The Citizens Campaign

The Law and Policy Task Force, chaired by Former New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Gary Stein, is a volunteer network of legal and governmental experts who develop model legislation and cost-cutting proposals for local and state adoption. The Task Force is composed of about 50 New Jersey lawyers who work to develop model laws pertaining to expanding citizen rights and eliminating government waste, including competitive insurance purchasing, pay-to-play reform, increasing access to public records, and political party committee transparency. Currently, over 200 New Jersey municipalities have adopted and implemented a Citizens Campaign model ordinance.[1]

The Citizens Campaign established Civic Trusts in urban, economically challenged areas in New Jersey. Civic Trusts are non-partisan, local civic associations composed of a few dozen “citizen leaders” who come together in monthly Solution Sessions to search for successful policies at work in other communities and propose them for adoption in their own. Civic Trustees serve for a term of one to three years, and take a pledge to leave their city and their country better than they found them. The Citizens Campaign offers strategic advice and support on issues chosen by the Trustees.[4] 

The Citizens Campaign developed teaching tools in "Solutions Civics" which were adopted into the mandatory social studies curriculum in high schools in Newark, Trenton, Plainfield, and Perth Amboy, NJ in 2018.[5][6][7] Professors at Rutgers University Newark, Providence College, Thomas Edison State University, and The University of Pennsylvania also introduced Power Civics into their college courses.

In 2020, The Citizens Campaign and Middlesex County College partnered to establish a Citizen Leadership Center. Professors at the college adopted the Citizen Power training manual and Power Civics© teaching tools into their undergraduate courses, and community members can access the training online through the college's continuing education program. A Civic Trust will be based at the Middlesex County College Perth Amboy Center, where students who have earned the Power Civics© certificate can put their training into practice.[8] The Citizens Campaign also announced a contest for additional community colleges to partner in the establishment of Citizen Leadership Centers across the country.[9]

In 2020, Civic Trusts introduced plans to expand Community Emergency Response Teams to confront the COVID-19 pandemic in their cities, by distributing masks, food, and quarantine kits to those in need and facilitating contact tracing through community connectors.[10]

In 2020, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Civic Trusts introduced proposals to create a culture change in policing. These proposals include Civilian Complaint Review Boards, improved de-escalation training, tying promotions and salary to use of force records, and the establishment of Citizens Public Safety Advisory Councils including youth leaders.[11][12][13] Chairman Harry Pozycki and Jiles Ship, chapter president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and Commissioner of the New Jersey Police Training Commission, wrote in an op-ed: "The cold-blooded killing of George Floyd provides yet another costly reminder that a fundamental culture change is needed in our police departments."[14]

The Academy for Citizen Empowerment, or ACE, is the educational arm of The Citizens Campaign, chaired by Michael Delli Carpini. Its focus is adult leadership training. The academy has developed a series of free classes on citizen engagement both online and live at several locations in New Jersey. The "Paths to Service" classes educate citizens on community leadership positions in the "power centers" of government (detailed below).[15]

Flyer for the First HNA Meeting

The New Jersey Online News Resource Group, formally called the New Jersey Hyperlocal News Association. is a project facilitated by The Citizens Campaign which is dedicated to helping established and emerging hyperlocal news sites build their base, business, and brand, with a particular emphasis on best practices for covering local government and politics.[16]

The coalition, chaired by Michael Delli Carpini, aims to assist hyperlocal editors, reporters, and citizen journalists ensure robust coverage of local government and politics. The Hyperlocal News Association has bi-monthly meetings with the aim of helping reporters, citizen journalists, and bloggers to learn about different aspects of covering local news and government. These meetings often include speakers or panels on important issues such as municipal budgets, political reform, and government transparency.

The association also provides:[17]

• "Roadmap Stories", a guide on recurring political and governmental stories with recommendations on getting the story,
• an OPRA and Sunshine (reference to the Open Public Meetings Act, or OPMA) Call Center intended to help citizen journalists who have been denied access to public records,
• recruitment and training for citizen journalists,
• civic education articles to accompany feature stories advising how citizens can get engaged in the process and participate constructively.

