Lynch plea may end
era of bosses
BY JASON METHOD,
APP.COM from the Web, September 18, 2006
During then-Gov. James E. McGreevey's
first address to the state Legislature in 2002, political boss John A. Lynch Jr.
sat upright in the front row of the balcony of the Assembly chambers, dressed in
a black turtleneck and dark suit.
Lynch, a former state Senate president who was McGreevey's mentor and patron,
looked as if he were watching a performance he had written and directed.
Lynch was at the height of his political power, and McGreevey's early
administration marked a high point of power for political bosses in New Jersey.
McGreevey staffers said privately that Lynch and other Democratic leaders, such
as Camden County's George Norcross, called the governor's office daily with
instructions on hiring, contracts and policy decisions.
On Friday, Lynch wore a dark suit again, but this time he found himself in an
unfamiliar location: the fourth-floor courtroom in U.S. District Court in
Newark. There, he sat with head bowed before he stood and pleaded guilty
to charges of tax evasion and corruption.
Political observers say Lynch's stunning political demise may herald the
beginning of a new era in New Jersey politics, one in which political bosses
hold far less sway and decisions are made through a more democratic process.
"The king is dead," proclaimed Rider University political science professor
David P. Rebovich. "With him, does the system change? There will be
enormous pressure within the establishment to clean things up."
Rebovich said Lynch's plea will bring new calls in the state Legislature to pass
further campaign finance reform that would further prevent contractors from
giving money to the campaigns officials who hire them.
Meanwhile, state Senate President Richard J. Codey said Friday that legislators
would review the test program for the public funding of elections and consider
passing an improved Clean Elections law next year.
A statewide ban on the practice of pay-to-play — in which contractors and
professionals give money to campaigns in hopes of receiving government work —
was enacted in 2005.
But watchdog groups have argued money can be transferred from committee to
committee, keeping the pay-to-play largely still in effect.
The power brokers
Political bosses have run New Jersey's government for decades, and the practice
continues to this day.
Perhaps the most notable was Jersey City Mayor Frank "Boss" Hague, who famously
said, "I am the law," when one of his decisions was challenged. Hague, who
ruled as mayor from 1917 until 1947, used municipal patronage jobs as a form of
social welfare in turbulent times even as he consolidated his power.
In the past 30 years, political bosses have emerged as leaders of county
political parties. They have used campaign contributions raised by those
parties, and patronage contracts and jobs at the county and local levels, to
cement their power to choose candidates and make decisions.
Other past powerful bosses have included former Burlington County Republican
Chairmen J. Garfield DeMarco and Glenn Paulsen.
Bergen County's Democratic chairman, Joseph Ferriero, and former Camden County
Chairman George Norcross are still believed to hold considerable power.
Lynch, famous for his furious temper and for meeting with Democratic Party
operatives at diners and restaurants around New Brunswick and Middlesex County,
was arguably the most powerful political boss in New Jersey.
He was largely credited with rejuvenating New Brunswick, even if his close
relationships to developers were questioned.
Lynch, 67, admitted Friday that he used his political connections to take
$25,000 in corrupt payments in 1998 from Dallenbach Sand Co. of South Brunswick
and failed to pay $150,000 in federal taxes. Lynch, a partner in the
powerful Lynch Martin law firm, which has an office in Red Bank, was heavily
involved in development deals in Monmouth County.
Also pleading guilty with Lynch was Jack Westlake, 76, a prominent Monmouth
County developer and president of the Monmouth County Board of Taxation.
Lynch and Westlake had been involved in several development deals together.
Lynch is expected to be sentenced to between 31 and 44 months in prison on Dec.
19.
Lynch is not the only boss to be brought down by criminal charges in recent
years as the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Christopher J. Christie, has
continued his focus on political corruption. Former Hudson County
Executive Robert C. Janiszewski and former Essex County Executive James
Treffinger both pleaded guilty to taking bribes.
Former Monmouth County Freeholder Director Harry Larrison Jr. was charged with
taking bribes shortly before his death in May 2005.
Out of power?
Times are certainly changing for political bosses.
Codey said there are now fewer pure bosses than when he entered politics in the
1970s. Even bosses with tough reputations, such as Ferriero, must answer
to the rank-and-file party members.
"He (Ferriero) can't walk in the room and say, this is what you're going to do,
boom, boom, boom," Codey said. "He has to have a dialogue. But he
can still be a leader, and he is."
Still, there remains Norcross, who became famous for raising millions of dollars
for campaigns and, later when captured on tape, for expletive-laced tirades.
"Norcross, that's something I don't get to see in action," Codey said.
"Obviously, his style and myself are not necessarily compatible. Other
times I can deal with him. We're different."
Codey said so-called bosses can be beneficial, by making key party decisions and
focusing the party faithful.
"There are good bosses and bad bosses; it's the way they go about it," Codey
said. "One who expects total commitment to them, and giving up your
principles, that's wrong."
State Sen. Ellen Karcher, D-Monmouth, said party members told her that she had
angered Lynch when she ran against Republican state Sen. John O. Bennett III in
2003 without consulting Lynch first.
Karcher said she was told to go see Lynch at one of his usual meeting places.
But Karcher said she decided not to.
"I wasn't going to wait my turn like at the deli counter to ask this guy if I'm
going to run," Karcher recalled last week. "Where did it say I had to go
to him first?"
Karcher won Bennett's seat that November.
Ingrid Reed, a Rutgers University political science professor, said she believes
there is a slow evolution occurring in party politics.
Reform in campaign financing and elsewhere "rights the balance, and that's what
will change the role of people in politics. It will change bosses from
bosses to chairs and leaders," Reed said.
"The mold has been broken, and we will find a new way," she added.
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