Hackensack braces for big changes as new City Council members prepare to take officeSaturday June 29, 2013, 12:15 AM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
The Record
Hackensack’s new leaders long have said they’ll clean up City Hall by ending cronyism, favoritism and “insider deals” that have benefited people with political connections.
But since their upset win against the establishment-supported ticket, the council members-elect have said little about who will stay and who will go, though they are certain to make changes as they seek to assert their leadership and fortify City Hall after decades of dominance by the Zisa political family and its allies. The new council confirmed it will replace the city attorney upon taking office Monday, but the fate of others remains unclear.
The incoming council members referred questions to spokesman Thom Ammirato, saying they want to unify their message but don’t want to cause alarm in City Hall.
Councilwoman-elect Kathy Canestrino, a vocal government critic for years, spoke only briefly about the matter last week. “We haven’t decided what positions if any we will change,” said Canestrino, one of five people on the Citizens for Change ticket that swept the June 14 election. “We’re getting information from the city.”
Ammirato said the council expected to change half a dozen positions in the first six months in office, including staff and contract professionals.
“What we would do would be consistent with what any other administration would do in North Jersey,” he said. “You come in and want to appoint people you can trust and work with.”
Hackensack’s new council will wield considerable power in a city that’s home to the county seat and is embarking on a massive downtown rehabilitation plan that is already bringing in millions in development dollars. The new council says it will set up commissions to review ethics and redevelopment that will help ensure City Hall is run in a transparent and fair manner.
The task for the newcomers isn’t just to change administrations but to change the culture and politics in a City Hall that has been under the control of a political dynasty. The Zisas have served in various political offices and as heads of departments and, critics say, doled out patronage jobs to supporters.
Ammirato said the new council would not be on a “witch hunt” — “If you’re doing your job and doing it well, you don’t have to worry.”
Canestrino and Councilman John Labrosse, who was reelected and is expected to become mayor on Monday, have been critical of certain staff and professionals in the past.
The team also has suggested it will replace long-serving land-use board appointees who they say have perpetuated a culture of insider deals.
For the new council, hiring new people is a matter of self-preservation, as the displaced political powers may try to launch a comeback in four years.
Here are some officials and appointees whose positions could be in jeopardy:
Joseph Zisa: Critics allege that legal bills have spiked under Zisa, the city attorney, partly because he has declined to settle lawsuits, saying it was a city policy not to settle. He also had to recuse himself from lawsuits that piled up against his cousin, former Police Chief Ken Zisa, and hire outside attorneys for that work. Ken Zisa was sued by more than 20 police officers who claimed he ruled the department under intimidation and the threat of retaliation.
Labrosse confirmed late Wednesday that Zisa will not be reappointed when his term expires Sunday. The council, he said, plans to appoint an interim city attorney Monday, but he declined to say whom.
Stephen Lo Iacono: The city manager since 2005, Lo Iacono makes departmental appointments and manages day-to-day operations. Critics say he has done too little to stem problems in the Police Department or to contain skyrocketing legal bills.
Lo Iacono said the legal bills were a necessary response to a great number of suits. He said he dealt with problems in the Police Department by discussing them with the chief and supervisors and respecting the chain of command.
He dismissed the accusation that he’s a “mouthpiece” for the Zisas: “It just isn’t true.”
“I’ve tried to stay out of political stuff all along and I think I’ve done a good job there,” he said. “But I also understand they may want to bring their own person so I’d have to respect that.”
Joseph Mellone: Critics say Mellone, the construction official in charge of the Building, Housing and Land Use Department, is part of a close-knit group that has commanded the city.
Mellone was sued for alleged sexual harassment by an employee in his department and has been suspended twice. The Record reported in December that his office failed to enforce basic safety standards on rental homes owned by a pair of high-profile landlords with political connections to the city. One of the landlords is lawyer Richard Malagiere, former zoning board attorney.
Mellone said he has been held accountable for decisions made within his department. “There are things that happen in any position and you need to move forward,” he said.
Every application, he added, goes through the same procedures and gets the same scrutiny. He said he welcomed guidance from the new council. “My department still has a job to do and I believe we do a great job here,” he said.
The city manager, not the council, has the power to appoint the construction official from a civil service list. As a tenured employee, Mellone has strong job protection.
Richard Malagiere: He’s no longer the zoning board attorney, having declined to seek the position this year after The Record reported serious violations at two of his rental properties, including one where a fire occurred. But Malagiere — a close friend of the Zisas — continues as outside counsel on several land-use cases, including a major lawsuit over a proposed long-term acute care hospital.
Critics say his bills to the city are unreasonably high — he made at least $770,000 for his work on Hackensack police lawsuits alone.
In January, Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli asked a federal judge to disqualify Malagiere from several of the civil cases related to Ken Zisa because of a conflict of interest — in part because Malagiere was using depositions in the civil cases to gather information that Zisa could use in his criminal case, contrary to court rules.
Zisa was convicted of official misconduct and insurance fraud last year.
Still, some tenant leaders and hospital opponents have called for Malagiere to stay on the hospital case. Canestrino said during campaigning that she’d consider keeping Malagiere only on the hospital lawsuit — but with co-counsel in case he needs to step down later as a result of the controversy over his rental properties.
The city attorney said he is able to appoint contract lawyers from a list approved by the City Council.
Other contract professionals: Citizens for Change alleges that some contract professionals, including lawyers and insurance brokers, have gotten work from the city because of political connections or political contributions.
The new council members say, through their spokesman Ammirato, that they’ll open up the hiring process by using more requests for proposals and posting openings on the city’s website. They pledged to hire based on merit.
Land-use boards: Critics say some long-serving members of the planning and zoning boards have pushed the agendas of political figures and their favored developers. Appointees serve three-year terms, after which the council can reappoint them or choose someone new. Citizens for Change says the new council will advertise openings and widen the pool of candidates.
Ammirato said the council members-elect already were interviewing professionals for jobs in the city, and that he and Anthony Rottino, a Republican who heads the council’s transition team, expect to stay on as staff or contract employees after the council takes office Monday.
Ammirato said he may continue working in a communications post, while Rottino will likely be offered a job related to development oversight in the city.
Rottino declined to comment and directed the call to Ammirato.
Rottino owns several businesses, including real estate and insurance companies. He ran unsuccessfully for Bergen County Republican chairman last year and for the 40th District Assembly seat in 2009.
Although the council members-elect did not want to talk about upcoming changes for this story, they’ve said plenty in the past to indicate that City Hall will look vastly different in four years.
In a candidate questionnaire, Councilwoman-elect Rose Greenman said the team wouldn’t tolerate cronyism or favoritism “that were part and parcel of the city’s political regime for too many years.”
“We will sweep the slate clean of those longtime political usurpers who held on to power and profited handsomely on the misery of many,” she said.
Labrosse, in his response, said: “When you look at the political donations to the past administrations you see the same people donating and getting rewarded with lucrative contracts or jobs. That has to end.”
Email: adely@northjersey.com
