Assemblyman Green's turn coming to be on affordable housing hot seat

.

Plainfielders can be forgiven if they don't spend much time focused on Assemblyman Jerry Green's SUPPOSEDLY REAL JOB as chair of the Assembly's Housing and Local Government Services committee.

Forgiven for two reasons: on the one hand, Jerry's fulminations and missteps in matters to do with Plainfield are constantly entertaining and diverting its denizens and on the other hand, Jerry never calls attention to his Assembly role if it's the least bit controversial.

Take the current situation: Jerry's blog calls attention to his bill (A-444) which would bar a person from being elected to a school board if, because of a past conviction, they would be unable to serve as a teacher in the district (see here). There are those who see this as a thinly-veiled quasi-bill of attainder aimed at longtime Plainfield community activist and BOE member Rasheed Abdul-Haqq, who has made no secret of not seeing eye-to-eye with the Assemblyman on many occasions.

What goes with scant mention is that Sen. Lesniak's bill to dismantle the existing affordable housing settlement in New Jersey and replace it with one more to Gov. Christie's liking is coming before Assemblyman Green's Assembly committee soon as it wends its way to (inevitable?) legislative approval. Jerry only refers to the matter obliquely, posting a 'statement' from Gov. Chris Christie (see here), who says he is 'looking forward to working with Assemblyman Green'.

The Lesniak bill (S-1) was moved from committee to the floor of the Senate WITHOUT A CHANCE FOR PUBLIC INPUT (see story here), where it was subsequently passed, despite considerable opposition from a wide range of groups -- not just affordable housing advocates, I might add! -- (see story, including details of bill here). Though Lesniak touts it as a better solution, you will get a headache trying to understand the ins and outs of the bill.

But the bottom line is that many (including brave Senators Loretta Weinberg, Ron Rice and Shirley Turner) are questioning the fine points of the Lesniak proposal, including the Star-Ledger, which has editorialized TWICE in recent days -- once on the failure to have any public hearings (see here), and today in an editorial entitled 'Rehab this' (see here), that the bill needs much more work.

One of the provisions that caught my eye in the bill is that developers would be allowed to fulfill their affordable housing obligations by RENOVATING OTHER ALREADY-EXISITNG BUILDINGS IN A MUNICIPALITY instead of including new affordable housing units in the projects they are building. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see where this is going.

That, plus the continuation of the practice of allowing towns to sell their affordable housing obligations to other communities, and you note a distinct aroma emanating from the new legislation, in my humble opinion.

Besides this, the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services suggests in a letter of April 13 that the bill will not pass constitutional muster because the Legislature lacks statutory authority to amend the Fair Housing Act (see here).

So, as Assemblyman Green prepares to take up the legislation, there are a couple of germane questions for him to answer --

• Will he schedule hearings on the bill and thus allow public input?
  
  
• Will he consider the constitutionality of the bill?

Or will he simply, 'team player' that he is, move the bill out of committee and onto the Assembly floor?

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• Jerry Green's Page: "Green et al bill tightening requirements for serving on BOEs advances"
• Jerry Green's Page: "Statement of Gov. Christie" -- 'looking forward to working with Assemblyman Green...'
  
• Ledger: "Senate committee approves controversial housing bill without public input"
• NJ Newsroom: "Senate votes to abolish affordable housing council, move control" -- An in-depth look at the bill's details.
  
• Ledger Editorial, 6/7/10: "Major shift in housing policy deserves public airing"
• Ledger Editorial, 7/13/10: "Rehab this: Affordable housing bill needs much more work"
• Asbury Park Press: "OLS questions constitutionality of housing bill"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Something fishy about resolution to remove Gallon?

Those showing up for the expected 'emergency meeting' of the Plainfield Board of Ed yesterday found a surprising handout awaiting them: a resolution (the subject of the meeting) to suspend Superintendent of Schools Steve Gallon and assistant superintendent Angela Kemp, remove Kemp from the payroll, appoint an acting superintendent, and appoint a new board attorney (see below).

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BOE-Reso-GallonSuspension-100507

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It was an evening of surprises.

The FIRST was the handout, which would have been proper if the Board had met and taken the action described.

Which leads to the SECOND surprise, that Board President Lisa Logan-Leach was the only one to show up for the executive session set to discuss the suspension before the 'Emergency Meeting'.

