27-01-2025
Is transparency too expensive to be a priority in Trenton? Don't believe it
Is transparency too expensive to be a priority in Trenton? Don't believe it | Opinion
Let's take a quick look at Trenton's recent track record on government transparency and accountability:
The Legislature, with Gov. Phil Murphy's signature, made it harder for the public, the press and other watchdogs to obtain public records.
Lawmakers walked away from a promised bipartisan investigation into the mismanagement of state-run nursing homes for veterans where COVID-19 claimed more than 200 lives.
The former CEO of the State Commission of Investigation quit earlier this month after the Asbury Park Press reported that she was teaching a full slate of courses in Washington, D.C., and claiming a principal residence in Maryland. The agency's asleep-at-the-wheel commissioners have offered little explanation of why they allowed Tiffany Williams Brewer to handle an out-of-state full-time job when she was paid to give her full-time attention to corruption and waste in New Jersey.
The state comptroller, Kevin Walsh, who has been exposing waste and fraud all over the state since Murphy appointed him to the job, remains in only an 'acting' capacity. His appointment has been stalled by the unexplained whims of two Camden County legislators. His hard-hitting probes have made him few friends in the Legislature.
Under the Orwellian-named Elections Transparency Act, the Legislature opened the floodgates for campaign cash, further making campaigns the sole province of the corporate, large-donor class.
Some track record.
At a time when millions fear the demise of democracy — especially now that President Donald Trump has unleashed a wrecking ball on many of the nation's laws and customs — the Democratic-dominated Statehouse has steadily signaled its contempt for transparency and accountability, two pillars of a vibrant democracy.
Scutari's straight-faced conclusion: NJ has too many watchdogs
Earlier this month, I asked Senate President Nick Scutari, D-Union, about this recent track record. Didn't the laissez-faire attitude among the SCI commissioners — who apparently permitted this absurd, bistate employment arrangement that paid Williams Brewer $210,000 a year — reflect a general sense of indifference? Or even hostility to transparency and the role of watchdogs?
It's hard to believe that lawmakers would have permitted such a cushy arrangement if, in fact, the SCI was truly treated as an important body that had the respect and full support of legislative leaders.
Scutari replied — with a straight face — that perhaps New Jersey already has too many watchdogs and maybe it's time to begin consolidating them under one roof.
'I think what we have is a lot of watchdogs, a lot of them. We have ELEC [the Election Law Enforcement Commission], SCI, we have the comptroller, the Attorney General's Office, we have county prosecutors,' he said. 'One of these days we're going to have to look at consolidation of those efforts.'
I didn't take it as a serious answer but an attempt to say something to deflect from the indefensible. It should be noted that the county prosecutors are already under the jurisdiction of the Attorney General's Office.
And consolidating the comptroller and others under the sprawling tent of the attorney general would likely mean their operations would be limited or curtailed by other priorities under the office's purview, like the state police, oversight of the casino industry regulation and the vast army of lawyers already tracking down civil and criminal matters.
And besides, the SCI, which was created in the wake of the embarrassing corruption and organized crime scandals in the late 1960s and early 1970s; ELEC, which tracks campaign finance activity; and the comptroller's office already share their findings with the attorney general when they flag a potential violation of the law.
Our view: As the SCI scandal swirls, Scutari says NJ needs fewer watchdogs. Is he serious? | Editorial
What about acting Comptroller Kevin Walsh?
The experience of the Office of the State Comptroller has also been baffling.
Scutari was asked if he might use his power as Senate president to suspend the 'senatorial courtesy' privileges that have blocked the confirmation of acting Comptroller Kevin Walsh of Pennsauken. Two Camden County Democrats, state Sen. Jim Beach and state Sen. Nilsa Cruz-Perez, have sat on Walsh's nomination for five years without offering an explanation. Cruz-Perez refused to discuss the matter at Murphy's recent State of the State address, and I didn't catch up to Beach.
The Senate president said he had considered taking such a rare step but decided against it. He said he doesn't believe Walsh has the 21 votes in the Senate to confirm him. And if Scutari posted his vote for confirmation, it might fail and Walsh would be forced to step down.
So why the lack of votes? Scutari said there is concern that the comptroller's office has spent an 'extraordinary amount of money' on investigations 'without producing one criminal charge.'
Perhaps there is another reason impeding Walsh's confirmation: Those investigations have produced some unflattering findings about the waste, fraud and mismanagement in towns and jurisdictions that are under the political control of party bosses across the state. Walsh's office has taken aim at Pennsauken's insurance brokerage contracts with the firm controlled by South Jersey power broker George Norcross; targeted improper awarding of jail contracts in Hudson County; and even called for a 'corrective action' in Scutari's political fief of Union County where high-level officials — and allies of Scutari — were boosting their pay with stipends and tuition reimbursements without enacting a salary ordinance.
In other words, he's made too many enemies. Scutari denied that it was the case.
Walsh defended his record and said his office recouped more than $530 million in taxpayer money over the last four fiscal years, 12 times the amount of money the office spent over the same period. The office has probed into corners of government operations that have long been ignored or subject to lax oversight: nursing homes, prisons and the Medicaid program. He asserts that the office is responsible for kicking 850 'bad providers' out of the New Jersey Medicaid program.
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As for indictments? The office has made over 200 referrals to law enforcement agencies.
'I focus on what the law requires," Walsh told me in an interview. 'My job is to protect the taxpayers and to provide transparency, and that's what I've done. I've done it for five years.'
He said he was assured by then-Senate President Stephen Sweeney, Cruz-Perez and Beach in 2020 that he would be confirmed. Since then, he's been unable to get any clarity about his status.
'Nobody has ever told me why I haven't been confirmed," Walsh said.
He will continue to do his work, without concern about the political consequences. And Murphy has reappointed Walsh at the end of each legislative session, which is a sign of support. But here in New Jersey, at the start of Trump 2.0, transparency, accountability, ethical reform and watchdogs are taking a back seat.
Charlie Stile is a veteran New Jersey political columnist. For unlimited access to his unique insights into New Jersey's political power structure and his powerful watchdog work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: stile@
