Election 2018
Out with the old
Clifton Local 36 takes political action to send
a message to elected offi cials
■ BY JOSHUA SIGMUND
The Clifton town council’s record of fiscal irresponsibility,
poor-to-no communication and what seemed like zero interest
in providing its law enforcement officers with livable wages had
already cemented expectations for PBA Local 36 members about
their elected officials. But when a bitter contract negotiation -
rushed around the expiration of the 2 percent cap at the end of
2017 - threatened interest arbitration, Local members knew the
relationship had come to an impasse.
“Obviously we were aggravated with the council,” Clifton Local
36 State Delegate Michael Adamo expressed.
Among other grievances, the Local was forced to tell its senior
officers that there would be no raises, which resulted in a mass
exit of officers. Meanwhile, the Local was told that the 37 newer
officers would have to work 96 extra hours, “Essentially paying for
their own raises,” Adamo commented.
“The council was given ideas on a schedule change that would
have cut overtime, but instead they chose to up the overtime bud-
get to $1.3 million,” he continued. “They had the chance to help
us hire more and pay more, and they didn’t do that. Instead, they
attempted to divide the union by making some work more than
others. The way we felt we were treated, we decided we were going
to vet other candidates in the next election.”
Ignoring parties and affiliations, the Local meticulously as-
sessed the political playing field, and in William Gibson, Steve
Goldberg, Mary Sadrakula and Rosemary Pino they found their
four candidates for city council.
“We advised them of the issues and everything that took place
and they seemed to totally understand it,” Adamo explained.
“They realized someone needed to address the issue without just
talking about it.”
With Election Day circled on the calendar, an all-hands-on-
deck call was issued. Adamo and Clifton Local 36 President Nich-
olas Hriczov reached out to the State PBA and President Pat Col-
ligan, who cosigned a letter asking members of law enforcement
and their supporters to vote.
The letter acknowledged:
“These candidates have proven that they understand the needs
of our law enforcement community and how important a com-
mitment to public safety is toward keeping all our families safe.
These candidates support treating the men and women who pro-
tect Clifton with fairness, decency and respect.”
In addition, PBA Local 36 united with Clifton FMBA Local 21 to
mail more than a thousand postcards introducing the “Vote Our
4” campaign. The mailer also listed examples of the city council’s
“Foolish spending (that) needs to stop!”
And on Election Day, Local members huddled together for a
phone bank and stood in the rain outside polling centers passing
out literature to give their candidates the final boost to victory.
“We had been at it all week prior, and we were confident,” Ada-
mo stated, also noting that he checked the Passaic County website
every half hour as the polls were reporting. “When it got called, we
definitely felt good that most of the candidates we backed got in.”
All but Goldberg were elected. And in the end, Clifton’s victory
was really a message to all other Locals, as well as a warning to
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NEW JERSEY COPS
■ NOVEMBER 2018
Clifton Local 36 President Nick Hriczov makes a call to ask for votes in
support of Local 36-endorsed candidates for city council.
Clifton Local 36 State Delegate Michael Adamo (front) is among a team
of PBA members working the phones to get their endorsed candidates
elected.
unsupportive legislators, about the power of PBA political action.
“We’re not looking for everyone to be behind us all the time,”
Adamo related. “We’re just looking for them to listen and follow
through with what they say. But if (PBA members) are not getting
people who keep their word, they can support other candidates
and make a change.”