PACs in Gloucester Township: One Example

Another election season is upon us. Campaign fundraising and campaign events are in full gear.

On Saturday, a campaign event was scheduled where you can join “Mayor Dave Mayer and Friends” at a barbeque “paid for by Gloucester Township Parents for Educational Excellence, 124 Adrienne Ave., Blackwood NJ 08012.

This barbeque is to promote the candidacy of the Team Mayer-backed Gloucester Township Board of Education candidates, namely Helen Albright Troxell, Mary Jo Dintino, and Mark Gallo.

Don’t let the high-minded name of the PAC fool you. This PAC (political action committee) Gloucester Township Parents for Educational Excellence is funded mostly by donations from a handful of professional firms who were selected by Gloucester Township to receive lucrative no-bid appointments.

All PACs are required to file disclosure reports to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. No 2014 reports are yet available for this particular PAC, and it had very minimal activity in 2013. So let’s take a close look at this PAC’s 2012 disclosures.

The PAC’s chairperson is Suzanne M. Moore. Ms. Moore is employed by Senator James Beach.

The PAC’s treasurer is Ken Treger.

The PAC states that it has no political party affiliation. The PAC’s activities belie this assertion, but campaign finance regulations are such that there are no repercussions from making deceptive statements.

In 2012, the total contributions collected were $18,200.

In 2012, this PAC’s contributors were:

• Remington & Vernick - an engineering firm who, for years, and without the need for competitive bidding, has been appointed GT’s street engineer. R&V gave the maximum legal contribution of $7,200.

• Blue Sky Power - an energy firm who, for years, and without the need for competitive bidding, has been appointed GT’s energy consultant.

• Consulting Engineering Services - an engineering firm who, for years, and without the need for competitive bidding, has been appointed GT’s drainage engineer.

• Joseph. F. McKernan Jr. R.A. - an architect who, without the need for competitive bidding, has been appointed GT’s architect.

• The Assoc of Former Gloucester Twp Democratic Mayors PAC - (Yes, that’s right, one PAC contributing to another PAC.) This PAC exists to raise money to support Team Mayer. This PAC’s contributors include familiar names. Remington & Vernick (gave the maximum legal contribution of $7,200), the law firm Wade,Long,Wood & Kennedy, Pettit Assoc (GT’s no-bid engineer), Acacia Financial (GT’s no-bid financial consultant).

• Gloucester Twp Citizens for Government Reform PAC - This PAC, directly connected to Team Mayer, was formed in 2010 by Sam Siler and Marianne Coyle. This PAC’s contributors include familiar names. Remington & Vernick (gave the maximum legal contribution of $7,200), Acacia Financial (GT’s no-bid financial consultant), Harvey Sternberg (a lawyer/real estate developer from Pennsylvania), the law firm Wade,Long,Wood & Kennedy, David Carlamere, United Computer (GT’s no-bid computer consultant), Consulting Engineering Services (see above).

• GT Chairman’s Club PAC - Another PAC directly connected to Team Mayer. This PAC’s contributors include familiar names. Remington & Vernick (gave the maximum legal contribution of $7,200), Acacia Financial (GT’s no-bid financial consultant), Archer & Greiner (GT’s no-bid labor lawyer), Howard Long, John Wade, the law firm Wade,Long,Wood & Kennedy (yes, these two gentlemen contributed both as individuals and as a firm), David Carlamere, United Computer (GT’s no-bid computer consultant), Consulting Engineering Services (see above).

This is just one PAC.

It may surprise you that, in 2012, there were 11 PACs based in Gloucester Township.

These 11 raised a total of $193K in 2012, $191,000 of this $193,000 were raised by PACs associated with Team Mayer.