Getting piggy with it
The annual Monmouth County Conference Pat Colligan
Pension Pig Roast just keeps getting better
If former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie thought that call-
ing NJ State PBA President Pat Colligan a “pension pig” in 2015
would bring the PBA down, he was wrong – very wrong.
In fact, it did quite the opposite when the Monmouth County
Conference decided three years ago to put a positive spin on the
negative comment by creating a wildly successful fundraiser in
its name.
The third annual Monmouth County Conference Pat Colligan
Pension Pig Roast warranted even more reason to celebrate on
July 28, when hundreds of PBA members and their families en-
joyed a day of activity, entertainment and plenty of pork. It might
have been even sweeter considering just a few weeks earlier,
President Colligan stood over Governor Phil Murphy’s shoulder
as he signed Senate Bill 5 into law, officially taking the Police and
Fire Retirement System and its pension out of state government’s
management.
“Despite his attempts to do everything in his power to destroy
(our pension), we just got S5 signed, we’re having a third suc-
cessful Pension Pig Roast and money is being raised by the Mon-
mouth County Conference,” Colligan detailed among the many
reasons the PBA has come out on top, even after years of Christie
trying to leave it stuck in the mud.
When Holmdel Local 239 State Delegate Mike Michalski and
Bradley Beach Local 50 State Delegate Mike Tardio first ap-
proached Colligan about their idea for the pig roast event, they
were unsure how he’d respond.
“We didn’t know if it was something he was going to find offen-
sive,” Michalski recalled. “This was the governor taking a shot at
our leader and us throwing it back in his face, saying this is what
we’re making of it.”
Colligan embraced the concept from the start, especially
knowing that the event would benefit the NJSPBA Survivor &
Welfare Fund. Thanks to Colligan’s good sportsmanship and the
CONTINUED ON PAGE 54
The Monmouth County Conference hosted the third annual Pat Colligan
Pension Pig Roast.
NJ State PBA President Pat Colligan embraces the spirit of the event, which
was created after former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s infamous
“pension pig” remark in 2015.
www.njcopsmagazine.com
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