Ban Dual Office Holding

TRENTON — Gov. Jon Corzine was expected to sign into law yesterday legislation that would ban public officials from holding more than one elective office.
The law would go into effect on Feb. 1 2008. That means Sea Isle City Mayor Leonard Desiderio, who is also a county freeholder, and over a dozen other officials throughout the state would be allowed to retain their seats until they give them up or lose re-election.
“Dual office holding is a fundamental part of institutional arrangements in New Jersey that create conflicts of obligation, erode accountability and promote parochialism,” Tom O’Neill said in his publication “One to a Customer: The Democratic Downsides of Dual Office Holding.”
“The ban will not magically create wise policy, nor will it end all conflicts of interest or obligation. But the price of this dubious New Jersey tradition has become too high for whatever benefits it might once have promised.”