And that explains this situation completely. Let's hope this argument is finally going to be put to rest and let's fix Fair Lawn TOGETHER -- Democrats, Republicans, and Independents!

My full Response: "First I would like to congratulate Mr. Peluso, I have never met him but I wish him well in his tenure on the Fair Lawn council.Mr. Peluso's inexperience is showing, he is incorrect; I am not a dual office holder. A dual office holder is someone who holds two elected positions. Democrat Mayor David Ganz was a dual office holder when he was Mayor of Fair Lawn and a sitting Freeholder on the County level.I only hold one elected position.In my six years as a Fair Lawn Council Member, I have never taken the salary, healthcare and I am not entitled to any retirement benefits; I view my position as a volunteer for the town.In my capacity as Chief of Staff for the County Executive, I serve as a spokesperson for the administration; I do not have a vote nor do I make policy decisions. The people of Fair Lawn elected me to a 4 year term and I intend to fulfill my commitment to the people that elected me; to do otherwise would be disingenuous.It’s unfortunate that Mr. Peluso wants to deny me the ability to earn a living for my family - or is it just Republicans who he wants to attack? Deputy Mayor Weinstein is the auditor for the County EDC where he receives a salary, and the chair of the Fair Lawn Planning Board works in the County Planning Department; I don't hear Mr. Peluso asking for them to step down. I certainly hope this is the last of Mr. Pelusos'political rheteric and that he will concentrate his energy in serving the people of Fair Lawn.”

Kennedy would NEVER have done that, Mr Paluso.

This guy needs training wheels. Hope those that saw fit to ignore his mistakes at the debate have a long list of excuses at hand to cover the next four years.

Oh holy christ and this is who you folks elected. LOL!

I can think of a long list of Borough employees who are more qualified to be on the council than Mr. Paluso. Tis a shame he has been elected, hard to do one's job when you need to accomplish all of your learning while attempting to perform the duties of one's position.

And so it beigins....elections freshly completed, and the town council is already at each others throats. Mr Peluso should worry about what he is going to do in his seat when it comes time for him to park his butt there.

You've got to be kidding me. As soon as he is elected Mr. Peluso attempts a coup d'état. Not a good start at all. We're fortunate to have Baratta and Trawinski on our council. They are among the most ethical and responsible people we have had on that body in many years. They were legally elected twice, and I look forward to their serving Fair Lawn for the rest of their terms.

Trawinski and Baratta have become the poster children for all that is wrong in NJ politics. Their campaign slogan “Fair Lawn First” must be short for “Fair Lawn, First Stepping Stone of Trawinski and Baratta’s Career and Retirement on the Backs of Taxpayers”

Not only are they hypocrites for their years of slamming Ganz for dual elective office holding, but look at this quote from their campaign website trashing then councilman Allan Caan for having an appointed county job (just like they do).

“In need of a job several years ago, Councilman Caan was given a county position as a Freeholder aide to Ganz. The part time job included taxpayer financed health benefits worth $15,000. The ethical conflict of having a councilman dependant on the mayor for his salary and health benefits didn't seem to bother Caan at all — as long as he was getting paid.”

So Caan was slime, for a $15,000 a year part time job, but Trawinski and Baratta are raking in well over a quarter of a million dollars combined annual salary, plus huge health care benefits and a whopping pension, all for the benefit of Fair Lawn? Seems the ethical conflict of having two councilmembers dependant on the County Executive for their salaries, benefits and pensions doesn’t bother Trawinski and Baratta at all. Thank goodness we have such pure as the driven snow selfless individuals always putting the interests of our town ahead of their own personal and political gain.

Wake up Fair Lawn!

Here’s what New Jersey Policy Perspective says about what Trawinski and Baratta are doing.

"Dual elected office holding turns out to be just the tip of the iceberg. Serious conflicts of interest and obligation, as well as threats to government performance and trustworthiness, arise not only when one person serves as both state legislator and mayor, or mayor and county freeholder. Those problems arise as well from a practice that—our research shows—is more pervasive but, except when a high-profile scandal breaks out, less visible.....the mischief possible when one official holds both an elected and non-elected position. The concerns raised by holding two or more elected and non- elected positions are at least as serious as those raised when one person holds two elective offices simultaneously.”

