Complimentary Tickets to Christie Fundraiser Scrutinized

Village officials are coming under fire from residents who maintain they "crossed the line" for attending a Republican fundraiser for New Jersey governor Chris Christie on July 3 with complimentary tickets.

At issue is whether all five council members and Village Manager Ken Gabbert attending the political fundraiser for the sitting governor represented a conflict with Ridgewood's "gift ordinance."

Questions also arose over whether a private property owner should benefit from use of public resources; the fire department repaired a flag pole at the request of the property owner, John Saraceno, just prior to the fundraiser.

As Patch previously reported, tickets for the cocktail party at the Bank of America building at 58 E. Ridgewood Ave. ranged from $1,000 to $25,000. But Ridgewood officials got a free pass on tickets.

Saraceno is the developer behind 'The Enclave', one of the four downtown housing proposals currently under a Master Plan amendment review by the planning board.

"My concern was that you were comped a $1,000 gift by a person who has an application before the Planning Board," asked resident Boyd Loving. "Does this violate the terms of the gift ordinance?"

In a conversation with Patch on Thursday, Saraceno said absolutely no wrongdoing took place.

The host committee of the fundraiser – not him – decided to comp about 30 tickets for the Thursday event, some for village officials but also for county politicos, like County Executive Kathleen Donovan and various freeholders, Saraceno said.

"I did not donate anything for any one" of the Ridgewood officials, he remarked. "No one paid for them."

Despite the criticism from some members of the public, Saraceno says nothing but good came from the event.

"I did the event for one of the most important people in America," he said. "I think that's a good thing... I don't think it's ever a bad thing to have the governor in your village to see a historic, beautiful building... my goal has always been to show Ridgewood in the best light possible." 

In Saraceno's view, it would have been "disrespectful" for government officials of the non-partisan town to have not shown up for the event.

Mayor Paul Aronsohn, an ardent Democrat, said the officials attended the fundraiser in an official capacity as a "courtesy" to the governor. Asked if he thought there was any violation of the gift ordinance, Aronsohn said, "Absolutely not."

"I, for one, am very glad the governor chose to spend time here in Ridgewood last week," the mayor said, adding that he felt it was a "great morale boost" for the town. 

The gift ordinance, first drafted in 2008 and revised two years later, bars the village and its officials from receiving money or work performed by business owner or private citizen with an application before a board for up to 90 days. The ordinance angered philanthropist David Bolger, who vowed to never donate to the town again.

Village Attorney Matt Rogers, reached Friday, could not immediately offer his legal opinion on whether any violation of the gift ordinance occurred.

Resident Ron Verdicchio said there would be no issue had the governor been in town in an official capacity, not for a fundraising venture. By attending with complimentary tickets, officials "crossed the line," he said.

Public safety officials at the Wednesday council meeting maintained that the work to repair the flag pole – which took approximately 25-30 minutes and featured the presence of multiple vehicles, partially closing East Ridgewood Ave. – was a valuable training drill for firefighters. Were there an emergency call, they would have responded, Gabbert said.

Resident Michael Sedon pointed to what he believed was a contradiction in public resources used for private properties, noting that the town last year declined to clean the Zabriskie ditch because it was on private property.

You may remember the flag pole string was cut by the fire department two years ago after unknown persons made it onto the roof and flew a skull-and-crossbones flag. The department was already planning to perform a drill in the downtown on July 3, Saraceno said.

Saraceno has already reimbursed the town for $2,200 in total, according to Gabbert. The total bill for village resources used for the fundraiser has not yet been finalized, he said. Saraceno told Patch he will pay in full the bill when it arrives.

Aronsohn said the village would look into whether there were any legal issues from public resources being used at the building.

Correction: Aronsohn said the village would explore there was any violation of the municipal code when the fire department repaired the flag pole. An earlier version suggested legal counsel would look into whether a violation of the gift ordinance occurred; he contends there were no violations.