By CHARLES STILE – The Record
Bergen County Freeholder Jim Carroll has always been an unapologetic defender of dual-office holding
But Carroll confirmed a stunner on Friday — he may not run for another term as Demarest mayor this fall if he succeeds in winning the Bergen County Democratic Organization’s backing for his freeholder reelection at Thursday’s nominating convention in Hackensack.
“I have to weigh my options and see where I want to go,” Carroll said.
Carroll is legally permitted to run for both jobs despite then-Gov. Jon Corzine’s 2007 ban on dual-office holding. Corzine’s ban, which took effect in February 2008, exempted the crop of double dippers at the time, including Carroll.
Carroll has come under fire for his dual-office holding in recent years, but he said his consideration of dropping the mayor’s job had more to do with logistics and time and not because of any principled epiphany about the possible evils of dual-office holding.
“I’ve never taken a short cut in my life,” he said. “When I campaign, I campaign hard. … Anytime I ran for elected office locally, I banged on every door, some I banged on twice. That’s time-consuming. It’s a time-management issue.”
But several party sources speculated that Carroll’s possible ditching of the Demarest mayor job signals his leave-nothing-to-chance nervousness about Thursday’s convention.
Although considered a strong favorite to win BCDO backing, Carroll may fear a backlash among committee members for helping torpedo the prospects of Westwood Mayor John Birkner, one of eight candidates vying for BCDO blessing for the three freeholder seats. (Carroll and Elizabeth Calabrese of Wallington are two incumbents running for reelection. Incumbent Tomas Padilla of Upper Saddle River is retiring.)
Birkner is seen as a refreshing newcomer who also enjoys strong support from organized labor. He also lacked any association with former Bergen Democratic leader Joe Ferriero, whose conviction on federal corruption charges last October has cast a long, politically radioactive cloud over the Democratic Party’s chances. State Sens. Loretta Weinberg of Teaneck and Paul Sarlo of Wood-Ridge distributed a joint letter with Assemblymen Gordon Johnson of Englewood and Fred Scalera of Nutley in support of Birkner.
But the Birkner effort was dealt a setback Tuesday after former Freeholder Julie O’Brien withdrew from the contest and announced that she was throwing her support behind Northvale Mayor James Hogan. BCDO Chairman Mike Kasparian has also endorsed his candidacy, despite the belief among some that he was working to recruit Birkner. Carroll is believed to have mobilized support behind the Hogan candidacy.
As a result, Carroll’s announcement that he might give up one of his jobs is seen as a step toward shoring up his candidacy for Thursday’s event. It eliminates an easy excuse for angered committee members to support someone else.
Carroll denied that he was worried.
“The only person I was scared of was my father,” he said. “I’m a big boy. The chips will fall as they may. People know what I have done. I have had a great deal of success with my colleagues.”
He also downplayed any role in the Hogan effort — but he didn’t deny it, either. “Basically, the man wanted to run for freeholder and that’s what he did. I wish I had the power that everybody assumes I have.”
No advice to PVSC, yet
Governor Christie denied last week that he made it known to the embattled Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners that he wants them to hire an outsider to replace retiring Executive Director Bryan Christiansen.
“I have not made that known yet … that’s not correct,” Christie said Tuesday. “The counsel’s office will be communicating with the PVSC and let them know that we think it would be advisable, in the spirit of cooperation, for them to be consulting the governor’s office before they make any decisions on a replacement.”
Rich Ambrosino, a PVSC spokesman, said the agency’s chairman, Anthony Luna, is expected to discuss “moving forward” on replacing Christiansen with Christie’s authorities unit this week. He said the board wants to establish a search committee to advertise the job and “we have said from the beginning we welcome the governor’s office involvement in that process.”
The governor will soon get his first opportunity to fill a vacancy on the PVSC board. Frank Donato of Totowa submitted his resignation letter last week, Ambrosino said. It takes effect April 2. Donato, a former Superior Court judge who was nominated to the board by Corzine in 2007, recently went on medical leave. Commissioners are paid $10,000 and receive pension and health benefits.
E-mail: stile@northjersey.com
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