New Pay-to-Play Measure Heading to Ballot

Gloucester Township Council declines to take action on a pay-to-play measure targeting Super PACs Monday night.

A pay-to-play ordinance targeting so-called Super PACs appears headed to the ballot in Gloucester Township this November after the Township Council on Monday declined to take action on the measure. The ordinance, which was forwarded to Council following a petition drive by a five-member committee of active local Democratic Party supporters, is identical to one Councilman Dan Hutchison crafted and presented to Council earlier this summer.  On Monday, Hutchison appealed to his Council colleagues to allow township voters to decide on the proposed measure (see PDF to right). "I believe the disclosure ordinance should be decided by the people of this town. If they don't support it, then they'll vote it down. If they do support it, then they'll …

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Keith

6:09 pm on Wednesday, March 27, 2013

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/02/ex-employee_of_nj_engineering.html Why isn't gloucester township covering the indictments of Birdsall, alot of work was done by them when they were CMX. I'm sure their has been some shady contracts by current mayor and councilman hutchison.   more ›

New Pay-to-Play Petition to Go Before Council

Gloucester Township certifies a Democratic group's pay-to-play petition, opening it up to possibly appear on the ballot in the upcoming November election.

Gloucester Township's municipal clerk approved a Democratic group's pay-to-play petition on Tuesday, allowing it to proceed forward to a public hearing next week. Municipal clerk Rosemarie DiJosie certified the paperwork, meaning that the Township Council will now consider the petition. A public hearing on the petition will be held at the next Council meeting on Aug. 27. This latest petition drive comes just weeks after a conservative watchdog group saw its own petition drive end after a state Appellate Court upheld an earlier ruling to exclude hundreds of signatures. The ruling meant the petition fell short of the 1,047 signatures needed to move the matter forward as a ballot question. At its July 9 meeting, Council brought forward its …

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Paul J. DiBartolo

11:13 am on Thursday, August 23, 2012

Have we transitioned over into the Twilight Zone, or what? Does anybody else find the following timeline strange: > SJC draws up a petition and takes months and months to get the required amount of signatures - somewhere around 1,085 (I'm not sure of the exact number or time because, contrary to what some have tried to insinuate, I was not involved when this all started). > Council refuses to …   more ›

Democrats' Pay-to-Play Petition in Clerk's Hands

The petitioners circulated Councilman Dan Hutchison's proposed ordinance, which targets Super PACs, and reportedly collected about 1,700 signatures.

A group of Democrats has submitted a petition supporting a local pay-to-play ordinance to the Gloucester Township Clerk's Office. The ordinance is the same as the one the Township Council approved on first reading at its July 9 meeting, but later pulled from consideration. The measure, which targets Super PACs, was crafted by Councilman Dan Hutchison. The Democrats' petition drive garnered roughly 1,700 signatures, according to Clerk Rosemary DiJosie. The committee of petitoners delivered the petition forms to the Clerk's Office Thursday, Aug. 2. DiJosie's office has 20 days from submission to either certify or reject the petition—if rejected, the committee would have 10 days to remedy deficiencies as identified by the Clerk's Office. The …

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Pay-to-Play Litigation Drama Spills Into Council Chambers

Things got heated at times during Monday's Gloucester Township Council meeting.

The tension in Gloucester Township Council Chambers was palpable when an active Democrat stepped to the microphone Monday night to ask the township attorney questions about a resident's claims a conservative watchdog group duped her into signing its controversial initiative petition last year. Blenheim resident and businesswoman Amy Tarves—a Gloucester Township Municipal Utilities Authority commissioner, Blenheim Fire Co. Board of Commissioners secretary, and a township representative on the Camden County Democratic Party Committee—appeared before Council with a copy of the affidavit signed by Joanne Stallworth Holmes. The affidavit pertains to South Jersey Citizens' petition drive for a pay-to-play reform ordinance. "Ms. Holmes states …

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Sean McCullen

12:08 am on Thursday, July 26, 2012

In the future, keep the comments at least somewhat centered in reality, folks. No one with knowledge of DOJ or AG investigations is going to come onto a public forum to discuss those allegations. It's just foolish. Stop with the threats of lawsuits, and attempts to make others believe you have some insider knowledge. Both of you are making unsubstantiated, baseless claims. There's plenty of wood …   more ›

SJ Citizens Wins Court Battle; Who Will Win War?

A judge’s ruling on the embattled pay-to-play petition is just one victory South Jersey Citizens needs on the long road to make a ballot question happen.

South Jersey Citizens triumphed in a court case Tuesday, but there is still no guarantee that the watchdog group’s pay-to-play petition will make it onto the November ballot. The group faced off against Gloucester Township in Superior Court on Tuesday over whether additional signatures should be disqualified on the pay-to-play petition, which seeks a limit on how much township contractors can donate to political candidates and political action committees. Judge Louis Meloni previously disqualified more than 200 signatures on the petition. The July 10 hearing centered on several residents who claimed their signatures were improperly collected or forged on the petition, a finding that could have struck down more signatures. The case hinged …

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Council Moves Pay-to-Play Measure

Councilman Dan Hutchison asked his colleagues to consider a measure to strengthen the township's controls on so-called pay-to-play activities.

In a surprising move by Gloucester Township Council, the governing body introduced and unanimously approved a measure Monday night that, if approved, would strengthen the town's controls on so-called pay-to-play activities. The ordinance likely will be considered for final approval at Council's next public-action meeting, which is scheduled for July 23, at which time a public hearing will be conducted. Councilman Dan Hutchison reportedly asked his colleagues to consider the measure last week during a workshop meeting. "This ordinance should be acted upon," he said Monday night. "Something should be done (about pay to play)." The ordinance differs from one proposed by conservative watchdog group South Jersey Citizens in that it would …

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Pay-to-Play Petition Group's Lawsuit to Go to Trial Next Month

A Superior Court judge ruled on a few issues Friday, but left the rest for next month.

A watchdog group seeking a pay-to-play ban in Gloucester Township will have its lawsuit heard in Superior Court next month. Superior Court Judge Louis R. Meloni has set July 10 as the date for a plenary hearing in Berry v. DiJosie. It is expected Meloni will rule on the fate of the citizen group's petition drive at that time. South Jersey Citizens (SJC), a group consisting mostly of conservative Gloucester Township residents, filed the lawsuit against Township Clerk Rosemary DiJosie in April after the clerk twice denied the group's pay-to-play petition on the recommendations of Township Solicitor David Carlamere. Meloni made a few rulings last Friday during a hearing at the Camden Hall of Justice. The judge ruled a petition form had to be …

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Gloucester Twp. Officials Hand Pay-to-Play Petition to Prosecutor's Office

Five township residents have signed affidavits claiming improprieties in the petition's circulation.

South Jersey Citizens One Step from Filing Lawsuit Against Township

The watchdog group's pay-to-play petition committee sent a letter to the clerk Tuesday night asking her to reconsider her prior decision.

In what it labeled its "final step" to avoid a potentially costly legal battle as it continues its push for a pay-to-play ban in Democrat-controlled Gloucester Township, a petition committee made up of South Jersey Citizens (SJC) members on Tuesday night sent a letter to the township Clerk's Office asking the clerk to reconsider her decision to not certify its petition. The conservative watchdog group has given Clerk Rosemary DiJosie until the end of business on Friday, April 13, to respond before it will proceed with a lawsuit. Asked about the letter on Wednesday, DiJosie declined to comment to Patch. SJC has enlisted New Jersey Appleseed Public Interest Law Center in its fight to have its pay-to-play petition certified. The non-profit …

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