Jackson officials are challenged to take action on pay-to-play
Harry Pozycki, the chairman of the Citizens' Campaign, recently said, "Gov. (Jon) Corzine and Assembly Speaker

Joseph) Roberts need to act today to introduce and win adoption of legislation that extends the successful state-level anti-pay-to-play law to ban political contributions by government contractors at the local government level."

If the state is unable or unwilling to do so, we should do so on the local level.

If we have time to pass ordinances for feral cats or resolutions opposing the transfer of the Governor's Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, we should have sufficient time to put some teeth into local laws that ban government contractors from making political contributions at the township level.

It is disappointing that Jackson Township Council members have so many other causes to support that they have insufficient time to address those issues that directly affect the constituents they represent.

T

his Township Council bemoans

the fact that professional service expenses are not being controlled and are politically motivated, but when you have the opportunity to stop such "game playing," you have failed to take any appropriate action.

The time to take action is before we award any more contracts and before the electioneering occurs, not afterward.

Members of the Township Council have accepted donations from professional service firms and you still wonder why the public perception of your political motivations is in question. Who is kidding who here?

I can only agree with Mr. Pozycki, who wrote, "Officials must put the interests of all taxpayers ahead of a select few political insiders who benefit from the status quo."

It is now time for action and I call upon the Jackson Township Council and the mayor to address such concerns immediately.

Paul Mayerowitz

Jackson