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NEW JERSEY STATE POLICEMEN’ S BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE BOARD
PATRICK COLLIGAN State President
MARC KOVAR Executive Vice-President
Peter Andreyev 1st Vice-President Andy Haase 2nd Vice-President Henry Werner 3rd Vice-President Michael Pellegrino 4th Vice-President Domenic Cappella 5th Vice-President Mark Aurigemma 6th Vice-President Mark Messinger 7th Vice-President Eugene Dello 8th Vice-President Keith Bennett 9th Vice-President Richard Kott 10th Vice-President Bruce Chester 11th Vice-President Margaret Hammond 12th Vice-President
Michael Kaniuk Financial Secretary George Miller Recording Secretary John Monsees Treasurer
Frederick Ludd, Sr. Trustee Luke Sciallo Trustee Frank P. Cipully Trustee John Cernek Trustee Ed Carattini, Jr. Trustee Michael Freeman Trustee Bryan Flammia Trustee
Robert Ormezzano Sergeant-at-Arms Joseph Biamonte Sergeant-at-Arms Terrance Benson, Sr. Sergeant-at-Arms Rodney Furby Sergeant-at-Arms Charles Schwartz Sergeant-at-Arms Patrick Moran Sergeant-at-Arms Joseph A. Macones Sergeant-at-Arms Sean Plasket Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Tardio Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Heller Sergeant-at-Arms Keith Curry Sergeant-at-Arms
NEW JERSEY COPS ■ JUNE 2016
Patrick Colligan
The President’ s Message
Legislative mirrors for sale, cheap!
Some legislators will read this column and consider it a cheap, easy shot after the fact. To those of you who feel that way you need to know something about me: I have mirrors in my home, and I will never feel ashamed when I look in them. Yes, I’ m still relatively new to this game in Trenton and I still have a lot to learn, but boy did I learn a lot in the past couple months. I learned about threats, intimidation, bullying and the raw power of personal financial gain. And I’ ve learned it’ s impossible to play fair when you play by the rules.
There are a few of you who need to remove the mirrors in your home and office because I’ m not really sure how you look into them with a clear conscience. I’ m sure some of you still sleep soundly regardless, and will probably be turning this page in a second. For those who continue reading, this column is for you.
Most of the legislation you deal with involves the minute of life in the Garden State. Yes, every bill is important to somebody. A speed-limit bill, licensing controls, environmental laws and sometimes even the difficult decisions regarding what we call Pork Roll.( It’ s Pork Roll.) The Atlantic City Recovery Bill was much more than that. The bill was what is right and wrong about New Jersey and has a profound and direct effect on tens of thousands of people.
Let’ s be crystal clear: With the exception of layoffs and controlling collective bargaining, this governor has had virtually complete control over Atlantic City since 2010. If you have trouble with math, that is six years! The mayor has been there just two years, but if you choose to believe the governor, this is somehow all Mayors Guardian’ s fault. Is anybody confused yet? Like just about everything else Mr. Christie has touched, it can now be considered nothing more than an epic fail sitting squarely at his feet. A man with a record-low approval rating of just 26 percent convinced you all that layoffs and control over collective bargaining will suddenly plug the sinking ship? That’ s it? Layoffs and collective bargaining will do the trick? I laughed every time I heard that. Scores of you told me the same thing.“ Something has to be done.” My simple answer is something should have been done during the previous six years. I’ ve said it before and I’ ll say it again” Atlantic City was a century of mismanagement, corruption, organized crime, dishonest politicians and criminal politicians. Yes, a century! So this governor is going to suddenly fix that with the magic wand of layoffs and control of collective bargaining? I find it difficult to balance a checkbook, but it’ s still laughable.
I wish that just one of you could have walked into the Atlantic City Police Department, looked one of the PBA Local 24 members in the eye and said,“ I truly believe I am doing the right thing.” There was plenty of opportunity to see them; you could have stopped by when their brothers and sisters in blue from Jersey City or another PBA bought them lunch. You could have run into them at the collective bargaining table one of four times during the past three years while they gave back more than $ 9 million dollars. Maybe you could have swung down there on that one, single glorious day last month when they picked up their paychecks and prayed they wouldn’ t bounce. I know there are 25 percent less of them since 2012, but you could have found one of them somewhere. I could go on and on but we all really know it wasn’ t about any of that.
One of you walked in their shoes once. You wore a badge, strapped on a gun and worked those shifts and holidays and even negotiated some contracts. Lucky for you, back then no legislator like you was willing to give away your collective bargaining or“ unilaterally” lay you off. I know, you“ want to be with us” but can’ t this time. I know, you’ re a“ big help” behind the scenes but now I see you’ re against the constitutional amendment for pension funding too. Do us a huge favor: Stop helping! You have done enough! Just please let me know if someone still takes your call after Jan 23, 2018. Profoundly and utterly disappointing.
There are plenty of fortune tellers on the Atlantic City boardwalk. I’ m sure the mayor would love you to drive down and spend some cash, but let me save you the tolls and give you my Atlantic City prediction right here in black and white: There will be an incredible push by the Department of Community Affairs( under the direct orders of somebody with an approval rating hovering somewhere between 25 and 27 percent) that no matter how hard he works, how close or how suc-
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