Details about this story

• Source: Gannett New Jersey Newspapers
• Date: September 30, 2007
• URL: Read the story
• Bylines: Paul D'Ambrosio
• Topics: Campaign Finance , State Government , Government Contracting
• Data Types: State Data
• Description/Excerpt: Gannett New Jersey reporters and editors spent the last three months measuring the progress of ethics reform in the state. Starting today, and for the next seven days, the Press and the six other Gannett New Jersey newspapers will show you where ethics reform has worked, where it has failed, and where it needs improvement. We'll point out the leaders who have championed ethics reform, and the lawmakers who still wallow in self-enriching conflicts. The investigative series found that: The most powerful lawmakers turned their public work into private gain; Conflicts of interest still can be hidden by lawmakers, despite improved financial disclosure rules; Loopholes in the new anti-pay-to-play law are being exploited to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars from government vendors to political parties as a way to return to 2003, when campaign cash was commonly used to win no-bid government contracts; ?Clean elections, a pilot program that uses public funds to remove special-interest money from legislative campaigns, could work, but it likely will be costly — $40 million to $120 million when both houses are up for election.
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