Appointments Challenged

(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Feb. 9, 2011)

SOUTH AMBOY — The attorney representing 2010 Independent mayoral candidate

Mary

O’Connor was scheduled to argue early this week before Superior Court Judge

Judge Phillip Paley, sitting in New Brunswick, that Mayor Fred Henry’s

recent appointments should not be made permanent in case she wins an appeal and

becomes Mayor.

Henry last month appointed Camille Tooker as Business Administrator, John

Lanza as City Law Director, Mark Rasimowicz as City Engineer, Terance O’Neill

as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and James Hoebich as Municipal Court

Judge. All but Hoebich held the same positions under former Mayor John O’Leary.

That is “not listening to at-least half the voters who called-for fresh

ideas in City Hall,” O’Connor said in a prepared statement. “Instead, he

(Henry) has reappointed the status-quo.”

Paley ruled last month that Henry was permitted to make permanent appoint

ments after deciding that the former City Council President had won as Mayor

over O’Connor, after reducing a Henry victory-margin from three to two votes

after hearing testimony.

“This election wasn’t decided by a mere two votes,” O’Connor said. “It

was decided by powers who found six ballots in a back room and who cannot

account for the whereabouts of 103 other ballots.”

She said that a “notice has been sent to Judge Paley requesting Henry’s

appointments be limited to interim status until after the appeal has been

heard.”

An appeal of Paley’s decision has been filed by Christopher Struben,

O’Connor’s attorney, who was scheduled to appear before Paley on Monday at 9:30

a.m. with Michael Baker, Henry’s attorney.

“I just want to make-sure that he (Henry) isn’t allowed to give anybody a

permanent position or invest them with any permanent rights because, if

there’s a new election and O’Connor wins, she shouldn’t have to govern with his

people,” Struben said.