Former Ridgewood Mayor Cleared In Ethics Probe: Report

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — A state board has cleared Ridgewood's former mayor and village manager of charges they violated New Jersey ethics laws by appearing in a video, according to a report.

Paul Aronsohn and ex-manager Roberta Sonenfeld were each fined by the board $100 for appearing in a 2016 video urging residents to vote "yes" on a referendum for the Hudson Street parking deck.

The video was posted on the village website and distributed via email.

John Paff, a gadfly who blogs about New Jersey state and municipal government, filed the complaint with the Local Finance Board in 2016. The board enforces the Local Government Ethics Law. Six residents sued the village over the video.

Local government ethics law states that no government officer or employee can use their position to "secure unwarranted privileges or advantages for himself or others."

The Local Finance Board ruled that Aronsohn and Sonenfeld had not violated the Local Government Ethics Law, as NorthJersey.com's Marsha A. Stoltz reported. On Monday, Board Chair Jacquelyn Suarez sent the decision to Administrative Law Judge Jude-Anthony Tiscornia, Stoltz reported. The board decided the video was "not persuasive but informational" and that the former Ridgewood leaders did not stand to make money from the referendum, according to the report.

Governor Phil Murphy named Aronsohn as the state's first Ombudsman for Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities and Their Families in 2018.