The Courier - January 10, 2008

Short rails against party chieftain's firm being selected as bond counsel

By J.J. SULLIVAN III
Staff Writer

    A resolution reappointing the law firm of Gibbons P.C., Newark, as the township's bond counsel passed, 3-2, but not without comment from the Township Committee's Democrats.
    Committee members Patrick Short and Sean Byrnes objected to the appointment on the basis that the selection of Gibbons P.C. reflected the influence of Republican Party leaders in town.
    "If someone is going to serve as the leader of a town's political party, then that person should not profit from deals brokered with their town," explained Byrnes, who voted against the resolution because of what he viewed as a partisan-motivated selection.
    Short told members of the committee that he disagreed with the use of a firm involved in partisan politics.
    "The chairman of the Middletown Republican Party, Peter Carton, is a member of the firm contracted as the town's bond counsel," Short said during his objection.
    "Carton is a [Republican] party boss. [He] approves and appoints the members of the board," continued Short, asserting that Carton economically benefits from the township's use of his firm, Gibbons P.C, as bond counsel.
    "I believe the community can do things differently," Short said. ''[The selection of a bond counsel] should be a competitive process. I believe [the committee is] capable of selecting another bond counsel with the ability of administering the work with greater efficiency, but without the conflict of interest. [Middletown] has a competitive bond process where at least one other bid was equally competitive who could have performed the responsibilities equally as well and gain the same results without placing us in a perceived or direct conflict situation."
    Peter C. Carton is listed on the Gibbons P.C. Web site as the "land use team leader." Carton's biography mentions that his business in the firm includes "regularly serving as bond counsel to issuers" in Monmouth County. The biography also mentions Carton's tenure as the former Middletown mayor and the township attorney.
    Carton is also listed as the chairman of the Middletown Republican Executive Committee on the Middletown Republican Web site. According to Short, "We have a case where a political boss gives the approving 'head nod' for a candidate of his party to run in an election."
    If the candidate wins, said Short, that same person is now obliged to
approve bonding that "flows back through the firm where Peter Carton benefits."
    Scharfenberger addressed the claims of Short by saying that Short sought to deprive the people of Middletown of the best service available at the most affordable cost. "It doesn't make sense to hire a new bond counsel simply because a certain individual has a problem with another individual who works at a firm," Scharf¬enberger said. "[Short's reasoning] is unconstitutional, unfair and it does this town a great disservice."