January 9, 2008

APPELLATE COURT RULES THAT HOBOKEN RESIDENTS HAVE STANDING TO COMPEL ENFORCEMENT OF HOBOKEN'S PAY-TO-PLAY ORDINANCE

In another triumph for the right of ordinary citizens to have their voices heard, the Appellate Division this morning issued a published opinion in which ruled that the members of People for Open Government ("POG") have standing to enforce Hoboken's pay-to-play reform ordinance.

In 2004, members of POG worked to pass an initiative in Hoboken that banned the practice of rewarding companies and individuals who have made large campaign contributions with lucrative government contracts, otherwise known as "pay-to-play." Despite the voters approving the measure by an overwhelming margin, the city of Hoboken refused to enforce the ordinance. Attorney Roy J. Konray represented POG in their bid to compel Hoboken to enforce the ordinance. But the lower court dismissed POG's suit, claiming neither POG nor its members had standing.

NJ Appleseed appealed this outrageous decision. The Appellate Division agreed with us, and the lower court's holding that in order to have standing, POG would have to first demonstrate it had suffered a financial harm by Hoboken's failure to enforce the pay-to-play ordinance. The court wrote in stark contrast, "we conclude that plaintiffs' standing is readily apparent...If Hoboken, through its elected officials, chooses to forego enforcement of this law, then who will force them to do so? The question answers itself. We see the present action as a legitimate effort to effectuate the will of the people as reflected in the initiative which led to this Ordinance." We couldn't have said it better ourselves!

This decision has importance throughout the state, because municipalities that have pay-to-play ordinances now understand that their citizens can enforce the ordinance. Congratulations to POG, its dedicated members, and the people of Hoboken.

January 9, 2008

ASSEMBLY & SENATE PASS ELECTION AUDIT BILL!

Just after 1:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning, voting on its last bill of the 2006-2007 session, the Assembly passed A2730, the bill that will require random, mandatory audits of election results designed to detect outcome-reversing miscounts. (The Senate passed its companion, S507 on December 17, 2007 despite vigorous opposition from the Attorney General.) It now awaits Governor Corzine's signature. Once signed by the governor, the provisions will take effect immediately, which will require all absentee ballots in the February primary to be subject to auditing. It made a big difference, especially in light of the Attorney General's efforts to derail the bill. Thanks go out to Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, the sponsor in the Assembly, but especially to Senator Nia Gill, the Senate sponsor. She climbed the mountain for this critical election reform effort; without her dedicated determination wewould not be celebrating today. Lastly, thanks to the members of the New Jersey Citizens' Coalition on Help America Vote Act ("HAVA") Implementation for their work to get this bill passed. For more details about the bill, go to www.njappleseed.net and click on "News."