Mayor Defends Use of Politically Connected Contractors for Hurricane Sandy Work
No-bid contracts awarded
Saying he knew he would take a "political hit" for it later, Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty defended the use of politically connected contractors for no-bid projects after Hurricane Sandy.
A divisive meeting of the Belmar Borough Council last night often returned to the topic of why Belmar chose to use AshBritt as a contractor for hauling debris when Doherty's wife Maggie Moran worked for an agency that was marketing AshBritt contracts to government, Conti.
Doherty recused himself from any voting relating to AshBritt and the mayor said his wife also recused herself from working with the borough, but Councilman Jim Beam wanted answers as to why Moran would be receiving an email discussing the contract.
Doherty said the email, sent by Borough Administrator Colleen Connolly to several individuals as well as Moran, was sent to his wife simply because Doherty's phone was not working and Connolly thought using Moran's email was a way to reach the mayor during the storm power outage.
The meeting continued to draw supporters for the borough administration and the mayor, while others expressed disappointment and outrage.
Belmar put the emergency contracts online after Beam filed an Open Public Records Request for the information.
Two contracts in particular drew criticism. In one, AshBritt was awarded a no-bid emergency contract for hauling debris. The wife's mayor works for Conti, a company AshBritt hired to market itself to stakeholders for securing storm debris contracts.
A second issue was with contractor Ferriera, hired to pump out the lakes and borough after a massive storm surge left a quarter mile of high waters throughout Belmar. A Ferriera manager was among political contributers to Doherty's 2010 mayoral reelection bid.
Among the criticism: why did former borough administrator Bill Young manage to choose two companies that were politically connected, and why did the borough continue to administer no-bid contracts instead of competitivey bidding?
Doherty said the companies were chosen simply because "they were the best."
"They did a phenomenal job," Doherty said to some audience applause.
Jimmy J
8:25 am on Thursday, February 7, 2013
How much has or will the Mayor's wife earn from the hiring of these firms?
Susan
8:31 am on Thursday, February 7, 2013
The reason so many seek political positions. They do not do it for the pay it is for the extra benefits, connections and financial gain from "friends" who want a kick back. It is all about making ones wallet fatter at the cost of the taxpayers.
charlie
9:25 am on Thursday, February 7, 2013
Well he did get the job done and fast. Ask anyone affected by this storm, how easy is it to get someone to get work done for you? The job was done and fast. And the town is working with people as far as permits go. No complaints here.
BelmarAngel
11:11 am on Thursday, February 7, 2013
And other municipalities got the work done for 1/4 the cost. This was abuse of the governors attempt to reduce cred tape. It was not a license to fatten anyone's pockets. Now watch as Ocean Ave, closed to even Belmar residents, will open on St Patrick's Day to accommodate the drinking at DJais. They will obtain an early seasonal liquor license since the owner is another crony of the mayor. Such an embarrassment that a beautiful family town recreated over the years by Mayor Pringleis now being designed for drug pushers, alcohol driven insanity ruining the nearby neighborhood and political monetary gain. The plastic boardwalk that no one was informed of and the use of trailers for concession stands seals this deal. Belmar has sunk to the lowest level of the type of political greed and maneuvering that NJ is famous for. Also waiting for an environmental impact abstract on the results of the storm on the Lakes, especially Como. What about a multitown Lake Commission that includes every municipality that has waters feeding into Lake Como? The mayor and councils behavior last night ( excepting Jim Bean) was deplorable, condescending and spiteful toward even polite questioning. Mayor Doherty, you are no Chris Christy. You are just arrogant, rude, and slippery.
charlie
12:47 pm on Thursday, February 7, 2013
Can't argue with the St. Patrick's day senario. Ocean ave wil be opened for D'Jais.
And why doesn't Silver lake have a Flood zone. It flooded as bad, if not worse then
Lake Como. As for the Mayors it's business as usual. Pringles bro worked in D'Jais as I recall. Why no spillways from the lakes and who gives a sh*t about plastic, it won't last 20 years anyway. As far as wood goes, go to Fultons Fish Market. They used Teak and they're repairing it with PT lumber. I think a lot of blame should be placed on the SMRSA, Pumps across ocean ave.. Gavity too cheap for them?
Belmarchick
12:10 pm on Thursday, February 7, 2013
Excellent job Mayor Matt!! It's better to pick someone you know & trust & has a good reputation. Clean up effort was amazing! Rebuilding effort - Excellent! Thanks for all that you do....
Jimmy J
2:22 pm on Thursday, February 7, 2013
I agree, excellent job Mayor Matt! You have now attempted to convince the people of Belmar that it is OK to fill your family's pockets with taxpayer money as a result of no-bid contracts to your friends & family. There is a difference between Leadership and Patronage as well as a difference between Confidence and Arrogance.
Local Reader
11:40 pm on Thursday, February 7, 2013
Same story, different town. Maybe Kevin Thompson can fix the "SMRSA" issue referred to - after all, Manasquan just appointed him to a no-show SMRSA role with a stipend and a $30k benefits plan for him and his family....not bad.