Logan-Leach holds that the state and the county superintendent were pressing for the personnel actions.

I was told that members were informed by counsel the meeting might not be legal and they might be subject to individual lawsuits if they participated (see Mark Spivey's report in today's Courier here for more on that).

While I had written earlier concerning rumors that Sen. Ray Lesniak's firm, Weiner Lesniak, was about to appointed BOE attorneys (see here), Maria Pellum takes up her recollections from last week's BOE meeting in her post today (see here).

Reading Maria's post, it appears that the move to appoint a new law firm -- Weiner Lesniak? -- was not discussed in executive session and is meeting some resistance, beginning with Wilma Campbell.

What surprised me most (surprise THREE) was the inclusion of the designation of a new attorney in the supposed 'Emergency Meeting' agenda.

Why would the appointment of a new attorney be an emergency item?

And who drew up the resolution in the first place? Would the current attorney put forward a resolution a) suggesting grounds for their own dismissal, and b) calling for appointment of a new attorney? I don't think so.

The resolution accuses the current law firm.





The resolution calls for the appointment of a new law firm.

I begin to suspect the resolution was framed by the [unnamed] attorneys-in-waiting, with the hope it could be slipped by in the 'Emergency Meeting'.

It doesn't seem likely to me that the County Superintendent or Commissioner Schundler would be interested in pointing a finger at the current law firm as this resolution does; their concerns are with Gallon, his personnel decisions and the criminal charges he faces.

But does the appointment of the Board's attorney qualify as an emergency item?

I don't think so, and I strongly suspect it was no part of any advice received by Logan-Leach from the County Superintendent or Commissioner Schundler's office.

So, where does the push to change attorneys come from?

And why try to deal with it in this 'emergency' resolution rather than in the normal course of affairs, such as a regular board meeting?

Maybe one of the lawsuits the current board attorneys warned BOE members they could face would be from the attorneys themselves for this attempt to displace them.

It looks like the new round of shenanigans has already begun.

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• Plainfield Today: "Board reorganizes; is pound of flesh next?"
• Maria's Blog: "Why was the BOE, or whoever, trying to get a new BOE attorney?"
• Courier: "Move to suspend Gallon fails, state warns 'intervention'"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Board of Ed reorganizes: Is pound of flesh next?

Board members Wilma Campbell, Rasheed Abdul-Haqq and
Keisha Edwards. Renata Hernandez was not available when photo taken.

Plainfield's Board of Education reorganized Tuesday evening amidst the hubbub over the arrest of Superintendent Steve Gallon III, with three new members and a returning member.

One question that came to mind is whether the demand for a pound of flesh is coming next.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

First, CONGRATULATIONS to Wilma Campbell, resoundingly returned by the voters to the Board, and new members Rasheed Abdul-Haqq, Keisha Edwards and Renata Hernandez. I wish them all the best as they embark on fixing everything that's wrong with Plainfield's public schools. It is a tall order and they will need our wholehearted and critical support.

The first items of business at any reorganization are the election of officers. Lisa Logan-Leach was elected president, and Rasheed Abdul-Haqq vice president.

Recalling board reorganizations of past years, where regardless of differences between board members agreement was reached on unanimous leadership picks, a certain lack of classiness evidenced itself in the nomination of others (one of whom declined, the other being defeated). In my humble opinion, it would have been a sign of good intentions to have voted unanimously for the leadership team.

Hopefully things will improve as the Board gets down to work.

NEXT UP: GALLON?

While residents and supporters may expect that the matter of Dr. Gallon's continued service as Superintendent would be taken up quickly and publicly, it does not seem that will be the case.

Members who were extremely vocal about the Gallon matter while running for office may now disappoint their supporters in having to abide by new rules. All the discussions of Dr. Gallon's fate, all the legal maneuvers surrounding his status now that he has been arrested for 'theft of services', all, ALL, ALL will take place out of earshot. Unless, that is, Dr. Gallon chooses the Rice option of having a public hearing.

Though it was certainly ballsy of him to show up for the reorganization meeting, I somehow feel he will decline to choose the Rice option to have his laundry aired in a public meeting.

WHERE IS KEMP?

News reports on the charges against Gallon, Kelly and Kemp have noted that while Gallon and Kelly were arrested and booked, Kemp has not (at least as of last night) turned herself in.

That leads to another question: Where is Kemp? She has not been seen for weeks, though there are inferences that she is still on the District's payroll.