In addition to facilitating the New Jersey Hyperlocal News Association, The Citizens Campaign owns PatersonPress.com, a hyperlocal news site for Paterson, New Jersey founded in October 2010. PatersonPress.com was recognized by the New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists with two first place awards for "Best Online Independent News Organization" and "Best Online Public Service". Joe Malinconico, editor of PatersonPress.com, was recognized for his coverage of Paterson's municipal budget process.[18]

According to the chairman of The Citizens Campaign, Harry Pozycki, "pay-to-play is costing county and local governments throughout New Jersey hundreds of millions of dollars in higher fees for professionals and in unnecessary government contracts—costs that are passed on to New Jersey's property taxpayers.[19]" In response to this alleged corruption, The Citizens Campaign claim to have "developed and won adoption of the strongest State-Level Pay-to-Play Reform Law in the nation.[1]" In addition, they developed and won executive orders issued by Governor Jon Corzine further reforming pay-to-play across New Jersey.[20]

The Campaign also developed model resolutions and ordinances to be used at the county and municipal levels. The ordinances, mostly proposed and adopted in towns, have met some opposition. At a Gloucester Township council meeting, the activist group South Jersey Citizens tried to enact pay to play reform, only to be met with stiff resistance from the local council. The local officials argued that this sort of legislation should be dealt with in the New Jersey State Legislature, rather than in each of the 566 municipalities of New Jersey.[21] Unfortunately, SJC recognized, the New Jersey state legislature will not enact the much needed reforms at a state level and the individual local governing bodies are left to pass their own ordinances. As of May 2011, nearly 100 towns have adopted the ordinance already.[21] Additionally, Pozycki believes that adoption of the ordinance in local government will help build momentum for a state reform package [22]

The model pay-to-play reform legislation limits business entities seeking and performing certain government contracts from making political contributions to local campaign committees, municipal and county party committees, and certain political action committees (PACs).[23]

In many municipalities of New Jersey, the municipality and school district pick a "broker of record" to solicit insurance company coverage quotes. These brokers are not paid by the municipality or school district, nor do they work for the governing body, but rather are paid a commission by the insurance company hired. The broker is paid based on a percentage of the cost of the overall package chosen. The Citizens Campaign drafted a model resolution to make this process more competitive and transparent.[24][25] The resolution proposes several methods to remedy the current system:

• Provide incentives to brokers to work for the municipality's interest rather than the insurance company's
• Require brokers to be hired by the town or school district on a competitive, flat-fee basis
• Require towns and school districts to get multiple quotes, including bids from the State Health Benefits Plan and Joint Insurance Funds

In 2011 this legislation resulted in:[24]

• $261,000 saved in brokers fees for Perth Amboy [26]
• $37,000 saved in brokers fees for Morristown
• $1 million saved in brokers fees for Toms River School District
• $3 million saved in Perth Amboy school districts [26]
• $2 million saved in the first year with a projected savings of $4 million next year in Cherry Hill school districts

In 2009 The Citizens Campaign won adoption of the Party Democracy Act (P.L. 2009, c. 135), legislation created by the Law and Policy Task Force, which amended the laws in Title 19 governing county political party committees. The Act had bipartisan sponsors: Senator Loretta Weinberg, Senator Diane Allen, Senator Linda Greenstein, and Assemblywoman Amy Handlin. The Act requires that each county political party have a constitution and bylaws which must be made available both on their website and their county board of election's website. The Act also requires that county political party committees use secret ballots when filling county and state legislative vacancies. Advanced notice of any such elections is required and all committeepersons must be given the opportunity to vote.[27]"

In 2009, The Citizens Campaign won adoption of the Citizen Service Act (P.L. 2009, c. 141), legislation crafted by the Law and Policy Task Force, which requires all New Jersey municipalities to maintain a directory of boards and commissions, including membership, terms of office, and vacancies. The legislation had bipartisan sponsorship: Senator Jim Whelan, Senator Bill Baroni, Assemblyman John McKeon, and Assemblyman Joseph Malone.