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Kelly Feeding at the Trough

Asbury Park Press Editorial, Sunday, May 4, 2008

If the campaign of Republican 3rd Congressional District candidate John Kelly isn't toast yet, it should be.

At a bizarre press conference held by his GOP primary challenger, Chris Myers, on the Ocean County Courthouse steps Thursday, Myers painted an unflattering but accurate portrait of Kelly, a six-term freeholder and former mayor of Eagleswood, as a consummate trough-swiller.

Citing public documents, Myers talked about how Kelly took two patronage jobs for which he wasn't qualified with the South Jersey Transportation Authority, where he worked from 1999 to 2004. Both of the jobs - airport analyst and business manager - were apparently created the day he got them and neither was publicly advertised.

Myers also said Kelly has collected $71,000 in health insurance payments from the authority for opting out of its health care plan, payments Kelly continues to collect - and continues to defend. "I was treated the same as every other employee," he said. "These rules were not created for Jack Kelly." That should soothe voters.

Kelly, who has been a freeholder since 1993 and served on the Eagleswood Township Committee for 17 years, was hired by the SJTA, an agency with a well-deserved reputation as a patronage pit, in 1999 as an "airport analyst" at Atlantic City Airport at a salary of $57,304. That transformed him from a double-dipper into a triple-dipper. He held his freeholder, committeeman and authority jobs simultaneously. He gave up his committee seat in 2001.

The airport analyst job required a bachelor's degree from an accredited college and five years' experience in the aviation field. Kelly admits he had neither. He has a high school diploma and a real estate license. The business manager post, a job for which Kelly was paid $74,662 when he retired in 2004, also required a college degree.

His jobs at the airport, doubtless arranged by his mentor, Ocean County GOP Chairman George Gilmore, who served as general counsel to the SJTA when Kelly was first hired there, were classic pension-boosters. State pensions are based on the three highest years of a retiree's salary. Prior to his time with the SJTA, Kelly had never received more than his salary as freeholder - $30,000 today - for any government job. Today, his pension exceeds $40,000.

Kelly, who was present at the news conference, let Myers complete his presentation before responding indignantly.

"I have held elective office, but I also raised a family of five children," Kelly said. "I raised my family and I'm proud of it. I've done that. I've worked hard. I never took a penny for nothing."

No? Pension-padding doesn't count? Getting paid thousands of dollars for not enrolling in a health plan you don't need doesn't count? Taking jobs you got only because of who you knew doesn't count?

Let's see what the voters think.