State of the Union
As they embark on a new term, NJSPBA President Pat Colligan and
Executive Vice President Marc Kovar talk about how much ground they have
traveled since taking over leadership of the union in 2014, and the journey ahead.
N
early fi ve years ago, when Pat Colligan and Marc Ko-
var assumed their positions atop the NJ State PBA,
references to famous dynamic duos came fast and
furious. The Batman and Robin thing would never fl y. They
would be more like Batman and Batman, which has contrib-
uted to the NJSPBA soaring to unprecedented levels of polit-
ical presence, actions to ensure the well-being of members
and improving safety for law enforcement offi cers in New
Jersey under their watch
Colligan and Kovar continue to travel across the state, re-
sponding day and night when called upon to advocate for
the union and its members. Which is probably good, con-
sidering the many challenges and opportunities they face in
embarking on the new three-year term they were elected to
in February.
Colligan and Kovar recently responded to how the past
fi ve years have impacted their ability to lead the union and
the stature of the PBA as they enter their third term. And,
they take on some of the questions about what’s to come.
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NEW JERSEY COPS
■ MARCH 2019
What is the state of the union?
Pat: I feel it’s very strong. We have gained a lot of new members
from the other union. For a while there, we were gaining a town
a month. Financially, we’re on very secure footing. There will be
no need to increase dues any time soon. We’ve passed some ma-
jor legislation, and we have been able to stop a lot of legislation
the past year that would have been bad for our members. Like
(Director of Government Affairs) Rob Nixon has always said,
stopping legislation is sometimes as important as drafting legis-
lation. Getting the calls from legislators we have worked hard to
build relationships with has helped quite a bit.
Marc: I think our Legal Protection Plan has been another great
success for members. We have been able to provide more cov-
erage without increasing costs at a time when it has really been
needed. With the Assembly elections coming up this year, I know
our members will get behind us, as they have in the past. We also
have a lot of young members getting involved. The attendance
we just had at our Mini Convention – where I don’t think a single
seat was empty – is another testament to what the PBA is doing.
We’re probably the strongest we’ve ever been.