Nepotism ordinance forces Saddle Brook councilman to resign

When Councilman Joseph Camilleri voted in favor of Saddle Brook's anti-nepotism ordinance last fall, he never anticipated that the measure would affect him.  

But that ordinance forced him to resign from the council he loyally served for the past 4½ years. He submitted a letter of resignation to the township on June 5. 

"I grew up here. I went to school here. I spent my whole life here. It was a big honor when I was elected to the council," said Camilleri, who was Township Council president last year. 

In the end, the ordinance "came back to bite me."

The conflict was that his son, Joseph, who serves in the Army National Guard and is a corrections officer, took the civil service test in October and is being considered for a position on the local police force.

Camilleri could not discuss the status of his son's job application. 

Saddle Brook's anti-nepotism ordinance was modeled after policies in effect in other towns, including Montvale, Washington Township, Fair Lawn, Bogota, Tenafly, Bergenfield and Maywood.

Under the new ordinance, "You can't have immediate relatives who are on the governing body or who are department heads, because you can't have people who are in positions of power that can influence others or do favors for that person," said Mayor Robert White. 

Tenafly Mayor Peter Rustin said  such ordinances are an important vehicle for avoiding real or perceived conflicts of interest and other problems that could arise in local government.

"There's so much scrutiny these days. The last thing you need is for a citizen to jump on something because a relative is involved," said Rustin. "I have a son in town who might want to get involved someday, but I could never put him on the Planning Board, although he's very qualified ... a mayor has to be very careful about making appointments."

Camilleri, 57,a salesman, was elected in 2012 and  was among five Democrats on the dais.  

He has been an active township volunteer for over a decade, serving as a youth sports coach in football, wrestling and baseball.

"I enjoy helping people in town," he said.  

As a councilman, one of his primary projects was the renovation of Veterans Field. "We have a new state-of-the-art facility now," he said proudly. 

Since he announced his resignation, a lot of disappointed residents have been approaching him in the tight-knit community of about 13,000 residents. But his mind is made up. "My son is young, and I don't want to hinder his career. He certainly feels bad that I have to step down over this." 

Councilwoman Florence Mazzer said he will be missed: "He looked out for the township's interests all the time." 

On Monday, the council appointed David Gierek to fill Camilleri's vacancy. 

Gierek, 47, has been on the Saddle Brook Board of Education since 2013 and  had served as its president. He is a state-certified principal and supervisor.

Camilleri's advice to his successor is to "stay on your toes" and to think long and hard "before you agree to any ordinances."