At its August 20, 2009 meeting, the Union County Freeholders will read an apology that it recently negotiated with the New Jersey American Civil Liberties Union. The County's letter to the ACLU in which it agreed to apologize is on-line here.
The ACLU's involvement came in response to the Freeholder Board's informal "rule" that prohibits citizens from inquiring about nepotism during the public portion of the the Board's meetings. The Board has, in the past, prevented citizens from publicly asking questions concerning how many of the Freeholders' family members had County positions and whether those family members received preferential treatment during the hiring process.
Readers who would like to witness the issue should view the video of a Freeholder's June 25, 2009 meeting by clicking here and select "Tina Renna of Cranford Commented (1:04:49)" and "Bruce Paterson of Garwood commented (1:21:43). Readers will see the Board director tell Mr. Paterson that he "will not tolerate" questions and comments about Freeholders family members (1:23:15) and witness Ms. Renna being escorted out the meeting room by a uniformed officer.(1:10:25).
For more information on Union County nepotism, click here.
Ms. Renna requests members of the public who are concerned about this issue to attend the August 20th meeting, as a show of force. It begins at 7 p.m. at the Union County Administration Building, 10 Elizabethtown Plaza, Elizabeth. Directions are here.
Meeting attendees can park in the employee lot across from the Administration Building.
John Paff
Somerset, New Jersey