There are whispers that she has absconded to Florida, though she continues to collect a paycheck.

The first order of business for the new Board should be to answer the question: 'Where's Angela?' and put to rest all the rumors.

District employees tell me that those who are suspended or on administrative leave must come to the Board offices ON A DAILY BASIS to sign in and recieve any assignment. Shouldn't the public be assured this is happening?

And why shouldn't the Plainfield schools have a 'rubber room' like they do in New York City, where suspended staffers must spend their time during work hours until their cases are settled.

Should the taxpayers be footing the bill for what appears to be essentially a vacation?

POUND OF FLESH EXTRACTION COMING?

Since her election to the Board, I have made no secret of my belief that Lisa Logan-Leach is clearly Assemblyman Green's 'member' of the Board.

(She, along with the current mayor, Sharon Robinson-Briggs, were part of Assemblyman Green's first foray into Board of Ed elections.)

I certainly hope she is going to maintain her independence and be guided by her own lights and priorities and not those of Democratic machine politics.

That being said, sharp-eyed observers noticed last night that attorneys from the politically-juiced Weiner Lesniak firm were hovering in the room, like vultures about to pick over carrion.

The law firm, in which Union County Dem powerhouse (and sitting State Senator) Raymond Lesniak is a partner is often found in relation to Democratic-controlled contract largesse.

While the City of Plainfield has made no use of the firm (Lesniak vowed he did not want the business when the issue came up during Robinson-Briggs' first campaign for mayor), it seems more than a bit odd that developers who come before the City for approvals seem to find the only firm to turn to is ... Weiner Lesniak.

Writing on his blog recently, Assemblyman Jerry Green railed against an unnamed person who implied his support of a team meant that they were 'his' (see post here) --

Someone has mentioned my support of a slate of candidates for the Board of Education. I made this known publicly and privately, that I supported these candidates PERSONALLY, as a Plainfield taxpayer, and that I did not publicly endorse them or have my name used within their campaign. I find it very insulting that when I go out of my way to offer support to a slate as a Plainfield resident, that all at once that slate becomes my 'team'.

The interesting thing is that THAT team lost. (It is also interesting that I never made such a mention -- the only time I mentioned teams was here).

So, it will be even more curious if the Weiner Lesniak firm becomes the school district's new attorneys, or receives profitable piecemeal contracts.

Would it be the extraction of a 'pound of flesh', or just another example of that apparently universal law of physics in Union County whereby all atoms and molecules align themselves toward a certain, unspoken, mysterious, and invisible 'magnetic North Pole'?

Or maybe they were just well-wishers.

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• Jerry Green's Page: "Governing for Bloggers 101"
• Plainfield Today: "Will BOE race focus on real issues or real distractions?"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Lesniak to bank regulator: You don't understand

State Senator Ray Lesniak was a director of the failed bank.

Years ago, before he was elected to Plainfield's City Council, the late Ray Blanco and I had a conversation with Mayor Al McWilliams about trying to interest Elizabeth's First BankAmericano in opening a branch in Plainfield.

The bank, which had as its stated mission offering a full range of banking services to the Hispanic (and Portuguese) community, seemed a perfect fit for Plainfield, where the number of Spanish-speakers had grown rapidly over the previous decade.

McWilliams agreed it would be something to look into, but in the press of everyday matters, the idea of attracting an Hispanic bank never took off, especially after George Norcross' Commerce Bank (since taken over by Toronto Dominion Bank and now known as TD Bank) became interested in Plainfield and local branches of other banks -- particularly Bank of America -- began to aggressively court Hispanic customers.

Suddenly last summer, or so it seemed to this casual observer, First BankAmericano was closed down by the FDIC, to be reopened as branches of Crown Bank (see Ledger here).

Turns out, however, that there was quite a backstory, including a severe warning letter from the FDIC in 2007 --

...Rutgers business professor Darius Palia says the FDIC's 2007 warning letter is a stunning criticism of the board of directors' policies.

"Usually it'll be two or three items. This was like a blanket," Palia says. "It's loans, management, security, capital. It was right across the board." (Story here.)

Casual observers were unaware of the scale of issues involving the bank's board of directors, or even who those directors were. And certainly unaware that Sen. Bob Menendez had attempted to intervene with the FDIC to save the bank. That is until February, when the larger story broke (see here, and here) and Lesniak and other directors' roles got more scrutiny.

