Former Ridgewood Mayor, Manager Fined For Ethics Law Violation

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — The former mayor and village manager have been fined by the state Local Finance Board regarding their appearance in a video allegedly used to exhort people to vote in favor of a downtown parking deck.

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

The board issued notices to Aronsohn and Sonenfeld regarding its decision. The notices are not final determinations and Aronsohn and Sonenfeld may request administrative hearings in the matter.

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 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 last year. The board enforces the Local Government Ethics Law. Six residents sued the village over the video.

Paff claimed that the video was an "advocacy piece intended to persuade residents to vote 'yes' on the referendum."

Efforts to bring the much-needed parking deck to the downtown area have dragged on for years.

Aronsohn's administration approved a design for the structure and residents overwhelmingly supported the project in a nonbinding referendum in 2015, which included county funds. But then officials decided to forgo the county funds in favor of an $11.5 million capital bond. Residents voted down a referendum on the bond.

The Planning Board voted unanimously last month to recommend that the Village Council designate the Hudson Street parking lot as an "area in need of redevelopment," NorthJersey.com reported.

Aronsohn and Sonenfeld issued a joint statement on the ruling Tuesday morning:

"We disagree with this preliminary decision and question the basis for it. Specifically, there were two seemingly critical omissions from the Board's notice: (1) there was no reference to the positive legal opinion we received from Ridgewood's Bond Counsel in support of the parking deck video; (2) and there was no explanation given with respect to the alleged "privileges and advantages" that went to anyone.

Plain and simple, we would not have kept the video on the Village website without the full support of our legal counsel. And we can't think of anyone who would have accrued any "privilege or advantage" from a parking deck, except for the Ridgewood commuters, business owners, shoppers and diners who desperately search for parking spots on an almost daily basis.

Regardless, we fully stand by the parking deck video and all of the other informational materials we made available to the public — materials that were aligned with our governing body’s unanimous vote in support of a parking deck as well as our legal counsel’s unequivocal opinion in support of our efforts.

The Local Finance Board has offered us an opportunity to respond to its notice, and we plan to avail ourselves of that opportunity. Our expectation is that a full, thoughtful dialogue with Board Members will lead to a more reasonable, more just outcome."

RELATED: Residents File Lawsuit Against Ridgewood Regarding Alleged Parking Deck 'Propaganda'
RELATED: Ridgewood Residents Vote Down Bonding $11.5 Million For Parking Deck
RELATED: Gadfly Files Ethics Complaint Against Ridgewood Mayor, Manager

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