Monmouth Democrat wants NJ Transit ethics job, Creates his own ethical controversy
Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik inducts Bob Salman into the Monmouth Dem Hall of Fame. Middletown Mike photo.
A prominent Monmouth County Democrat who wants the newly created position of chief ethics officer at New Jersey Transit finds himself in a self induced ethical controversy after an email he sent to other Democrat leaders was leaked to Politico.
Bob Salman, 79 of Marlboro, served as Inspector General of the Department of Transportation during the McGreevey/Codey and Corzine administrations. Governor Christie appointed him to the Council on Local Mandates. He is a member of the Democrat State Committee and is an inductee of the Monmouth Democrat Hall of Fame.
Salman has been trying to get job in the Murphy Administration “for months,” according to the Politico article. There appeared to be movement towards a job for Salman in the administration almost coincidentally with Murphy asking Salman to express his support for NJ Democrat Chairman John Currie’s reelection. (Currie’s current term doesn’t expire until 2020. Lacking meaningful opposition from the NJ GOP, NJ Democrats are fighting amongts themselves just to stay sharp.)
In his email to other Democrat leaders, Salman conflated his potential employment in the Murphy administration with the Governor’s text asking for support of Currie’s reelection, as reported by Politico:
“I just heard from Mike Delasandro who told me that he had spoken to [Department of Transportation Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti] and that she definitely wanted to bring me on board at NJT,” the job seeker, Robert Salman, wrote in the Sunday morning email. “Apparently, the possibilities are a meaningful consultancy possibly in the auditing area or the newly created position of Chief Ethics Officer at NJT. I said that I would leave it to their good judgment, but noted the similarity between the Ethics Officer position and my past position as IG of DOT.”
Salman, 79, confirmed in a phone interview that by “Mike Delasandro” he meant Mike Delamater, the director of intergovernmental affairs for the Murphy administration. Salman said he believes he received the text message from Murphy on Saturday night and read it Sunday morning.
The Salman email continued: “FYI, I also got a text from Governor Murphy asking me to support Chairman Currie. In light of the developments at NJT and my own personal high regard for Chairman Currie I responded to the Governor by pledging to support Chairman Currie.”
Salman followed the email with another seeking to clarify that his support for Currie is not a quid-pro-quo for employment:
Salman, in the phone interview Saturday, denied that his support for Currie, who is likely to face a challenger in his reelection, had anything to do with the potential job. He forwarded POLITICO a copy of an email he sent to the same recipient 3½ hours later clarifying that his support for Currie was “based solely on my high regard for him as a person and on the job he has done as Chair of the NJDSC” and that it “has nothing to do with whether I will be offered or accept any position in the Murphy administration.”
In a phone interview on Wednesday morning, Salman said that the idea that he is proposing a quid-pro-quo is ‘hogwash.” Salman said that his original email was sent and a private communication to Senator Vin Gopal and that he doe not know who leaked the email to Politico.
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He is a professional “hanger on” who has tried to squeeze every nickel he can from the taxpayer by depending on his size cling up to every politician he can.
Just another political hack.
Just another liberal who wants to suck on the public test. He was an official in DOT?. Don’t think he has much to be proud of and considering he thinks Florio is the second coming, and did everything he could to get him a job in Hudson County, is enough reason NOT to hire him. He has spent a lifetime being a political hack
If it smells like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a hack. You can bet he is duck who only knows quid-pro-quo as a way of life.
Why, at age 79, is this old coot trying to weasel his way into a job from the grinning nitwit? What’s worse is that Murphy is stupid enough to give it to him
stick together, and take care of their own, though.. look at DC, the Dems do it so much better than the Reps: starting next week, our heads will spin, as we suffer through the accelerated persecution of the president, and their wild agendas, again- for them, it is only the power, not what’s better for the people who elected them- read, our borders- and, weep..
anyone born after, oh I don’t know, 1950, use the term “old coot”? You have to appreciate the irony.
@ would – I was born WAY after 1950. Used the term for the humor factor if you must know. Still doesn’t change the fact that this guy should not be angling for a job. Would be better off trying to land a date with Ruth Bader Ginsburg
whatever you say bud. Also, who really cares about this dinosaur and this position that 99.8% of the living, breathing, dick-swinging population never knew about until today?
Language! The point is, there are far too many of these titles we pay for, and long- time hangers- on, who don’t know when to be grateful for what they got from the process, and move on.
agree 1000% as it relates to this administration. I didn’t mind the patronage jobs the previous 8 years though.
didn’t have patronage to distribute, how would they get workers/ supporters? Most of them don’t follow through with their promises, anyway.. I’m for cutting expenses in this state in all ways, duplicative or title- only, created jobs are only the beginning. Give the Dems a call, they sure control everything, so they can do more, in that regard! But, don’t hold your breath!
there is nothing wrong with quid pro quo and patronage positions when our party is in office. However, when the Dems are in it is screwed up and frustrating. We just need to vote them out whenever possible.
good luck with that. NJ, like several other states, has lost its collective mind!