Political Candidates Can Appear on Public Access TV

The township recently granted candidates for elected office permission to host and appear on public access television shows on channel 77.

The Town Council approved the change at a meeting last week. The governing body also gave control of the town’s other cable access channel to William Paterson University. Previously, the township had editorial control over the channel.

A lawsuit against the township and William Paterson University by William Brennan, a former state Assembly candidate, regarding the rules of the original ordinance remains pending in federal court, NorthJersey.com reported.

Brennan filed the suit in October 2011 when the university and the township refused to air “New Jersey Civil Circus,” which provided commentary on municipal politics. Brennan produced the program. 

Brennan said refusing to air the program violated his Constitutional right to free speech.

Brennan was running against state 40th District incumbent Assemblyman Scott Rumana, former Wayne mayor, when he filed the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, the university refused to air one of Brennan’s programs because it contained profanity and a telephone number and violated “general rules of conduct.”

The program aired in dozens of municipalities in Bergen, Essex, Passaic and Morris counties, Brennan previously said.

A university engineer told Brennan in an e-mail that “the mentioning of a phone number is unacceptable as it would possible be considered not only public dissemination of private information, but also possibly a security concern.”

NorthJersey.com reported that oral arguments in the case were scheduled a few weeks ago but were cancelled due to the ordinance pending approval by the council.

— Have a question or news tip? Contact editor Daniel Hubbard at Daniel.Hubbard@patch.com or find us on Facebook and Twitter. For news straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.