LEH TWP. COMMITTEE CANDIDATES ASK IF LEH SHOULD HAVE DIRECTLY-ELECTED MAYOR, OFFER ETHICS REFORM PROPOSALS

(Little Egg Harbor Twp.) – Gabriel Brian Franco and Shaun Moran, the Great Bay Democratic Club’s candidates for Little Egg Harbor Township Committee nominated in last month’s primary election, called out the corruption in local government that has brought so much negative press to the township in an essay on their official campaign website titled, “”Should Little Egg Harbor Have an Elected Mayor?”

As Franco & Moran note, directly electing the mayor may require formally changing the form of municipal government in Little Egg Harbor, much like what was recently attempted in Atlantic City. The Township Committee hopefuls raise the question to open a broader discussion regarding accountability and transparency in municipal government processes.

Additionally, Franco & Moran recommended legislation that would require Committeepersons to abstain from voting in cases of conflict-of-interest, require that elected officials divulge their conflicts to the public, require the township’s tax assessor to make information public and transparent, and prohibit pay-to-play schemes that enable businesses to receive municipal government contracts as a reward for political contributions. They made these proposals made in light of a 2017 investigation by the LEHPD Police Chief Richard Buzby into potential government corruption in the township, which ultimately resulted in the LEH/Tuckerton PBA and Ocean County Police Chiefs Association both calling for the resignation of Deputy Mayor John Kehm and Committeeman Ray Gormley, the GOP incumbents that Franco & Moran will challenge in the November election.

The article on Franco & Moran’s concerns about appointing the mayor, along with their ethics reform proposals, can be found at https://www.lehunited.com/.

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