Lesniak went on the counter-attack, publishing an OpEd piece on PolitickerNJ (see here), explaining that directors --

...even brought their loan needs to the bank, despite having long-standing relationships with other, bigger banks, so First BankAmericano could make the profits from the loans, a policy approved by banking regulators and a good business practice as well...

Still, the story refused to quite die.

The other day, listening to WNYC in the car, I was surprised to learn that the FDIC is looking further into the matter of the failed bank, spurring the public radio station to examine the bank's loans and finding its CEO, Holly Bakke (a former state banking commissioner), unable to explain how the bank 'ended up with such a lopsided portfolio of bad loans -- or how the board of directors allowed it to happen'.

WNYC's story went on to relate that the bank had given Lesniak a loan for $575,000 in 2002, in which he pledged a Cape Cod house as collateral, selling it two years later for $200,000 less than the loan amount.

What caught my ear next was Lesniak's voice saying --

...anybody who has any modicum of knowledge of lending practices probably at the level of the eighth or ninth grade in school understands that mortgages are given as collateral for many things (emphasis mine --DD)...

Hmmm. Mortgages given as collateral?

Having recently finished reading Niall Ferguson's Ascent of Money (also a PBS series, see here), I thought the PROPERTY (i.e., the Cape Cod house) is given as collateral, to ensure that the lender can be made whole if the borrower defaults by taking possession of the collateral. (See an explanation here.)

Not only was my understanding of the lending process -- and by inference, Niall Ferguson's -- faulty by Lesniak's lights, he implies the FDIC doesn't know what it is talking about either.

We'll see.

The FDIC after all, is THE regulator, which makes them THE DECIDER, to use a once-familiar phrase.

And the Senator is a former officer, with assets the FDIC can go after if it decides there was any hanky-panky.

The FDIC will have the final say about whether there was
hanky-panky at the failed First BankAmericano.

---

• Ledger, 8/01/2009: "Regulators close NJ-based bank"
• WNYC, 12/28/2009: "Bank Autopsy: NJ's First BankAmericano"
• Examiner.com, 2/10/2010: "First BankAmericano scandal breaks wide open"
  
• Record, 2/10/2010: "Lesniak, others got insider loans at failed bank"
• OpEd, PolitickerNJ, 2/28/2010: "Lesniak on First BankAmericano"
  
• WNYC, 3/28/2010: "In New Jersey, a bank is dead, but not buried"
• PBS: "The Ascent of Money"
  
• Wikipedia: "Collateral"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Political meddling in Roselle Civil Service case?

If you think Plainfield politics is a jungle, consider outside political intervention in the affairs of Roselle, and the statewide effects of same.

When Roselle's mayor, Garrett Smith, appealed a borough Council layoff plan which eliminated the borough's CFO, Adrian Mapp (who is also a Plainfield council member) to the state's Civil Service Commission, he received a preliminary ruling in his favor.

The Civil Service Commission held that the borough council had improperly made the borough clerk the 'appointing authority'.

Yesterday, the Ledger reported that that ruling was reversed by the Commission, which declared borough councils to be the appointing authority for civil service jobs (see here). The fallout from that ruling will be widespread, predicted Bill Dressel of NJ's League of Municipalities.

Today's Ledger runs a story (see here) of several boroughs' reactions -- indicating a wide range of methods of handling civil service appointments -- but basically aligning the newspaper on the side of Roselle's borough council in the matter.

Word on the street is that a certain state senator allegedly intervened upon learning that the Civil Service Commission was preparing to issue a final ruling upholding Roselle's mayor Smith as the 'appointing authority', insisting that Attorney General Milgram make a determination on the point of law. And that Milgram found against the pro-Smith ruling; hence the Civil Service Commission's reversal of course.

Milgram had come under attack in October by Sen. Ray Lesniak and state Dem chair (and Assemblyman) Joe Cryan (see here) for her 'indictment by accusation' of Roselle council president Jamal Holley over alleged voter fraud.

Holley, who was chief of staff to disgraced former Assemblyman Neil Cohen, now works for Union County and is considered the darling of Union County Dem power brokers.

One has to wonder whether the attack on Milgram by Lesniak and Cryan had anything to do with how the Attorney General arrived at the opinion said to be behind the Civil Service Commission's reversal.