New Jersey Policy Perspective continued:

“The practice of elected officials holding a non-elected public position can:
- Reduce accountability, by providing insulation from political accountability in the elective office and protection from serious or honest performance evaluation in their day jobs.
- Frustrate the checks and balances built into the system by the doctrine of separation of powers.
- Block the political ladder for emerging aspirants by concentrating political power.
- Raise questions about how tax dollars are spent.
- Degrade the tone of public life by raising the stakes of politics. When an elected official’s principal employment is in a public job, his or her entire livelihood may be at stake, not just in every election but in every interaction with the party leaders whose approval is needed to hold both the job and the office. Placating the party organization whose backing is needed to continue in office becomes a priority.

Combining elected and non-elected positions makes possible mutual back-scratching that can benefit the participants at the public’s expense.”

You can read more here:
www.njpp.org/assets/reports/democracy-media/3-rpt_enough.pdf

Thanks, Barry.

Now see what you've done, Kurt? We're three days past the election and you've immediately lobbed this rhetorical hand grenade to get the vitriol going. Just what did you hope to really accomplish with this? Hyper-partisanism has crippled the U.S. Congress and the effectiveness of the national government. It also has harmed Fair Lawn over the past several years, with "loyalty to party" trumping common sense and the best interests of the town on several occasions. We had hope for you. Tuesday night after the election I was having a discussion with a neighbor who has strong ties to the local Republicans. Although we didn't support you in the election we agreed that you seemed like a bright guy with good intentions who could be an independent thinker, working for the good of all. We agreed that rather than pre-judge you we would let you show us what you could do and hope for the best. Unfortunately, it appears that you already are playing the same old political games. It's very disappointing.

I love the ignorance that fails to comprehend that holding a job within county government is not the same as being elected to office. By that logic, Tedeshi should have resigned when he was offered the job at the Community School and anyone holding a job thatever does business with any government entity can never run or hold an elective office. It's a tempest in a teapot, and all it is, is a blantant attempt to seize back the power of the government that they lost in the election by spreading rumors and smearing good people. If this is what we have to look forward to for the future, Fair Lawn just elected the bagman for the BCDO, willing to continue the tradition that is such an insult to progresives in Bergen County.

What is partisan about these facts? Caan should not have had his patronage job either. It is the hypocrisy and excess displayed by Trawinski and Baratta that is so shameful. They jumped at the first opportunity to become everything they campaigned against, and more. Some of the biggest crooks who have held elected and appointed positions in this state were Democrats. This is a bipartisan issue. This is a Fair Lawn issue. This is also not a post election issue. It has been an issue since they were appointed to their patronage jobs. It cannot be a power grab, the Republicans control the council come January. That can't change if Trawinski and Baratta step down and they appoint replacements to complete their terms. It would however clean up Fair Lawn politics a bit. The Republicans could lead this town with John Cosgrove at the helm, and without the stench of the county controlling every appointment and contract that comes out of Fair Lawn. Any proud Republican would be thrilled to see Trawinski and Baratta replaced, and maybe to finally see our town run with a little dignity.

How many times have they excused themselves from a vote, because of "conflict of interest"?

73% of respondents to a poll on the Fair Lawn Patch said Trawinski should step down. Seems like a huge majority, and not at all partisan.

Maybe it's time for another poll. Should Trawinski and Baratta step down and appoint Republican replacements to join John Cosgrove in leading Fair Lawn in 2012?

This conflict of interest continues, Tedeschi- Community school, Trawinski-county, Baratta-county, all conflicts of interest. Peluso is right!

This reeks.

The conflict is not 2 elected positions, the conflict is when votes are brought forth on issues, (which there are many) involving local and county issues where that conflicts, this is not good for the county, or for Fair Lawn. You cannot be a jack of all trades in politics, this should be forbatten!

