Posted by Jerry on December 15, 2004 at 09:09:51:
Stakes high for Codey at Ramapo
His actions may affect its board, an ally's future, and the 2005 race.
By Tom Turcol
Inquirer Staff Writer -Philadelphia Inquirer
Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey is coming under fire for packing a state college
board with political allies in an attempt to steer the college's
$195,000-a-year presidency to a Democratic Party official.
Codey is trying to secure the job at Ramapo College for Joseph V. Doria, a state
senator and longtime ally, even though Doria did not make an independent search
committee's list of final candidates.
Codey's move would enable Doria to reap substantial gains in state pension
benefits, because the salary would more than double what he makes as a
part-time legislator. Doria is also the mayor of Bayonne in Hudson County.
Faculty and students at Ramapo, a 5,600-student liberal arts school in Bergen
County, have accused Codey of trying to politicize the taxpayer-supported
college and submitted a petition to the Statehouse this week urging him not to
interfere with the choice of a president.
But Codey, who has denied the accusations, continued his efforts on Doria's
behalf - replacing two members of the school's board of trustees with political
allies, in what critics at the college view as an attempt to circumvent the
search committee.
On Monday, Codey's two nominations to the board were approved by the state
Senate, where Codey is president. One is a Codey political operative and
employee who also worked for Doria; the second was recommended by the Bergen
County Democrats.
Codey unsuccessfully lobbied the Ramapo board's chairman on Doria's behalf two
days after he replaced Jim McGreevey as governor last month.
Codey said in an interview yesterday that his efforts to support Doria were
limited to that single conversation.
"I said that Joe Doria was a good candidate, and that I could personally vouch
for him," Codey said. "I think he'd make a great president."
Codey insisted that he had not urged any of the trustees to bypass the search
committee, saying, "I haven't spoken to anybody about overturning anything."
He declined, however, to flatly say the board should honor the committee's
recommendations, saying, "I think the trustees should do what they think is
right."
Attempts to reach Doria late yesterday were unsuccessful. Doria, 58, is a
25-year veteran of the Legislature and worked for 29 years as an administrator
at St. Peter's College in Jersey City.
Codey's actions could be a double-edged sword in his efforts to position himself
as an effective interim governor and a prospective candidate for a full term in
2005.
If Codey runs, Doria's support would give Codey an important foothold in Hudson
County, a key Democratic stronghold where most of the party leadership has been
leaning strongly toward U.S. Sen. Jon S. Corzine for the gubernatorial
nomination.
At the same time, the controversy could undermine the efforts by Codey, a
31-year veteran of the Legislature and Essex County political wars, to cast
himself as a government reformer.
Codey said yesterday that he would begin seriously assessing a gubernatorial run
after his State of the State address Jan. 11. He would have until the filing
deadline in early March to decide.
The push to install Doria as Ramapo's president started with McGreevey in what
Democratic officials said was a makeup call for blocking Doria from becoming
state Assembly speaker after the Democrats reclaimed control of the chamber in
2002.
In the weeks before he resigned because of a sex scandal, McGreevey replaced six
members of the Ramapo board with Democratic Party allies. Those allies tried
this month to suspend the search committee's selection process, which started
in March after the previous president resigned and is in its final stages.
The committee, after a national search, recommended five of the 90 applicants,
and the finalists are being interviewed by faculty and students. The trustees
are to meet in January to consider the recommendations.
The move to suspend the screening process fell one vote short. But with Codey's
appointments, the McGreevey-Codey trustees control the Ramapo board, which has
11 voting members and ultimate authority over the hiring of a president.
Codey defended his appointments. He said A.J. Sabath, his legislative and
political aide, is a Ramapo graduate. He said he did not know Timothy
Schroeder, who was endorsed by the Bergen County Democrats.
The maneuvering has stirred widespread resentment among faculty, students and
administrators at Ramapo, where more than 2,200 students signed the petition
delivered to the governor's office and both houses of the Legislature last
week.
"It appears that the acting governor and McGreevey before him are trying to go
through the back door to make a politically connected person the president
while we need an exceptionally experienced educator," said Anthony Dovi, head
of the Student Government Association at Ramapo.
"We want a president who's best for the college, not someone who's in the best
interest of the politicians," Dovi said.
The criticism, he said, is not aimed at Doria but at the attempts by Codey and
McGreevey to ignore the recommendations of the search committee.
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