The Jackson Township Council will hold its bi-monthly meeting tonight, at which they are poised to appoint former Planning Board Chairman Bob Hudak to the township’s Zoning Board, filling the seat vacated by Scott Najarian, who resigned, and continuing a longstanding tradition of handpicking township officials loyal to municipal chair Clara Glory.
A Lakewood Alerts review of recent appointments to the Jackson Zoning Board reveals that the Township Committee has been ignoring those who have submitted Civic Leadership Forms to serve in positions around the township, and instead choosing to appoint supporters and loyalists – in other words, cronyism.
What appears to be happening time and again is that specific individuals are chosen, asked to submit their forms, and then appointed to the Zoning Board just days later. In fact, this appears to have been the case among the last seven Zoning Board appointments.
ToniAnn Comello submitted her form on 12/10/2020 and was appointed to the Board on 12/15/2020. In fact, the meeting agenda mentioning her appointment to the Board was released on 12/9 – before she even submitted her form.
Similar instances are seen with Zoning Board members Lynn Bradley, John Spalthoff, Samara O’Neill, John Pejoski, Joseph Riccardi, Raymond Lovacco.
Moreover, Lakewood Alerts could find no record of a timely Civic Leadership Form submitted by two other Zoning Board appointments – Gregg Staffordsmith and tonight’s appointment, Bob Hudak.
Multiple officials tell Lakewood Alerts that Hudak is best remembered for his time on the Planning Board for having pushed through Clara Glory’s “dream project,” in which Glory’s Market will replaced by a Wawa convenience store and gas station at 584 Cedar Swamp Road, as well as a retail center behind it, which will greatly enrich Glory. This has left many wondering whether Hudak’s appointment to the Zoning Board is her way of repaying him for his advocacy on her behalf.
A Jackson official presented with the data by Lakewood Alerts shrugged their shoulders, saying that “this is how it’s been done forever.”
“Of course it’s cronyism, but what do you expect?” he said. “We’re not talking about people loyal to the township’s residents, we’re talking about people loyal to specific people. In this case, it’s Clara Glory.”
I wonder if similar things happen in Lakewood as well.
I know of multiple incidents when good guys requested to join the Zoning Board, and were not appointed. Ray Coles told them “sorry, my hands were tied, as Lichtenstein made all the appointments.” Amazingly, Meir Lichtenstein also told them, “sorry, my hands were tied, as Ray made all the appointments!”