This is typical Fair Lawn, "welcome aboard the screwball train to hell" haaaaaaaa

They don't have to recuse themselves from anything. It's a choice they make because of personal concerns about the appearance of conflict. Where were all these noble souls worried about conflict of interest when Freeholder Ganz was Mayor Ganz at the same time, building a Community Center from funds from the BCIA? Nowhere. Time for you to slither back into the smoke-filled room and concern yourself about things like jobs for residence of Bergen County, ways to share services to reduce the burden on taxpayers, and not whether or not two ethical office holders can be bullied and lied about for standing by their own beliefs about what is or is not a conflict. Where where you when Steve Weinstein presented charges against the former Borough Manager along with his two Democratic collegues that had not been shared with the two Republicans on the Council? When all three of the Democrats stood up and pledged to fight to keep Daly Field from being built upon with a massive, unwanted development, and suddenly decided to drop the fight after one particular attorney had scored thousands of dollars of taxpayer money paid to him despite the town already having a Borough Attorney? The only poll that matters in politics is the one taken on Election Day. And that is over. Now all it seems that is left is for the side that lost the majority is to try to spread nonsense to damage the reputation of two good people. What a wonderful way to start a term in office, Kurt.

Just a week ago all these people were saying not to elect a Democrat because Fair Lawn would only a stepping stone to other offices. Not that any of candidates have done it, just that they MAY do it. Now, just a week later, these same people are defending the Republicans that are doing just that. I guess so long as they are calling someone else partisan they think that makes them pure. Shameful.

"These people"? Who? I think you need to qualify that statement.

And, since you seem to have missed this, Jeanne and Ed have jobs in the county administration, not "other offices".

That's right, they were appointed to these highly compensated positions by their longtime friend Kathe Donavan to serve in her administration.

To repeat the assessment of the New Jersey Policy Perspective in this matter:

"Serious conflicts of interest and obligation, as well as threats to government performance and trustworthiness, arise... when one official holds both an elected and non-elected position. The concerns raised by holding two or more elected and non- elected positions are at least as serious as those raised when one person holds two elective offices simultaneously.”

"When an elected official’s principal employment is in a public job, his or her entire livelihood may be at stake, not just in every election but in every interaction with the party leaders whose approval is needed to hold both the job and the office. Placating the party organization whose backing is needed to continue in office becomes a priority."

"Combining elected and non-elected positions makes possible mutual back-scratching that can benefit the participants at the public’s expense.”

"Another concern is the sequence in which the combination of elected and non-elected jobs occurs. The public employee who is elected to a town council raises fewer questions than some- one who receives a tax-supported job after being elected. Such a job might, for example, come less on the merits than as a reward from the party leadership..."

Yup, they have jobs, not other offices.

you got the government you deserve.

Politicians and diapers are similar because eventually they are both full of the same substance

And so are some making comments.

Fairlawn has become a political mess for Bergen Republicans. Starting with the two
Republican council members on Donovans staff who have not led by example.
They could have led by example by resigning their seats in Fairlawn and then taking a salary reduction at the county. Their actions since their appointments have been nothing more that an embarrassment to all Republicans. Between hiring Democrats and the recent press expose giving their campaign manager Mr Marcus a $ 300 k contract for the American Dream contract was the kiss of death to all Bergen Republicans

Stu, you sound bitter evertime you post. Go sing a showtune so you feel better. You LOST , you should have gone after them during your half baked campaign instead of worrying about anon posters.

Wonder just how many accounts "Allison" aka "delgado" aka "PaigeAve" aka "Guiseppi" feels compelled to have? Stupid sounds just as stupid no matter how much you echo your own sentiments. Wonder how much some earn as professional commenters, too.

There are many thousands of us who have appreciated Ed and Jeanne's fine service over the years, and we have a right to have them continue to represent us by serving out their terms. To try to suddenly deprive all of us of their experience and skill with an attack like this really does amount to an attempted coup. We are a democracy, so if you have an issue, take it through the constitutional process.

Maybe you are right Mr. Roney. After all, they are very skilled and experienced politicians. If we just ignore any possible conflicts of interest, we lucky residents can take advantage of their skill and experience even more. Why not appoint Mr. Trawinski as town attorney? No reason to think that there would be any problem there right? Since Mrs. Baratta is experienced as a Chief of Staff, we should hire her as the town manager. There is no reason why we should be deprived of their great service in these capacities too, right? After all, you could always wait two years to pass a law against it after they finish their terms.

Oh, just for kicks, could you explain why you think a law could be passed to prohibit a council person from holding an appointed position if there is nothing wrong with it?

The question of double dipping is an interesting one; one that both political parties seem to be able to address from both sides of their political mouths. While I do not deny an individual the right to care for their family and while I applaud those who decline the "pay & benefits" of serving on the council- I am still left to ponder one unspoken facet in all of this.

