The recent bribery arrests of 11 public officials have shed a harsh light on New Jersey's political culture, just as legislative races enter their final quarter.
Both parties are hitting opponents with more-ethical-than-thou campaigns, often built around the state's new partial ban on dual officeholding.
Gov. Corzine signed the ban on Labor Day weekend, when the general election season kicked off, to show that Trenton was doing something to clean up government. But critics argue it's too weak because it applies only to people elected after February 2008 - giving this year's candidates a free pass.
More than 20 legislative candidates from both parties - including newcomers - also hold another elected office. Many more hold government jobs along with their elected offices.
Some say they'll hold onto both jobs, while others say that if elected to the Legislature, they'll quit their other offices.
One expert this week said voters may be turned off by the finger pointing and waffling.
As voters watch each party play this issue as it suits them, "it makes [voters] pretty cynical about campaigning in general and the true intent of the parties," said Rider University political scientist David P. Rebovich, a close observer of state politics.
Ethics issues took center stage this campaign season on Sept. 6, with the arrests of 11 officials who allegedly took bribes for giving government contracts to roofing and insurance firms.
Immediately, Republicans called for a special legislative session to address corruption. Gov. Corzine, however, said the Legislature should put off ethics reform until after the election. He said yesterday he envisions a broad reform package that would include a total ban on dual officeholding.
Seeking to blunt the ethics issue, leading Democrats have secured resignations of two arrested northern New Jersey assemblymen and persuaded one Bergen County state senator, who received a target letter in a separate criminal probe, to drop his reelection bid.
But those moves will not keep the Democrats - or Republicans - from having to address ethics issues this fall, especially dual officeholding, which resonates deeply in New Jersey.
In Atlantic County, Democratic Assemblyman James Whelan's campaign loudly proclaimed that State Sen. James "Sonny" McCullough was a hypocrite because he voted for the dual officeholding ban but maintains his seat as Egg Harbor Township mayor. McCullough said he'd quit as mayor if reelected to the Senate and thinks the ban ought to be tougher.
Just an hour's drive away from Atlantic City in Camden County, Democratic Senate candidate Dana Redd, who is seeking to replace indicted Democratic State Sen. Wayne Bryant, said that if elected she would hold onto her Camden City Council seat until her term expires in 2009.
And, in Gloucester County, Democratic State Sen. Stephen Sweeney said he won't give up his job as freeholder director, and Democratic Assemblyman John Burzichelli won't give up his job as Paulsboro mayor. Both argue that holding the two jobs gives them added perspective and clout on issues and that they serve the three counties and the 40 municipalities in their district with equal care.
The third dual officeholder from Gloucester County, Assemblyman Paul Moriarty, also the Washington Township mayor, did not return calls for comment. Unlike Sweeney and Burzichelli, who abstained from voting on the partial ban, Moriarty voted for it.
Republican Assembly candidates in Burlington County yesterday criticized Democratic Assemblyman Jack Conners for not supporting a total ban on dual officeholding in a committee meeting. But Conners said the total ban came up in a last-minute unwritten amendment and that the committee needed time to consider a written document. He said he does support a total ban.
In the far eastern corner of Burlington County, Republican State Sen. Robert Singer, who also represents Ocean County, said he's holding onto his seat on the Lakewood Township Committee because constituents want him to. He said, however, that he would vote for a total ban and give up his Lakewood seat if reelected to the Legislature.
Republican Assemblyman Ronald Dancer, who serves the same district as Singer, holds three public jobs. He's the mayor of Plumstead Township, an assemblyman, and has a county job. He did not return calls placed to each of his three government offices.
Critics of dual officeholding say that holding two offices ensures electability at the expense of accountability. County and municipal officials have a ready source of campaign cash from government contractors, and too much power is consolidated in one pair of hands, they say.
Monmouth County Democratic State Sen. Ellen Karcher, who sponsored the partial ban bill in the Senate, said "to me, it's rotten all around. . . . We need to get rid of the grandfather clause and ban dual officeholding immediately. People who are dual officeholders need to make a choice."
But she and others supporting a total ban couldn't get it passed because most of the dual officeholders in the Legislature "weren't going to vote against their best interests. We had dual officeholders who would have put themselves out of office."