PLAINFIELD -- Council members are poised to repeal the city's pay-to-play regulations that cap municipal political donations by contractors at $300.
The ordinance would reverse local restrictions passed in 2011 that were meant to limit vendors' ability to buy their way to favorable treatment from elected officials.
Some Plainfield council members said it is unfair for the city's political candidates to be constrained by a lower donation limit than those in certain other municipalities without their own pay-to-play regulations.
State law allows a municipal candidate to accept up to $2,600 from a person or business if the city has a "fair and open" competitive bidding process for contracts.
"We just felt there was no reason for us to be hobbled when the state legislature did not have this particular low restriction," Council President Rebecca Williams said Tuesday.
Pay-to-play regulations previously have ensnared businesses that have contracts in New Jersey. Most recently, Keyport officials notified gubernatorial candidate and Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) that his law firm's donation to the Monmouth County Democratic Party violated a town ordinance.
Plainfield's current pay-to-play rules permit a vendor to give up to $300 to any candidate for municipal office. If council members vote to repeal those rules, the state law, with its $2,600 limit, would automatically take effect in the city because Plainfield has a "fair and open" bidding process.
The ordinance up for second reading Monday says the restrictions should be rolled back because they cannot address federal super PACs' ability to donate to candidates without disclosing their contributions.
Williams said after the 2011 restrictions were implemented, publicly reported political donations decreased, but money still seemed to be flowing to local elections -- a result she attributes to those super PACs.
Under the state law, though, donors have to report to the state Election Law Enforcement Commission any contributions of more than $300. City corporation counsel David Minchello said removing the $300 cap on donations to municipal candidates would encourage vendors to give through regular campaign committees -- which have to report their contributions -- instead of through super PACs.
Williams said council members "feel that it actually effectuates more transparency."
Councilman Cory Storch, who sponsored the 2011 ordinance, said keeping the municipal rules would mostly be symbolic. He said he had hoped the regulations would increase competition for city contracts and drive down prices, but he hasn't seen that happen.
Still, Storch said, preserving the local ordinance would underscore the importance of keeping money out of politics.
"We need to send a message to everybody, particularly to the state officials, the state legislature, that this is still an issue," he said. "I don't want it to be swept under the carpet just because it didn't work in Plainfield."
Municipal campaigns can cost candidates thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of dollars. As of Jan. 15, Mayor Adrian Mapp had accepted more than $229,000 for June's mayoral primary, state campaign finance records show. Williams had received about $8,700 in contributions for the 2018 council primary by the same date.
Despite the high cost of running a political campaign, Williams denied vendors in Plainfield buy contracts with donations.
"Whether someone has given me a contribution of under $300, that certainly did not affect any voting," she said. "The same contractors get the contracts, whether they donate to our campaigns or not."
The ordinance passed on first reading Jan. 17 with council members mostly voting along political lines. Mapp's allies, who currently hold a majority on the divided council, generally voted to reverse the restrictions and allow political candidates to accept higher donations. An opposing faction, backed by Assemblyman Jerry Green (D-Middlesex, Somerset, Union), voted to keep the rules in place.
Williams, Charles McRae, Barry Goode and Joylette Mills-Ransome supported eliminating the restrictions. Diane Toliver, Bridget Rivers and Storch, who crossed political lines with his vote, opposed the roll-back.
Reached by phone, Toliver, Rivers and McRae declined to discuss the ordinance. Goode and Mills-Ransome did not respond to requests for comment.
Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati or on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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