Ordinance's failure comes at opportune time
Holmdel Mayor Serena DiMaso's decision to kill a new ordinance designed to prevent campaign contributions in exchange for township jobs ("Pay-to-play ban narrowly rjected in Holmdel," Aug. 22) comes at an opportune time. With this bothersome proposal out of the way, she can now restore her re-election campaign war chest by seeking the support of developers and professional service firms.

Sadly, Holmdel residents don't have to look very hard to see why Democrat Larry Fink proposed this ethics reform in the first place.

Since the 2005 election of Deputy Mayor Alan Bateman and Township Committeeman Rocco Pascucci, professional services firms have won repeated contracts in return for $500 contributions made to the Bateman and Pascucci campaigns. That list includes Gluck Walrath LLP, which was appointed for special legal services in 2006 and 2007; Gravatt Consulting, appointed as consulting township planner in 2006 and 2007; and Scarinci & Hollenbeck, LLC, whose attorney was appointed for special legal services in 2006.

The process of filling these positions was closed to public scrutiny. Furthermore, only those members of the Holmdel Township Committee who belonged to Mayor DiMaso's majority participated in that process. But available public records in state-required ELEC filings show that a plausible basis for these 2006 and 2007 appointments were the campaign contributions made by the recipients of these Holmdel Township jobs.

Democratic candidates Janet Berk and Mike Sockol pledged months ago not to accept contributions from professional firms that do business with the town. They didn't need a town ordinance to force them to do the right thing. Hopefully, for those who support good government, their opponents will take the same vow.

Charles G. Morrison

Holmdel