Envy of Many Elected Officials, He Said, ‘So Long!’

If it were left to me to designate a local “folk hero” of the year, I would, without hesitation, name Cape May Point’s ex-Commissioner Joseph Nietubicz.
Although I never met the man, he’s definitely my kind of guy. He silently reached his limit dealing with nonsensical rules and regulations, and tossed in the towel.
Having attended more municipal meetings through my newspaper career than most citizens, I can understand the gentleman from Cape May Point’s reasoning.
He was commissioner of public affairs and public safety for six years in one of the Garden State’s tiniest municipalities.
Thus, when the man at the southern end of New Jersey finally “saw the light,” and I don’t mean the one from the lighthouse in nearby Lower Township, he knew it was time to edit the final edition of his beloved “The Point Is” newsletter.
Secretly, I would wager that Nietubicz is the envy of many other elected officials.
They wish that they could follow in his footsteps, which likely have led over the dunes and onto the delightful warm sands of Cape May Point’s beaches, and into a world of freedom from abuse, regulations, phone calls that don’t quit and nasty comments from folks you thought were your friends.
Elected officials are painted with a broad brush, and many of them, unfairly because they really try to do their best, but are constrained from doing things the proper and logical way because of politics or other stumbling blocks.
To quote from his final newsletter is to gain insight as to what confronts each elected official, especially in this overtaxed and seriously over-regulated State of New Jersey:
“Being a Commissioner is full of Federal Regulations, State Regulations, eroding home-rule, special interest groups “for” special interest groups “against”, “what can you do for ME!” the economy, school taxes, fighting off being consolidated, more services, less taxes, insurance, and liabilities. It’s a world of restriction; of “you can’t do that” and somehow, after that maze and being pelted by public opinion, somehow, I am supposed to figure out what direction to take.”
“I find it more and more difficult to do the job that I was elected for. I’ve had enough,” he continued. “My choices were to become a hermit in my own office, put in my time and draw a paycheck – simply not my style – or leave. I decided to pick up my marbles and go home. I came down here to retire. I want to get back in touch with those things that brought me here; spend the rest of my life with my wife enjoying the Point.”
Come on, you have to respect a man who has enough moxey to utter such truth. A tip of my hat, Mr. Nietubicz.
Over the years, I pondered in these columns why anyone would place him or herself on the pillory of public opinion and seek office. Ask any public official, from North Wildwood Mayor Bill Henfey to Lower Township Mayor Mike Beck, from Avalon Mayor Martin Pagliughi to Woodbine Mayor Bill Pikolycky what it is that draws them to seek public office, and you will get a wide variety of answers.
Ask them if, in the course of their public service, they have noticed a sea change in the public and how it interacts with its elected officials. I would venture to a man (or woman in the case of Middle Township Mayor Susan DeLanzo) they would shout “Most definitely!”
Why is that? People used to be satisfied working with their public officials to get things done, often without fanfare. Now nothing, it seems, gets done without a fight or screaming, demands, petitions and threats or litigation.
Have we lost all civility? Certainly, the high taxes we all pay give us the notion there is a hand in our back pocket, and it’s taking more all the time, and we just don’t like it.
Many believe they are not getting full value for their taxes and are just plain irate.
“What do they do for me for all the taxes I pay?” Such is the driving force behind many residents of our beloved Cape May County and elsewhere in the Garden State.
Ordinary folks cannot understand what it is like to try to get anything done under the blanket of state regulations. Ask any official, and be ready to hear about what former Stone Harbor councilman Lou Clelland aptly dubbed, “The vagary of low bid.”
He alluded to state regulations that dictate government bodies must accept the lowest “responsible” bid for goods and services.
Such a fine concept sometimes works to the public’s disadvantage, and has bitten local officials in the backside. That happens when contractors, who bid low to win the job, find out too late they lack the wherewithal (or money) to complete the job.
Who is left with egg all over their faces? Not the contractors, but the officials of the town. They are the ones pelted with questions like, “When is this job ever going to get done?” “I thought if we elected you, this kind of thing would not happen again.”
While we consider the woes, just mention DEP, throw in next year’s 2 percent municipal budget cap, stir in a tablespoon of union contracts with 3 or 4 percent raises, then add a dash of “layoffs” for good measure, and we can easily see why the good gentleman from Cape May Point drew his line in the sand.
“So that’s it boys and girls – color me resigned,” Nietubicz concluded in the final edition of “The Point Is.”
This ought to be a clarion call for those who expect too much from folks we elect. We fail to realize they must navigate a molasses swamp of regulations, yet we expect instant miracles. That is simply impossible and unrealistic.
Enjoy the good life, Mr. Nietubicz, you earned it.