Camden County Officials Call On EDA Task Force Chair To Resign

Democratic officials in South Jersey are now calling on the chairman of the task force appointed by Gov. Phil Murphy, also a Democrat, to examine the state’s tax incentive program to resign.

In a statement issued Monday morning, officials called for Ronald K. Chen to resign as the chair of the Task Force on the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) Tax Incentives program.

Chen is a law professor at Rutgers University, which county officials said “has directly and indirectly benefitted from more than $50 million in EDA tax incentives during his employment.” They went on to say they don’t believe Chen’s review can be fair or unbiased.

Chen was the dean of the Rutgers-Newark Law School in 2016, when Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation granting the university $25 million in tax credits for an upgrade to “Big 10 quality” athletic facilities, according to New Jersey Globe.

"Professor Chen is one of the state’s preeminent legal minds and his ethics are above reproach," Darryl Isherwood, a spokesperson for the governor's office, said. "Any effort to say otherwise is nothing more than a desperate attempt to muddy the water on the task force’s investigation and the potential abuses of taxpayer resources it has so far uncovered."

Chen wasn’t immediately available for comment Monday morning.

“We think the very idea is suspect at best and laughable at worst,” read a statement issued by Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli Jr., Camden Mayor Frank Moran, Camden Council President Curtis Jenkins and State Sen. Nilsa Cruz Perez (D-5).

Additionally, attorneys representing the county sent a letter to Chen and attorney Jim Walden, alleging that the task force is going about its investigation of the NJEDA illegally.

"The arbitrary restrictions you imposed on our clients' rights to respond to false accusations against them denies each of them the opportunity to exercise their First Amendment rights, as well as their rights to publicly confront accusers within the same public forum," the attorneys wrote, in part. "Given your stated intention to publicly adduce adverse evidence against our clients, these restrictions are particularly noxious. We therefore demand an opportunity to submit a public presentation to the Task Force at its next scheduled hearing. ... Should you refuse to do so, we intend to seek legal relief."

Officials said Chen is violating the university’s Code of Ethics including, but not limited to the provision that states that faculty “shall not knowingly act in any way that might reasonably be expected to create the impression or suspicion among the public having knowledge of [Professor Chen’s] acts that [Professor Chen] might be or may be engaged in conduct violative of [Professor Chen’s] trust as a University … faculty member.”

“Professor Chen’s conduct in relying on the advice of counsel who is not authorized to practice law in New Jersey and to use that advice to challenge the very program by which Rutgers received significant benefits at the very least creates a reasonable impression that his conduct is contrary to both New Jersey law and Rutgers’ interests,” the officials said. “For this reason, we call for his resignation.”

A representative from Rutgers wasn’t immediately available for comment on whether Chen is violating their Code of Ethics Monday morning.

The statement comes three days after officials called Murphy “hypocritical” for what they called his "relentless attacks" on Camden businesses who receive tax incentives from the state. They pointed to a report that said Murphy lobbied for incentives from the same program for Goldman Sachs when he was their managing director in 2016.

Spurred by a report from the State Comptroller that warned of a severe lack of monitoring and oversight over past awards – as well as thousands of promised jobs that couldn't be substantiated – the task force recently began the job of reviewing every award with paid benefits.

On Thursday, the task force held a public hearing about $11 billion in corporate tax breaks that benefit New Jersey businesses over the last 14 years, including Prudential, Holtec, Honeywell and Campbell's Soup. Holtec and Campbell's Soup are both based in Camden.

Questions have also been raised about how South Jersey Democratic power broker George Norcross benefits from state tax incentives.

The programs established by the Economic Opportunity Act are set to expire this year, and Murphy has called for significant reforms, including a hard cap on per-job and annual awards, tighter reporting requirements, and targeting awards to emerging industries and "homegrown businesses."

See related: Task Force Probes New Jersey's $11B 'Corporate Gravy Train'