Common Sense For New Hampshire

Violation of Open Public Meetings Act?

Taxpayer resources used for “political event”?

SID an arm of Democratic machine?

.

Reprinted with the permission of Coast Star newspapers:

Private meeting leads residents to question mayor

By Patrick Farrell

BELMAR — A meeting held Tuesday night in the back room of Connolly Station has left some residents concerned with Mayor Matt Doherty’s actions in his campaign to win the Aug. 19 special election for the $7 million beachfront pavilions.

The meeting was announced by the Belmar Business Partnership in a July 10 email that stated, “Mayor Doherty will host a meeting n [sic] Tuesday, July 15, 2014 to discuss the pavillions. The meeting will take place in the back area of Connolly Station beginning at 6 p.m. All are encouraged and welcome to attend.”

Prior to the meeting, there were discrepancies as to who was hosting the meeting, and what the meeting would pertain to.

Sal Marchese, president of the Belmar Business Partnership, said the meeting was hosted by Mayor Doherty, and that it was for “informing people on what benefit [the pavilions] will be for Belmar.”

Mr. Marchese also noted that the BBP had nothing to do with the meeting, despite sending out the email invitation.

According to Mayor Doherty, he was not hosting the meeting.

The mayor said that a group of people in town who collectively want the Aug. 19 vote to pass, allowing the pavilions to be built, organized the meeting and invited him to speak.

“It’s not a town meeting, not a public meeting … I’m going to be there, but there’s no town business being conducted,” the mayor said Tuesday afternoon.

Despite the invitation inviting all to attend, several residents, as well as one councilman, were not allowed into the meeting.

“Mayor Doherty told me I was not allowed in … that it was a political event, and that he wouldn’t come to a Republican event so he didn’t want me there,” Councilman Jim Bean said.

Councilman Bean is the lone Republican on the Belmar Council.

“The major concern I have is that the Belmar Business Partnership sent out emails to everyone … said everyone was invited … and then when we got there, they picked and chose who they let in so they had no dissenters,” Councilman Bean said. “There were Democrats who got rejected … I’m a councilman and I got rejected … they are using town resources to push political agendas.”

Councilman Bean was the only member of the council not in attendance, which means a quorum was present at the private meeting. A quorum is formed when the majority of the governing body is present.

The New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act, commonly known as the Sunshine Law, requires that adequate notice be given for a meeting where a quorum of a public body will be hosting a discussion of public business.

By that accord, whether or not Mayor Doherty and the remainder of the council were in violation of the law would boil down to whether or not the subject of the meeting would provide exemption for the council, according to Thomas Cafferty, general counsel of the New Jersey Press Association.

“Clearly we had a quorum present, and clearly this was public business,” Mr. Cafferty said.

According to Mr. Cafferty, the meeting would be exempt if the mayor could prove that it was a political caucus meeting.

“It appears to me that this meeting would not prevail — that this was not a political caucus, presumably they didn’t verify that those remaining were members of the political party,” Mr. Cafferty said.

According to the mayor, the announcement from the Belmar Business Partnership was miscommunicated, and it was not intended to be an informational meeting, rather a meeting of political strategy.

“It was political business to a win a campaign in August,” the mayor said.

“It was not a government meeting … no government business was done,” Mayor Doherty said. “It was a private meeting, held by a group of people who want to see the ballot initiative passed.”

Those critical of the mayor’s action argue otherwise, citing the meeting announcement’s phrasing, which stated it was a meeting to discuss the pavilions — and open to all residents.

At the meeting, glossy handouts, printed by the borough, were distributed, raising further concerns for residents such as Joy DeSanctis.

“I’m concerned about the mayor using his position to pick a side,” Mrs. DeSanctis said.

Mrs. DeSanctis said the handouts, stamped with Belmar’s logo and the borough address, “are terribly misleading.”.

.