Of particular note is this sentence: "Christie also has called for a ban on full-time government workers holding a salaried elective office." That would eliminate 8 of our 9 city council members.


N.J. pols wear many hats - and that's a problem, critics say

Karen Angel
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco is also a state senator and the district's assistant superintendent of schools.

Critics say Sacco's three public offices give him way too much power, and one place that shows up is the county's vocational school network, the Hudson County Schools of Technology (HCST).

They allege HCST's two campuses in North Bergen and Jersey City - which house four high schools and vocational and alternative-education programs for children and adults - are a dumping ground for his political cronies.

"Nick Sacco runs that," said Hoboken labor lawyer and political activist Bob DuVal, referring to HCST. "He's the boss of that section of Hudson County. He's the big power broker up there. He appoints everyone to everything."

Although former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine signed a bill making it illegal to hold dual elective offices, Sacco, mayor since 1991 and state senator since 1994, was grandfathered in, along with about 40 other multiple-office holders elected before February 2008 - a loophole new Gov. Chris Christie has pledged to close.

Christie also has called for a ban on full-time government workers holding a salaried elective office.

Several HCST administrators also hold government jobs or collect pensions from former posts.

Former Jersey City Acting Mayor Marilyn Roman earns $136,128 a year to chase grants, while drawing a $115,000 pension from a former Jersey City Board of Education gig.

Secaucus Councilman John Shinnick is an HCST assistant business administrator, with a salary of $115,040 - and is chairman of the Hudson County Improvement Authority.

HCST superintendent Frank Gargiulo, who makes $215,144 a year, also is Sacco's public-works commissioner. Even Sacco's wife, Kathleen, is on the HCST payroll, making $51,834 as a secretary.

"They try to go for a second pension - this is what's really hurting taxpayers," said former Jersey City acting Mayor Joe Rakowski.

Paul Swibinski, a spokesman for HCST and for Sacco, denied the patronage charges.

But local activist Yvonne Balcer said admission to the high schools is reserved for the politically connected.

"I've spoken to people who were school counselors whose jobs were to help kids get into high schools, and they told me how political it really is to get a child into Hudson County Schools of Technology," she said.

kangel@nydailynews.com