Partisan politics follows resignation from board BY ERIN O. STATTEL Staff Writer MATAWAN - Controversy and charges of conflict of interest continue in the wake of the resignation of a member of the borough's Unified Planning-Zoning Board. Borough Councilwoman Linda Clifton, a Republican, stepped down from her position as a Class III member of the board earlier this month after Democratic council members challenged her appointment. "They really just wanted their own person up there," Clifton said. "I thought it was well planned and well thought out before it was brought up at the council meeting." The council appointed Democratic Councilman KevinMendes to the Class III position. Mayor Paul Buccellato, a Republican who ousted the incumbent Democratic mayor in a runoff election in January, appointed Clifton to the board on Jan. 22. After she was sworn in on Feb. 4, council Democrats began to question her appointment. Mendes said he thought his two years of experience on the Unified Planning- Zoning Board made him the better candidate. "It wasn't personal and I look forward to continuing to work with Councilwoman Clifton." According to a Feb. 9 memo to the council from Borough Attorney Pasquale Menna, no member of the council objected to the appointment of Clifton at the time of the announcement, and the way Clifton was appointed was consistent with past appointments. Councilman William Malley, a Democrat, said he had concerns and questioned the appointment. "I was afraid that there could be an inherent conflict of interest because Councilwoman Clifton and Mayor Buccellato received campaign donations from T&M Associates," Malley said. "They will have to work with T&M in the future, and that kind of 'pay to play' is not fair to the taxpayers." According to the Borough Clerk's Office, Matawan currently does not have a pay-to-play ordinance that bans the awarding of no-bid contracts to political contributors. T&MAssociates is an engineering consulting firm based in Middletown that serves the Planning-Zoning Board. Based on records filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC), in October 2007 T&M Associates donated $8,300 to Matawan Republican candidates Buccellato, Clifton and Debra Buragina, who ran unsuccessfully for reelection to council. In December 2007, T&M donated an additional $2,600 to Buccellato's campaign for the special election he won on Jan. 15, according to ELEC. "There is no conflict of interest," Buccellato said. "There was a unanimous vote to retain T&M, and this is no different than the Monmouth County Democrats fundingMaryAufseeser's campaign in entirety." According to records filed with the ELEC, among the contributions for the 2007 election, the Democrats received $1,500 from Monmouth County Democratic Party Chairman Victor Scudiery and $1,000 from Local 472 Heavy and General Construction Laborers Union. Buccellato added, "The Democrats are trying to make an issue where there really isn't any issue at all." According to Clifton, she stepped down from her position on the Planning-Zoning Board to avoid incurring any litigation costs by contesting the request. "I didn't want to resign, but I also didn't want to incur legal fees for the town. That isn't right," Clifton said. "However, I believe I am certainly qualified for the position." Democratic Councilman William Malley disagreed. "We just felt that [Mendes] was much more suited and had more experience," Malley said.