The upcoming ballot question in Atlantic City is getting a lot of noise from people who consider it a travesty and another intrusion into Atlantic City from outsiders. The measure would change the form of city government to mayor-council to a council-manager form. If passed, there would be no more wards and five councilmen would be elected at large, with those five choosing the mayor. The council would then hire a powerful city manager who would have responsibility for running the city and all its departments and all its functions, including budgeting, hiring, negotiating contracts and more.
At first blush, I’d have to agree with the opponents. Voters in the city would no longer have the opportunity to elect a mayor. The councilmen would not represent any single ward in the city, so the individual wards—which are sometimes quite different—would get no special attention. Some believe it would disenfranchise minority voters by this lack of wards.
The organization that is pushing this change of government is called Atlantic City Residents for Good Government. Principal members of that organization are Local 54 President Bob McDevitt, former state Senator Ray Lesniak, Resorts casino owner Morris Bailey and his CEO, Mark Giannantonio. Their stated goal is to improve Atlantic City and remove the corruption that has plagued it for many years.
In a statement, McDevitt said, “The council-manager form of government will provide streamlined, efficient, and morally responsible leadership. By passing this referendum, Atlantic City residents will enjoy safe, clean streets, a balanced budget, lower property taxes and smart growth which will result in new development that will raise the living standards of all Atlantic City residents.”
Boy, that sounds good to me—despite the fact that it came from the mouth of Bob McDevitt who was largely responsible for the failure of Revel when its CEO refused to buckle under to his pressure to go fully union, even in businesses that Revel did not control. McDevitt’s reputation for running his union is also very sketchy and everyone who challenges his leadership gets quashed.
As for Lesniak, he’s got a track record for success. He started the ball rolling on sports betting in New Jersey and later the U.S. Despite claims by former Governor Chris Christie, Lesniak was the man whose passion and commitment made the difference.
Bailey and Giannantonio are looking out for their own interests, and for good reason. It’s actually refreshing to see casino executives, who have a huge stake in the success of the city, taking action to do what they believe is right.
Hard Rock International Chairman and CEO Jim Allen, an Atlantic County native, complained to Casino Connection last year about the shape of the city and the duplicity of city and state officials. And he’s right. He invested half a billion dollars into Atlantic City with the understanding the public officials would improve the areas leading to and surrounding his casino. It didn’t happen and he’s pissed. Finally someone has spoken up.
Not to get too down in the weeds, but the prohibition against casino executives participating in politics that dates back to the dawn of the gaming era has come back to bite the city. These are the people who should be assisting in running the city, setting its direction and making sure that the city is livable for residents and visitors alike.
And let’s not document the bad government that has washed over Atlantic City for many years. There has long been an attitude by elected officials that “now it’s my turn to get mine.”
The city council meeting of February 19 should have been recorded as a commercial for the change of government petition. The petty, back-biting, finger-pointing, sniping comments between council people, the mayor and king-maker Craig Callaway were disgraceful. This is the representative government that the people who want to defeat the change of government wants us to maintain??! No thanks.
I was a lowly campaign worker in the original change of government that was accomplished in 1980, switching from the commission form of government to the mayor-council form. Led by Seth Grossman and Jim Masland, the change was undertaken because the commission form of government led to many fiefdoms, cronyism and corruption. But now can we say that the mayor-council form has been any more successful? Sadly no.
It’s probably unfortunate that it doesn’t matter what form of government you’re using if you don’t have good people to operate it. Now we have many good people in city government. I believe Mayor Marty Small has the city’s interest at heart. Jesse Kurtz clearly understands what needs to be done. Even Kaleem Shabazz, a partner in the 1980 change of government, knows what will and won’t work.
They all oppose this most recent effort, and I can understand why. But I can also understand why many Atlantic City residents will vote for a change in government. They’re sick of the corruption, the incompetence and the declining standard of living in the city. Why not take a chance?
