Senator Jennifer Beck, a leading proponent of ethics reform in the New Jersey Legislature, issued the following statement on the conviction of former State Senator and Newark Mayor Sharpe James on charges of fraud:
“It is a sad commentary on the state of New Jersey politics that the conviction of a former State Senator and Mayor of New Jersey’s largest city for corruption is not a surprising and unusual case, but just the latest in a long string of elected officials convicted for using their positions for private gain.
This should give those who have been blocking real ethics reform in the Legislature cause to reconsider. Every one of these seemingly endless convictions adds to the public’s belief that elected officials are more interested in their own well being than those they are elected to represent. I recently called on the chair of the Senate State Government Committee to post a number of ethics bills, with both Democrat and Republican sponsors, to be voted on at the next meeting of the committee. Today I renew that call, so that we can begin to restore people’s faith in their government and elected officials.
Finally, I applaud United States Attorney Chris Christie and his office for their diligence in rooting out corruption at all levels of government in New Jersey.”
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Contact: Tom Fitzsimmons 732-933-1591
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