Daniel Mecca

The Bergen County Democratic Organization (BCDO), which in the past year has seen indictments of its party chairman, counsel and the conviction of a state senator, set up an ethics training program for all county committee members and party officials last week.

The program, however, is not mandatory, which BCDO chairman Michael Kasparian called for when he was first seeking to replace indicted Chairman Joseph Ferriero. 

Kasparian made ethics training a major part of his campaign to succeed Ferriero, listing it as the first item of his six plank platform.  Although not mandatory, he's encouraging county committee members to go one of two routes: either attend a May 20 ethics training seminar at Bergen Community College, where Gov. Jon Corzine will be a guest, or watch a Power Point presentation online before submitting a test. 

"The county committee people are elected officials, so as a private organization, it's not the chairman's intent to make this mandatory," said BCDO counsel Joe Ariyan, who added that he did not believe that Kasparian had the legal authority to force ethics training on committee members, even if he wanted to.  "It is encouraged, because the chairman ran on a platform in part on ethics reform, awareness and transparency."

The 26-page Power Point presentation was put together by retired Superior Court Judge Daniel Mecca.  It does not delve into exhaustive detail, instead covering the basics of potential conflicts created by business relationships with local entities, fundraising, event attendance, gift acceptance and other prohibited outside activities.  It outlines when should recuse themselves, and penalties they can face if they do not. 

Labor leader Buzz Dressel wants to be the next Bergen Democratic ChairmanJoseph Ferriero still hasn’t resigned as chairman of the Bergen County Democratic Organization, but after he was indicted on eight counts of corruption yesterday, the race to replace him has begun.

Already, potential candidates acknowledge that they’ll need to tackle two major issues in the upcoming weeks.

One is bridging the divide between the Ferriero loyalists and State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck).

The other is fundraising.  That’s never been a problem for the BCDO under the leadership of Ferriero, who foes feared as a fundraising juggernaut.  But now, without Ferriero at the helm, the party could find it difficult to raise cash fast.  And they’ll need it – as of the last ELEC report, filed on July 15th, the party’s cash on hand is in the red.  While the party’s finances were similar at this point one year ago, they had Ferriero’s money-raising prowess to ramp it up.

Three names are still floated as potential replacements, while other names are likely to be added to the mix later on.  There’s former Leonia Mayor Robert Pacicco, a jewelry store owner and Democratic Municipal Chairman; Richard “Buzz” Dressel, the business manager of IBEW Local 164; and former Bergen County Superior Court Judge Daniel Mecca.

The Record says Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero is the target of a federal probe
Ten years after Joe Ferriero started the Bergen County Democratic Organization’s march toward county-wide domination, his hold on power is quickly slipping away.

Multiple sources report that Ferriero is facing intense pressure from top Democrats in the party to resign permanently from his post as county chairman.  The Record, citing sources, said that Ferriero received a target letter from the U.S. Attorney’s office over an investigation of a grants writing firm he held a stake in.  There are also allegations of an assault during a Labor Day party at his Old Tappan home.  Insiders acknowledge that Ferriero’s grasp on the chairmanship is tenuous at best, and that his days in the position may be numbered in the single digits.

Ferriero has already taken a temporary leave of absence, with Vice Chair Kay Nest taking over his immediate responsibilities.  Already, at least five potential replacements have either been raised as possibilities or have floated their own names to permanently replace him.