I am curious to hear from those who hold both an "elected" local position on while simultaneously holding a "paid" position on the county level AND if their "unpaid" council position counts toward their pension time? Remember, elected or paid, both positions are given service credit in a state pension fund and as such they do not have to put in as many years as the rest of the world before they are entitled to collect on that pension.

If this is indeed the case, then I would be more outraged that we have council members (paid or not) who are being given pension credit for their time in these positions than in their collecting a salary/stipend from both.

This truly is the definition of double dipping in terms of what the Governor and others have rallied against. True reform, meaning the elimination of political double dipping begins with making a choice between one job or the other, we can only serve one master despite what both political parties will tell you. It also means reforming the pension system to eliminate the ability of our elected/appointed officials from holding more than one office to "pad" their state pension AND to increase the amount of time one must serve before they are eligible for that pension.

If public employees are told that they need to stop being selfish and make concessions, then so to do our elected & appointed officials.

Great going here folks folks! I really missed all this mind-numbing stupidity when Fair Lawn Speaks shut down...

There are bigger issues in the town that need to be address. Mr. Peluso I don't know why you would want to throw the council and the people of Fair Lawn into a frenzie when you havn't even been sworn in yet. There are no current laws against what the current councilmembers are doing. Yes, they are working on laws at the state level to make sure double dipping does not happen but we are not there yet. In the mean time attempt to work together to fix the problems withing the town. If the resident of the town feel that the republican candidates are in the wrong they will then be voted out. Stop the finger pointing and do what you were elected to do. It is not your job to grand stand or enforce the law. If there is an injustice here contact the PROPER authorities SEEC.

Knodding head in agreement with John Campbell. Mr. Peluso, I very nearly voted for you, that is, until that ridiculous lie about the library was sent out to voters at the last minute. It smacked of juvenile, desperate behavior. I am now relieved I did not cast a vote for you, despite the unfortunate fact that you've managed to win anyway. Your comments about 2 fine council people who have worked hard for this town, comments made immediately after your election, smack of gross inexperience, sour grapes, and once again, juvenile behavior. You are still a kid in diapers and I am very worried about having someone who can't even show civility upon his election holding office in this town. Can we expect toddler tantrums from you at the council meetings as well? Why not admit what's really bothering you? You're concerned that you and our current mayor will be outvoted on the various items on your personal agendas.

...and I can hardly wait to see who will be the mayor next year...if it's who I think it will be--well, we'll know soon enough...

The field of mayoral possibilities becomes very narrow after considering the glaring conflicts of interest we have been discussing for Trawinski and Baratta. Neither could possibly serve as mayor. Mr. Peluso is too inexperienced. That leaves Mr. Cosgrove or Mrs. Swain, both qualified, both appropriate. If Trawinski and Baratta have not stepped down by then, let's hope they will not embarrass themselves further by appointing one of them mayor.

They will not step down and who says they can't possibly serve as mayor?

By my calculation the Demos won the election not only in Fair Lawn but in all of BC...

There is absolutely no reason why Baratta or Trawinski are precluded from becoming mayor. They are not "double dipping", their existence on the council is perfectly legal, and considering we saw Joe T. carrying multiple positions at the same time he was mayor, it's hypocritical to zero in on the Republicans, when it was kosher for a Democrat to do it.

As a matter of fact, I would be gratified to see Jeannie Baratta as our mayor. She's got great ideas and is truly committed to our town. I'm looking forward to the changes our new regime will now be able to put in place in the coming year. Perhaps we'll actually get a decent Borough Manager and have a council that gets along well with our police department, which will boost morale. Maybe, just maybe, the rampant overdevelopment going on in this town will finally slow down. Perhaps pedestrians will have a fighting chance to cross at an intersection without taking their lives into their hands (because overdevelopment and congestion will finally be adequately controlled). What a novel idea!

Hey Truth,
Learn your town's style of government. The "Mayor" is a figure head and has no authority or power other than that of a Councilman/woman. The Mayor sits in the middle and runs the meetings. Where is the COI? Can you give an example?

Sure, here's one. The County Administrator (Trawinski) is the Chief of Staff's (Baratta) boss. This conflict is best expressed by Trawinski and Baratta themselves on their campaign website.

"In need of a job several years ago, Councilman Caan was given a county position as a Freeholder aide to Ganz. The part time job included taxpayer financed health benefits worth $15,000. And councilman Caan collects a salary and benefits from Fair Lawn too!"

