election. "There was money wheeling from as far away as Washington, D.C." Jeannette Mistretta, of Freehold, said it was not about political affiliation. "It is not political to do the right thing," Mistretta said while sporting a citizens campaign button. "If I thought it was going to be political, I wouldn't have gotten involved because that's not the point. I don't give a damn if you have an R on your forehead, a D on your forehead, a G on your forehead, an I on your forehead. All we want done is the right thing to be done." Mistretta added that the resolution's postponement reminded her of the legislative process in Washington, D.C. "A bill goes in and at 12 o'clock at night, they tack on 50 things that make the bill useless," Mistretta said, adding she could not say how she truly felt because it was not fit to be publicly heard or printed. Many in attendance suggested that the media should play a role in curtailing pay-to-play. Tom Stokes, Middletown, suggested that newspapers give free advertising to major party candidates. Rhoda Chodosh, Manalapan, said true pay-to-play reform can only come from the state government. "In New Jersey, only one of 21 counties has a pay-to-play law," Chodosh said. "That's a sorry state."