HALL THE WAY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33
From left, West New York Local 361 member Marco Barrera, Assemblywoman Angelica Jimenez, NJ State PBA Executive Vice-President Marc Kovar and Local 361 State Delegate John Vializ before the vote. line that Speaker Prieto greeted.“ And with that many members showing up on short notice, it was also important for those in Trenton to see that the PBA has large numbers, and it has strength, which some of them often forget.”
Hall of an effort
At approximately 3 p. m. on March 21, the state office blasted an email to State Delegates and Local Presidents. Word had just come down that the pension bill was on the docket for vote two days later. The top line of the communication read something akin to,“ We need representation down in Trenton. A99 is going to a vote. Members need to show strength and solidarity for this piece of legislation.”
Reading between the lines, members could see that this is the way the PBA needs to do business in Trenton. And can do business in Trenton. And must do business in Trenton.
Even though the PBA-FMBA consortium had talked with each of the 120 state legislators since beginning work on the pension bill two years ago – and even though the bill passed the State Senate by a 37-0 vote –“ You never know until all the numbers come through,” admitted FMBA President Ed Donnelly, who has put his heart and soul into leading the bill toward becoming law.
The day before, PBA Director of Government Affairs Rob Nixon pored over his list of assembly representatives, trying to figure how the vote would transpire. He thought there were enough votes for the bill to pass, but,“ You never know until you know,” Nixon confided.
So on his nearly two-hour drive through rush-hour traffic, Kovar pulled out all the stops. He worked the phones the entire route, dialing up members to make sure they were coming. And this is the type of response he received.
“ No denying I was going,” Serrano declared.“ It was just a question of getting childcare for my kids.”
The pre-vote directive from the State PBA was for members to call elected officials from their districts and let them know what A99 meant to those in the PFRS. Ask if there were any questions about the fiduciary responsibility behind an independent system. Dispel any rumors that the bill would result in a tax increase. And that’ s precisely why it was so important to have a dynamic presence in front of legislators as they walked the halls of the State House on voting day.
“ We were anxious because after all the time and effort, you still wonder if all the legislators really stand behind you,” Serrano surmised.“ They say‘ yes’ to you personally and shake your hand. But when the rubber meets the road, are they going to do what they say they are going to do?”
Hall in
No state legislator has talked and walked in support of the PBA more than Speaker Prieto, and that high-fiving trek showed as much to members when he came out of caucus. The bill passing the State Assembly might not have been a sure thing at that time, but the statement on the PBA’ s objective to accentuate its political presence was well defined.
“ It was that one incident with Vincent Prieto,” emphasized West New York Local 361 State Delegate John Vializ, who witnessed the occurrence up-close.“ Walking down the hallway, we all got together and started clapping. That was impressive by PBA members.”
The images that defined the impact PBA members made on this day are so indelible. Kovar, Nixon and Donnelly were in so many places on the chamber floor during the hour leading up to the start of the session that they easily could have been mistaken for State Assembly reps. The halls overflowed with members to the point where legislators could not avoid contact, even as hard as they tried.
“ Some of them didn’ t want to talk, so they just kept their heads down and scurried along,” Serrano described.“ Some stopped to speak to let us know,‘ We stand behind you guys.’ Those who couldn’ t stop said,‘ I’ m a yes for A99.’ It was such a positive experience.”
Kovar reminded that the value of members being on call for this day was building on the relationships they have forged with their local legislators. The best example might have been when Assemblywoman Angelica Jimenez, whose District 32 includes West New York, saw Vializ and Local 361 member Marco Barrera in the balcony and motioned them down to the floor.
“ We called to let her know we were going to be in Trenton,” Vializ added.“ When we got down there, Angelica gave us a good feeling. She told us not to worry, and that the vote would go in our favor.”
Hall the way
As the voting culminated with the scoreboard showing green lights( for yes votes) like a Christmas tree, applause thundered through the State House and cheers echoed across the chamber. You can imagine Prieto pounding his gavel to call for order, but there was too much to celebrate.
Serrano exclaimed,“ Words can’ t describe the feeling you get from other members and what you can accomplish. It’ s an overwhelming feeling. You need to experience it personally.”
NJ State PBA President Pat Colligan hoped to build off that sentiment when joining Donnelly and NJ FOP President Bob Fox to meet with the governor’ s office and pitch for his signature in early April. They had an audience that included the governor’ s deputy counsel and articulated why he should sign the bill. Whether the 45-minute presentation made an impact was hard to tell.
“ They are good poker players,” Colligan noted.“ Though the governor has plenty of time to sign the bill and we await patiently, I don’ t know that the odds are favorable.”
The monkey in the wrench, Colligan continued, is that the NJ League of Municipalities wants the new PFRS board to include an equal number of representatives from the public safety unions and the municipalities. And an additional board member appointed by the governor. That could be a deal breaker.
“ I’ m not interested in watching the two sides vote evenly for the next 10 years and watch it fail under an evenly matched board,” President Colligan affirmed.“ The League of Municipalities is being short-sighted in pandering to its constituents. We’ re not interested in making the system fail with more poor financial decisions. I’ m extremely disappointed in the League considering how well we had been working with them.”
There is a Plan B in place if the governor doesn’ t sign. It will no doubt include ratcheting up the political action even further and again lead to something NJ politics has never seen. d
34 NEW JERSEY COPS ■ APRIL 2017