Local Government Political Activity and Misuse of Office

Political activity by local government employees can be a sign of misuse of office. And when election problems arise, they generally involve local
government employees, as has happened in <a href="http://www.essex-countynj.org/">Essex County</a> (NJ; home of
Newark), according to <a href="http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/essex_county_elections_chief_c…
article in Friday's <i>Star-Ledger</i></a>.<br>
<br>
The principal problem with political activity involves patronage, the
system whereby officials make it a requirement of being hired for a job
that the employee work for the election of certain candidates. The
classic case is Chicago, where even a federal order to institute
serious obstacles to the patronage system were, for years, <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/117">undermined by fraudulent
conduct</a>.<br>
<br>

The situation in Essex County is more complicated, but nearly all the players
seem to be local government officials and employees. According to <a href="http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/fifth_person_indicted_for_vote…
earlier <i>Star-Ledger</i> article</a>, back in August, five individuals were
indicted for forgery, fraud, and other crimes related to absentee
ballots in a state senatorial election (more specifically, the ballots
involved are known as "messenger ballots," used by those who cannot
leave their homes due to illness, infirmity, or disability).<br>
<br>
The first to be indicted was the only one who was not a local
government official. Two were Newark employees, another worked for the
county sheriff's office, and another worked for the county's superintendent
of elections.<br>
<br>
Then in December the candidate's husband, himself an Essex County
freeholder (that is, council member), was indicted, along with aides to
the Newark mayor and a Democratic power broker, and two county employees, on grounds of ballot tampering.<br>
<br>
According to the most recent article, the latest to be charged is the
county superintendent of elections himself, who appears to have gotten the
investigation started in the first place. He was charged with creating a scheme by which
his department's employees would be paid for days spent campaigning.<br>
<br>
This is a government ethics issue because it appears that local government officials were deeply involved
not only in possible voter fraud, but in using the power of their
public offices to further the interests of their political allies. And
they were willing to use public money and, most likely, public
facilities to further these personal interests.<br>
<br>
What differentiates this from the usual conflict situation, besides the
political aspect, is that the conflicts are not personal and financial
in the usual sense. Their acts are not directly beneficial to them. The conflicts are part of a system whereby elected
and appointed officials misuse their offices for purposes they know are
not in the public interest. And they easily justify such misuse on the
grounds that everyone does it, they are not personally benefiting, and
everyone has a constitutional right to be involved in electoral
politics.<br>
<br>
At the same time, they know that "everyone does it" is a child's
excuse; that they are personally benefiting, even though the benefit
isn't a quid pro quo; and there are limits on constitutional rights. In
fact, there are federal, state, and local laws that limit political
activity by government employees, and they have been held constitutional.<br>
<br>
This paragraph from Friday's <i>Star-Ledger</i> article says it all:<br>
<ul>
"I’m taken aback and I’m surprised," said Essex County Executive Joseph
DiVincenzo Jr., whose roots, like [the superintendent of elections'],
extend to Newark’s North
Ward and Barringer High School.<br>
</ul>
There's nothing surprising about what has been coming out. Nor that the county "power broker," who has done a great deal for the city, was
taught at the high school back when. All politics is local,
yes, but more important, all politics is personal.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
---