County Executive James Tedesco broke
his campaign pledge not to have any members of his executive staff hold or run
for elected office. It took his office 10 days to craft a terse response
to my initial email (a written policy was not provided). The response is not consistent with
statements made to the papers by the administration.
I am curious as to what “direct role”
county government would play in policy-making for state government and
municipal government. Local school
districts have many contracts with county government for tuition, health
services, vocational and technical high schools, county hospitals, etc. The public deserves an explanation from Marc
Schrieks and Tedesco’s office. There
should be some form of accountability. Below is
an email chain. Schrieks and Tedesco’s
office are either unwilling or unable to answer the title question.
August 13, 2018; to Tedesco’s office:
Mr. Tedesco,
I am a resident/voter of Lodi and an
advocate for ethics reform at all levels of government.
In 2015, Marc Schrieks resigned as
the Mayor of Lodi to become one of your deputy chiefs of staff. At the
time, nj.com reported: “Schrieks resigned to comply with Tedesco's pledge
not to have any elected officials on his executive staff.”
Northjersey.com reported: “Schrieks said he was doing so to comply with
Tedesco’s new ethics policy in which he pledged to not have any elected
officials working on his executive staff.”
Marc Schrieks is currently running
for the Lodi Board of Education, an elected position on the November
ballot. As a candidate for County Executive, you will be on top of that
same ballot.
Can you explain the reasoning for
abandoning your pledge to not have any elected officials on your executive
staff?
Can you email me a written copy of
the ethics policy you set at the start of your term so I can better understand
it?
Thanks.
Ryan Curioni
August 23, 2018; County Executive wrote:
Mr. Curioni:
Thank you for contacting me
regarding your question regarding my policy statement on senior county
employees holding elected office.
This policy prohibits employees of
the Office of County Executive, as well as County Department heads, from
pursuing or holding municipal, county, or statewide elected office while also
serving in county government. This policy does not include local school board
positions, as county government does not play a direct role in policymaking for
local school districts.
August 23, 2018; to Tedesco’ office:
Mr. Tedesco,
Thank you for providing a response.
Can you just clarify what direct
role the county government plays in policy-making for state government and
municipal government and which types of perceived conflicts you seek to avoid?
Thank you.
Ryan Curioni
September 5, 2018; Still no response from Tedesco’s office