And why, after more than two years, Milgram has yet to resolve the investigation into the financial dealings of Union County Dem chair Charlotte DeFilippo.

Union County political hanky-panky has been curiously exempt from the high-profile investigations that have snared so many pols over the past few years.

Will that change once corruption-buster Chris Christie takes the Governor's chair?

If so, the possibility of political meddling in the Roselle situation would be as good a place as any to start.

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• Ledger --
• Thursday: "Roselle ruling has statewide impact"
  
• Friday: "Borough governments weigh new hiring rules"
• PolitickerNJ: "Lesniak and Cryan pummel Milgram over Holley case"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Something odd about Neil Cohen's child porn case?

Ex-Assemblyman Neil Cohen.

Am I the only Plainfielder to think there's something odd about the handling of ex-Assemblyman Neil Cohen's child porn case?

The matter came to public attention when an image printout was shown by a staffer to Sen. Ray Lesniak and Asm. Joe Cryan, Union County pols and Dem party heavyweights last July. (Turns out there was an earlier instance to which they were privy.)

Cohen resigned within four days of the revelation.

There was no arrest, no 'perp walk'.

He simply disappeared from view, and was later learned to have signed himself into a private psychiatric hospital.

Unanswered to date is why he was treated differently from mere mortals, who would have been hustled onto the evening news post-haste.

But never mind all that.

The wheels of the Ingraham justice machine grind slowly and an indictment has at last been rendered, as noted today by New Jersey's major media (see links at end of post).

Lesniak and Cryan ducked any comment.

Cohen, who has had time to move from his hometown of Roselle to Paramus, could not be reached for comment.

Charlotte DeFilippo, powerful chair of the Union County Dem organization, is not mentioned at all in any of today's reportage.

And that's the part that strikes me as exceptionally curious.

You will recall that there were a spate of reports a few weeks ago that an indictment of DeFilippo was imminent.

The buzz was accompanied by rumors that Cohen was singing like a canary to the authorities.

And he might have a lot to sing about. Cohen and DeFilippo were -- what is the old phrase? thick as...?

Let's just say they worked closely together.

It may yet turn out that the rumors of a DeFilippo indictment are true.

After all, the Attorney General's office has had more than a year to examine the records they subpoenaed from her last year.

Or will it turn out that this is just New Jersey, and we will never hear another word about any of this?

Except of course for Cohen, who has been driven from the midst of the politically powerful like the scapegoat that he is, the bell around his neck tinkling, warning one and all to stay away.

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"Former Assemblyman charged with having child porn" -- Ledger | Courier | PolitickerNJ |

-- Dan Damon

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County Dems dumping Stender, Green?

Assemlywoman Linda Stender

State Senator Ray Lesniak

Assemblywoman Linda Stender won no friends in Plainfield by failing to speak out or attend rallies during the Muhlenberg Hospital closure process.

Now she may have lost her friends in the Union County Dem organization, too.

Particularly, Sen. Ray Lesniak.

PolitickerNJ reports that yesterday Lesniak was effusive in his praise of Congressman-elect Leonard Lance, who defeated Stender in the 7th Congressional District race in November (see here).

Does this mean he may not give her the nod in the 2009 Assembly races?

Stender seems to think all is well, though, as she announced her run for the Assembly seat and said --

...I have great support from the state chair, my county chair, and I’ve got very good working relationships with my delegation members

Asked about his praise of Lance and whether he supports Stender's candidacy, Lesniak told PolitickerNJ --

“I have a long personal friendship and admiration of Senator Lance and it had nothing to do with Assemblywoman Stender. ... If she wants to run for re-election she has my support.”

Still, insiders have reported that the buzz was she would be dumped if she did not win the Congressional race.

(For an analysis by PolitickerNJ of that race and Stender's loss, see here.)

For Plainfielders, the more interesting question may be whether Assemblyman Jerry Green, who turns 70 in April, will be saying sayonara.

There are whispers the Democratic organization would like to see someone younger, less querulous, and more in touch with the Plainfield electorate -- especially younger voters -- in the seat, and Union County Freeholder (and former City Councilor) Rayland Van Blake's name keeps popping up.

In addition, Green has greatly angered those in Plainfield and the surrounding communities who feel he was ineffective in the effort to keep Muhlenberg Hospital open.

What with offices from Governor and the Legislature all the way down to Mayor and Democratic city committee seats up for grabs in 2009, it is shaping up to be an interesting year.

