Assemblyman Jay Webber objected to the bill, saying public officials’ constituents have a right to know where their leaders live. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor)
Lawmakers in both the Assembly and Senate passed a bill Thursday that would keep the property addresses of local public office holders from the public, one month after the Legislature voted for a measure to shield their own home addresses.
Assemblyman John DiMaio (R-Warren), a prime sponsor with Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex), pointed to the February murder of Sayreville councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour as evidence this protection is needed.
“We just lost a councilwoman in Sayreville practically in front of her house,” DiMaio told the New Jersey Monitor. “It’s crazy times we live in. There’s a tremendous mental health issue in a lot of folks in the world. It’s just meant to protect folks.”
The bill drove one Republican lawmaker to stand up in objection, saying withholding public officials’ addresses from the public would eliminate transparency. Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-Morris) accused his colleagues of “rank hypocrisy” for supporting such a bill, after earlier passing a controversial campaign finance bill called the Election Transparency Act.
“I still think our local elected officials should have their addresses published because the people they represent deserve to know where they live. They deserve to affirm that their elected officials are eligible for the positions that they’re holding, and they deserve to be able to confirm the properties that they hold,” Webber said. “I think that level of transparency is appropriate.”
The Assembly approved the measure by a vote of 56-14.
The bill would apply to local elected officials and some non-elected public workers, including zoning officials, members of independent municipal authorities, and certain high-ranking local government officials. If signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy, those officials would no longer have to list their home addresses on financial disclosure forms they must file annually.
In the Senate, the bill was sponsored by Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) and passed without discussion in a 26-7 vote. It now heads to Murphy’s desk.
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by Dana DiFilippo, New Jersey Monitor
March 30, 2023
by Dana DiFilippo, New Jersey Monitor
March 30, 2023
Lawmakers in both the Assembly and Senate passed a bill Thursday that would keep the property addresses of local public office holders from the public, one month after the Legislature voted for a measure to shield their own home addresses.
Assemblyman John DiMaio (R-Warren), a prime sponsor with Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex), pointed to the February murder of Sayreville councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour as evidence this protection is needed.
“We just lost a councilwoman in Sayreville practically in front of her house,” DiMaio told the New Jersey Monitor. “It’s crazy times we live in. There’s a tremendous mental health issue in a lot of folks in the world. It’s just meant to protect folks.”
The bill drove one Republican lawmaker to stand up in objection, saying withholding public officials’ addresses from the public would eliminate transparency. Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-Morris) accused his colleagues of “rank hypocrisy” for supporting such a bill, after earlier passing a controversial campaign finance bill called the Election Transparency Act.
“I still think our local elected officials should have their addresses published because the people they represent deserve to know where they live. They deserve to affirm that their elected officials are eligible for the positions that they’re holding, and they deserve to be able to confirm the properties that they hold,” Webber said. “I think that level of transparency is appropriate.”
The Assembly approved the measure by a vote of 56-14.
The bill would apply to local elected officials and some non-elected public workers, including zoning officials, members of independent municipal authorities, and certain high-ranking local government officials. If signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy, those officials would no longer have to list their home addresses on financial disclosure forms they must file annually.
In the Senate, the bill was sponsored by Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) and passed without discussion in a 26-7 vote. It now heads to Murphy’s desk.
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Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.
Dana DiFilippo comes to the New Jersey Monitor from WHYY, Philadelphia’s NPR station, and the Philadelphia Daily News, a paper known for exposing corruption and holding public officials accountable. Prior to that, she worked at newspapers in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and suburban Philadelphia and has freelanced for various local and national magazines, newspapers and websites. She lives in Central Jersey with her husband, a photojournalist, and their two children.
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New Jersey Monitor provides fair and tough reporting on the issues affecting New Jersey, from political corruption to education to criminal and social justice. We strive to hold powerful people accountable and explain how their actions affect New Jerseyans from Montague to Cape May.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site.
