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Attorneys Say Mum Is The Word When Discussing Mayoral Appointment Controversy
By Catherine Snipe
How to have a discussion about January 1 mayoral appointments made by then acting Mayor Virginia Lampman, appointments now being challenged in court by interim Mayor Dan Kelly? According to attorneys, by not having the discussion at all.
There were certain things council members wanted to say publicly, but township attorney Jean Cipriani advised them to do so only after having the advice of their own lawyer.
And so went the discussion. Or the lack thereof.
The situation at last week's township council meeting was this: A resident would ask a question or make a comment on the ongoing legal debate over mayoral appointments in town. Normally, the council would then offer an answer to the resident's question. But because the council, the mayor and township clerk each have a set of lawyers advising them on the issue, Cipriani advised that no public comment be given.
In the end, council agreed not to speak while the matter winds its way through court.
Kelly is asking a Superior Court judge to decide whether the appointments were his to make, or whether the appointments made by Lampman should stand.
Lampman served as mayor for about 30 days, including the reorganization meeting, after previous Mayor Joseph Scarpelli resigned just prior to pleading guilty to extortion.
Lampman, who is the Brick Township clerk, made the appointments less than a week before the new acting mayor, Kelly, was named. Mayoral appointments - in this case, naming new members of the planning board,
as well as changes to the
township's legal counsel - are normally made during
the January 1 reorganization meeting, but according to Kelly, they should have been held off until he was named mayor several days later.
Though many of the reorganization appointments were the same as last year, a few notable names changed: Township attorneys Starkey, Kelly, Bauer and Kenneally were replaced with the firm of Gilmore and Monahan. Steven Zabarsky replaced Kimberly Casten as municipal prosecutor. And Planning Board alternate Richard Gross was replaced by Jack Hahn.
Kelly insists that as the incoming mayor, those appointments should have been his to make.
After Kelly filed a February 2 complaint in Superior Court seeking clarification on the matter, the issue escalated into one costing up to $17,500 to the township. Kelly said this was not his intention. The cost came after the judge ordered defendants named in the complaint, meaning the Brick Township Council had to hire attorneys to represent itself, township employees and the appointees.
The council approved the firms of Carbone and Faase to represent the council, and Florio, Perrucci, Steinhardt and Fader to represent township employees and appointees. Kelly will use the law firm of Stephen Secare, and said the costs will come out of his own pocket.
The issue remained a hot one during public comment of recent township council meetings, as several residents came forward to discuss their views, which ranged from disgust at the
situation to urging the township to "do it right,"
allowing someone other than themselves - meaning a judge - to decide what is best.
After each respondent, Cipriani spoke up to advise the council that responding to public questions on the subject could be risky.
Council President Stephen Acropolis took Cipriani's advice.
"We should reject all public comments on this matter, and stop them in their tracks," he said.
This week, as council discussed the firms hired, members agreed it was okay to talk about legal counsel. The actual subject of the legal complaint should remain off-limits, however.
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