"The ethical conflict of having a councilman dependant on the mayor for his salary and health benefits didn't seem to bother Caan at all — as long as he was getting paid."

"Caan was voting with Ganz and against the taxpayers of Fair Lawn. Why? Because Allan Caan is beholden to Mayor Ganz"

You can see the similarities I'm sure. Of course the salaries and pensions are much greater in the example of Trawinski and Baratta.

Easy on the caps. Here is a job description I found for the County Administrator.

"The County Administrator is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the county, as well as supervising the schedule and procedures to be followed by all county departments, offices and agencies. The administrator sits as an ex-officio, non-voting member of all appointed committees and implements policy decisions of the governing body. The administrator is charged with working with the Finance Department to create the county’s annual operating and capital budgets.
The administrator supervises the care and custody of all county property, institutions and agencies and is designated the appointing authority for the purpose of personnel actions concerning County employees and officers as well as the representative of the county government for collective negotiations with employees."

Sounds like he would have some authority over you. But even if he doesn’t, I'm sure you can see from the job description that the potential for conflicts at the municipal level certainly exists.

Oh, I would really appreciate it if you could explain why Ganz and his dual offices, and Caan and his county job seemed to rank as one of the seven deadly sins when you were running for council, but now that you and Mr. Trawinski are the beneficiaries of political cronyism, it's really noble to be appointed to a high paying appointed county job while serving on the council. What changed?

OK. You say Caan was beholden to Ganz for his job. Are you and Trawinski not beholden to Kathe Donovan for your jobs? Is she not the highest ranking Republican in the County. How can you escape the perception that you and Trawinski's "entire livelihood may be at stake, not just in every election but in every interaction with the party leaders whose approval is needed to hold both the job and the office. Placating the party organization whose backing is needed to continue in office becomes a priority." (as outlined above)

You can claim your purity all day long as you abstain from votes, but perception is everything.

Trawinski may not be your boss, but you dont mind riding his coat tails. Do the right thing. You have spent more time defending yourself than you have bettering Fair Lawn.

Jeanne Baratta posted a comment at 5:02pm on Nov 11th that said, “I serve as a spokesperson for the administration; I do not have a vote nor do I make policy decisions.” This statement is not true. Please refer to this Bergen Record article where Jeanne Baratta is, in fact, serving on the Advisory Committee on Law Enforcement Consolidation. Recommendations of this panel will be used for policy changes.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen/bergen_news/111111_Bergen_sheriff_Law_enforcement_panel_has_political_agenda.html

Next to comment HAS to be Mrs. Baratta, no?

Ms Baratta is not an employee of Mr Trawinski. She is an employee of Mr Alan Marcus. We all read the article in the Bergen Record two weeks ago where Mr Marcus received a huge contract and boasted that his is a very wealthy man who does not need either money or Republicans. Always follow the money when you are talking about Donovans campaign manager. The fact that Fairlawn has become ground zero for bitter infighting, law suits etc and bid press for Republicans is one of many reasons why they lost last week. Last weeks election was also a referendum on the Donovan administration and the conduct of Fairlawn Republicans associated with that administration.

Mr Ash can you or someone else please explain who this Alan Marcus individual is and his financial connections ? Did he not run for Bergen Republican Chairman some years ago and lost in a bitter battle. Would love to hear the history of all of this. Thank you

It appears Mr Agosta has silenced the Republican Spokesman

Now we have double dipper Jeannie Barrata lying about County Government. The Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief of Staff DO report to the County Adminstrator. When the County Executive is not avaialble, the Admisntrator steps in - not the Chief of Staff. Barratta has to resign and its good to see the Freeholders will be taking this issue up.

I doubt if a Board of Freeholders with a Republican majority will do anything to upset Donovan's apple cart...

Walter, by all accounts Driscoll and Hermansen are as liberal as Donovan. Thats why the Republicans want them gone in 2012

Will double dippers Trewinski and Bararrate support in Fair Lawn the council resolution to oppose bonding for the American Dream-Xanadu bond scam!!! Or will they be conflicted out???

This woman Baratta is beyond belief . The Fairlawn County committee and the Bergen Republican Chairman have every legal right under their bylaws to kick her off county committee and remove her as mayor for failure to support the 2012 Republican ticket