Pay-to-Play Ruling on Atlantic County Ordinance Turns on the Use of the Word “Any”

Atlantic County is one of three counties in the State of New Jersey with a stringent county pay-to-play ordinance in effect. Like many local pay-to-play ordinances, the Atlantic County ordinance covers contributions to candidates for or holders of county office. The goal is to limit political contributions made by “those seeking or currently performing business with the County,” so as to allay the “reasonable concerns on the part of taxpayers and residents as to their trust in government contracts.” By its express terms, the Ordinance covers contributions made “to any campaign committee of any candidate for elective County office or to the current holders of any elective County office.” The use of the phrase “any campaign committee” raises the question of whether a contribution to a candidate committee for non-county office is covered by the ordinance when the candidate is also a holder of an Atlantic County office. Last week, a Superior Court judge ruled that the answer is “yes.” In his opinion, Judge Julio Mendez held that the use of the word “any” means that a contribution to the State Senate campaign committee for a sitting Atlantic County Sheriff is covered under the Ordinance even though the sitting County Sheriff plays no role in the award of county contracts and even though the office of State Senator is not an Atlantic County office. Although the court’s ruling was specific to the Atlantic County Ordinance, the interpretation may spread to other counties and municipalities with local ordinances in effect. Thus, before a vendor makes a contribution to a sitting elected official seeking election to another office, the vendor must determine whether a local pay-to-play ordinance is in effect that may potentially cover the contributions to a candidate committee for that “other” office.