How interesting we will have to see.

---

PolitickerNJ:

• "Lesniak: Lance was best candidate, wanted him to beat Stender"
• "Stender plans to run for re-election to Assembly"
• "Stender: Lance's moderate stance made him tougher to beat"

-- Dan Damon

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Outsourcing: The Rahway Valley Sewerage Authority Case

RSVA Service Area

As Plainfield's City Council ponders the Green/Robinson-Briggs' administration's proposal to outsource planning functions to the politically-juiced engineering firm Remington & Vernick, it might be useful to reflect on an outsourcing story developing right next door: The Rahway Valley Sewerage Authority.

[Note: I put this post up hours before discovering today's Ledger article on the RVSA, see here.]

The quasi-governmental authority serves 11 communities, including neighboring Scotch Plains, and is under a court order to upgrade its facilities -- to the tune of approximately $250M.

The Authority eats up a continually growing share of the budgets of its member communities, and is coming under increasing scrutiny over its costs, contracts and assertions it is a job-mill for the politically connected.

In mid-October, RVSA commissioners voted 6-5 to study privatizing (read: outsource) its operations. That study will, of course, involve hiring lawyers, engineers and financial consultants to report to the Authority the advisability of outsourcing its operations.

You can almost hear the money being sucked off the table.

And of course it wouldn't be New Jersey without allegations that it's all a con. In this case, New Jersey Today alleges that the GOP mayor of East Rutherford, hired as the assistant to the Authority's executive director, is in Sen. Ray Lesniak's back pocket.

The assertion is that Lesniak is getting the best of both worlds: contracts galore in East Rutherford, where Meadowlands development projects proliferate, and control of the RVSA patronage- and jobs-mill.

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• Ledger: "Commissioners weigh private operation of Rahway Valley"
• Ledger (today): "Debate heats up over privatization proposal"
  
• Cranford Chronicle: "Editorial: RVSA owes towns an explanation"
• Cranford Chronicle: "Township Committee: RVSA rep should reverse vote on study"
• New Jersey Today: "Political Payoff? GOP Mayor Got $75,000 'Fictitious' Job"
• Website: "Rahway Valley Sewerage Authority"
  

-- Dan Damon

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ARCHIVED POSTS OF PLAINFIELD TODAY FROM 11/03/2005 THROUGH 12/31/2006 ARE AT
http://plainfieldtoday.blogspot.com/

Putting the thumb on the Union County taxpayers' scale

Someone -- Charlotte DeFillippo? Ray Lesniak? -- is costing Union County taxpayers a pretty penny for job hanky-panky.

No, not the Cryan kind.

The kind that comes from picking the son of a former Union Township mayor to head up the County's Weights And Measures Division -- responsible for seeing you are not being ripped off by gas pumps or produce and meat scales throughout the county.

So far the County has had to settle with two employees who were passed over so the young man could have the job -- for a total of $550,000 -- plus legal fees which have yet to be fully tabulated. (The plaintiff's legal fees, which must be paid by the County, amount so far in this phase, to $34,000).

The story is in the Ledger [see more here...]

By the way, the head of the Division of Weights and Measures reports to Plainfield city councilor Harold Gibson, who, in his day job, is Union County's Director of Public Safety.

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Star-Ledger: "Rejecting employees remains costly"

-- Dan Damon

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ARCHIVED POSTS OF PLAINFIELD TODAY FROM 11/03/2005 THROUGH 12/31/2006 ARE AT
http://plainfieldtoday.blogspot.com/

Jersey Guys: Sen. Lesniak a 'gay Polack politician'

So, 101.5's bad boys have been at it again.

Yesterday, Union County's Sen. Ray Lesniak struck back at Carton & Rossi in a blistering OpEd piece in the Star-Ledger. (See his OpEd at the end of this post.)

This is not the first time the bad boys have embarrassed the station. In April 2005, the deadly duo conducted an on-air assault on Asian-Americans during the primary campaign of Jun Choi for mayor of Edison.

The outrage reached such a fever pitch that national attention was drawn to Choi's candidacy. Major advertisers, including Cingular and Bank of America, cancelled their advertising on the station, which is owned by Millenium Broadcasting.

After weeks of controversy, Carton & Rossi made a formal apology on air and Millenium agreed to put in place guidelines to enhance staffers' cultural understanding and prevent such outrages in the future. Word has it that there was also a financial settlement in the form of a contribution to an Asian-American charity, though PT cannot find confirming details.

