Republicans Cry Foul Over GCUA Appointments

Calling it “just another political appointment,” Republicans blasted a move to approve a pair of candidates to fill vacancies on the Gloucester County Utility Authorities (GCUA) board at the county freeholders' end-of-year meeting Wednesday.

In a party-line vote, the four Democratic freeholders voted to place Hugh Garrison and Thomas Bianco, two Democrats themselves, on the GCUA board, filling slots that have been empty since the summer.

Republican freeholders Larry Wallace and Vince Nestore said the move was nothing more than the same old patronage system, replacing one political cog with another.

The move means Garrison, who willingly stepped aside in this year's West Deptford committee race, will shift to a new government position a few miles down Crown Point Road from his old seat on township committee, while Bianco, who is Clayton's mayor-elect, adds another government position to his resume.

In addition to being Democrats, the two men are also county employees; Garrison works in the county's Information Technology department, while Bianco works for the tax assessor's office.

Those facts didn't escape the Republicans, who immediately pointed to that as clear evidence of the political machine rewarding party loyalists.

“I'm tired of the political appointments just for the sake of giving someone a job,” Wallace said after the closeout meeting. “That's why I voted no.”

For Wallace, it's less about the money or additional pension-padding–retiring members David Shields and Josephine Myers each received compensation for their positions; Shields was paid $5,272 annually and Myers made $4,768–than it is the control over the GCUA.

“There's a lot of power behind that job,” Wallace said, pointing to the GCUA's budget, which was more than $24 million in 2010.

The Republicans said they'd rather see independents on the GCUA board–people with either technical or administrative experience, preferably, Wallace said.

“I don't see where the qualifications come from (for Garrison and Bianco),” he said.

Of the two men, Garrison has some direct experience with utilities, having spent time as the head of West Deptford's Water and Sewer Department during his tenure on township committee; Bianco's resume lists mostly real estate experience.

While Bianco will fill a yearlong term left open by Josephine Myers' retirement, Garrison will serve out the bulk of the term of former GCUA board chair and former West Deptford Mayor David Shields, who was slated to serve through the beginning of 2015.