While students throughout NJ are taking part in the Celebrate NJ essay contest, Bergen County Clerk John Hogan is celebrating himself. A recent article in The Bergen Record details how Hogan spent $60,000 on a calendar featuring 21 photos of himself. You can read what actually transpired at the last Freeholder meeting by clicking here, or you can enjoy The Journal’s spoof .
Bergen County’s Calendar Boy
Bergen County Freeholder Maura DeNicola on Wednesday criticized County Clerk John Hogan for spending $60,000 to print a calendar that features 21 pictures of Hogan.
“We’re in a time when we are trying to do more with less, we are trying to make government efficient,” DeNicola said after the hearing. “And I would like to add that for $60,000, we should be seeing a little bit more skin.”
DeNicola, a Republican who is running for reelection, questioned the expense during the county clerk’s budget hearing before the freeholders.
Photo Not Used in Calendar
Hogan, a Democrat, defended the calendar, saying, “I appreciate Freeholder DeNicola’s concerns, and our original calendar included some photos where I just happened to be undressed….But in the end we felt it important to leave something to the imagination.”
Hogan said that in the past, the calendar was distributed only to a small group of municipal clerks. By printing 60,000 copies this year, he was able to distribute them to schools, senior citizen centers, VFW halls and municipal clerks.
“Who would not want to see my face every day of the year? People hang pictures of the president, the governor, the pope, sport stars, and rock stars – now they have me,” said Hogan. He added that, “It’s also my responsibility to promote myself, so, I’m doing my job.”
The purpose of the calendar is supposedly to help inform municipal clerks of the deadlines for election filings, but DeNicola stated that at least three of the dates listed were wrong. “I’ve only gotten to June, and then I needed to take a break from John’s face.”
Hogan’s aide, Robert Pantina, said the clerk’s office erred on the dates only because they were busy picking photographs of Hogan. “When the errors were brought to our attention, we just simply did not have enough time to care. The reality is no one is interested in the dates – it’s really all about John Hogan and how he’s doing a freakin’ fantastic job as Bergen County Clerk.”
Pantina said the money for the printing came from the Bergen County Clerk’s Slush Fund, which is funded by fees paid by services, rather than by taxes raised by the county. “We’re not wasting any money that was not originally wasted on fees”, added Pantina.
DeNicola said those funds could have been used to lower other expenses and save taxpayer dollars.
Hogan Delivering Pizza
The verbal sparring came during a budget session where Hogan noted he had delivered a pizza last year to the Freeholder’s that cost less than the year before.
Pantina added that this year’s pizza had pepparoni on it. DeNicola responded, “That pizza looked like John had dug it out of a dumpster. It had only one slice in the box – and no one wanted to eat it.”
Hogan also said during the hearing that he was able to cut $200,000 from election printing costs last year, and he felt entitled to spend some of the savings on himself. “It’s only $60,000 for the calendars, I still saved $140,000 – I think I deserve a little something more than just a salary.”
This is not the first time he has come under fire from Republicans for including his image on printed material.
Jeanne Baratta, the chief of staff for County Executive Kathleen Donovan, in October criticized Hogan for having his image placed on school milk cartons. Hogan responded at the time that,”Those kids cannot even vote, so no one can say it was politically motivated.”
Freeholder John Mitchell poked fun Wednesday at the calendar pictures that featured Hogan.
“You’re a handsome man, but I don’t think you have to be on everything,” Mitchell said.
Freeholder Chairman David Ganz came to Hogan’s defense, saying that the printing did not come at taxpayer expense but was paid out of the Bergen County Clerk’s Slush Fund.
“I’m proud to say this is the calendar of choice for my bedroom – or anybody’s bedroom,” Ganz declared.