You'd think Carton & Rossi would have learned their lesson, but apparently not.

It is not exactly clear from Sen. Lesniak's letter whether he was actually ON the program or
CALLED IN to respond to their gay-bashing. In any event, the deadly duo was way off base to suggest Lesniak is gay without any evidence, and to denigrate all Poles and accuse them of complicity in the Holocaust.

This photo, evidently taken at Sen. Lesniak's party
honoring a Polish rock group, is posted on 101.5's website.
It evidently forms the basis of Carton & Rossi's outrageous comments.

Sen. Lesniak is right on to challenge them. PT only hopes that the public reaction will equal that of the Choi incident, that Carton & Rossi will again have to make a public, on-air apology, and that a financial settlement by way of a contribution to a charity of the Senator's choice would certainly be in order.

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Star-Ledger OpEd
An eruption of bigotry and hate on the radio

Thursday, February 15, 2007

BY RAYMOND J. LESNIAK

Call it an evolution of bigotry that went from gay stereotyping to Polish bashing to religious hatred. All played out re cently on New Jersey 101.5 FM Radio.

What started out as "harmless" banter morphed into the "Jersey Guys," the afternoon jock shocks, calling me a "gay Polack" politician and quickly turned into vicious religious hatred. The on-air incident demonstrated that starting down the road of bigotry only leads to the depths of hell.

Some may have thought it was funny when the 101.5 talkers known as Carton & Rossi "outed" me as gay because of a picture of me with what they said was a "flamboyant" male with red hair and a tight leopard-skin suit. Turns out this man, while certainly flamboyant, was a Polish rock star, and as a Polish-American state senator, I was hosting a party for the band after a concert in my hometown of Elizabeth.

At some point, my explanation resulted in the name-calling on air. I complained to station manager Eric Johnson that the word "Polack" was derogatory, an ethnic slur.

This set off a wave of Polack references from the shock jocks that were picked up and repeated by callers to the station.

The Polack bashing then took a particularly ugly turn when one of the 101.5 jocks said half the Polacks became Nazis to kill Jews, a senti ment that kindles hatred and opens old wounds that the Jewish and Catholic communities have worked so hard to heal, Poland being a predominantly Catholic nation.

As a recipient of the Man of the Year award from the Jewish National Fund, I'm well aware of the united efforts by religious and lay leaders of the Jewish and Catholic communities to combat anti-Semitism and promote respect among all religions.

I'm also a veteran and a member of the Polish Legion of American Veterans, most of whom fought the Nazis (I was not born yet). Hundreds of thousands of Poles were killed during the Nazi occupation of Poland.

Members of the 101.5 team ob viously never visited Normandy where they would have seen the American, British, Canadian and Polish flags flying side by side honoring the brave soldiers from those countries who participated in the D-Day invasion.

Or if they had visited Israel, they might have learned of the Hall of Righteous Gentiles, an integral part of the Holocaust Memorial in Israel that is populated by Polish citizens who risked their lives to save their Jewish neighbors.

From the Revolutionary War (Gens. Casmir Pulaski and Thad deus Kosciusko) to the war in Iraq, the Polish people have aided America's cause. No mention of that by 101.5 FM Radio.

My father, a brilliant man, had to quit school when he was 12 to do manual work to help support his family. There were no opportunities for recent immigrant families from Poland. And he had to endure the Polack putdowns so common in those days to keep his job.

I learned early, as a young child, what people meant when they called me or my dad a Polack. It wasn't pretty and it wasn't pleasant. To hear it repeated over public airwaves to an audience of thou sands, and to be associated with killing Jews, is unimaginably cruel and hateful.

New Jersey 101.5 FM Radio has combined ignorance with hate, an extremely dangerous potion.

Raymond J. Lesniak, a former chairman of the state Democratic Party, has represented Union County in the state Senate since 1983. He previously served in the state Assembly.

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FURTHER READING

Asian Media Watch: "Coalition and NJ 101.5 FM/Millennium Reach Mutual Understanding"
Wikipedia: "The Jersey Guys"
Jersey 101.5 - "The Carton & Rossi page"

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ARCHIVED POSTS OF PLAINFIELD TODAY FROM 11/03/2005 THROUGH 12/31/2006 ARE AT
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