Perr demands records of State GOP Chairman’s work at Lenape and Burlington Bridge Commission
Wants accountability for no-bid public relations work in light of federal probes at UMDNJ

(Mt. Laurel, NJ) – In light of deepening scandals involving waste, fraud and abuse at the state’s medical school and other state colleges and universities, as well as similar no-show jobs provided to State Senator Martha Bark (R-8), Richard J. Perr, President of the Burlington County Taxpayers Association, today called on the Burlington County Bridge Commission and the Lenape Regional High School District to produce evidence of work and what was paid to State Republican Party Chairman Thomas Wilson’s Trenton public relations and lobbying firms; The Strategy Group, c3 Strategies, or Wilson himself.

“The Star Ledger article ‘FBI digs deep in UMDNJ finances’ raises serious questions about the role of lobbyists and public relations firms being paid by government with little or no accountability. The article detailing who was feeding at UMDNJ’s trough read like a political who’s who in New Jersey’s power establishment – singling out Democratic State Senator Wayne Bryant’s part-time consulting gig, a deal for one of Jim McGreevey’s closest confidantes Jim Kennedy, and a $1 million job for GOP lobbyist Chip Stapleton who went on record saying it was counterproductive to document his work. That same article mentioned that the FBI subpoenaed records of State Republican Chairman Thomas Wilson’s firm for work he supposedly did for the state’s medical school.

According to his firm’s own marketing brochures, Wilson has had contracts with both the Burlington County Bridge Commission and the Lenape Regional High School District. Why would either agency need to hire out for public relations services when they have existing in-house staff who can handle this function?

The big question, however, is whether he provided any evidence of work product for what he was paid at those public agencies, and for what amount? Were those contracts public advertised and put out for bid? Who supervised his work and what did he really do? How often did Wilson’s quotes appear in the newspaper on behalf of these agencies or what legislation did he lobby for them on?

We’ve already seen one of the biggest examples of pay-to-play politics in the state when Burlington County Republican Boss Glenn Paulsen led some of his top vendor/contributors to create the $50 million Seneca High School (despite its questionable need) for their own personal profit. To add insult to injury, Paulsen and his allies at Lenape sought to block media and public access to records on legal billings and other documents when they started to feel the heat for their reckless actions. What role did Wilson play in the referendum campaign to build Seneca High School?

If Wilson is going to serve as spokesperson for pay-to-play and ethics reforms, the least he could do is practice what he preaches. The public has a right to know. That’s why I’m calling on these agencies to produce records on Wilson and document exactly what he earned and for what at taxpayer expense.

Moreover, the Burlington County Taxpayers Association is demanding that public entities stop wasting taxpayer dollars on lobbyists and public relations firms. That is what our government officials are elected to do.”