Cumberland County Citizens Fight Utility Privatization

Of NJ’s 21 counties, Cumberland is the poorest, a place that grapples with isolated rural poverty. It is also, not uncoincidentally, a place with an appetite for change, where citizens are demonstrating a commitment to civic engagement and having a voice in their county’s future. Last year, Cumberland County was the only place in the entire state where a progressive challenger bested the establishment in a countywide primary race. Right now, a group of Cumberland County citizens are making a concerted effort to save their countrywide sewer system from being sold to a private equity firm. They are attending public meetings, digging up data, asking questions, advocating that what’s for the public remain public, not be sold off for corporate profit. They are up against more than just the greed of a private equity firm. They are also battling the same force that SJ citizens find themselves up against time and time again — the Norcross political machine.

Private Equity Wants to Buy Up the Cumberland Sewer System

The Cumberland County Utility Authority (CCUA) plans to sell the county sewer system to Bernhard Capital Partners (BCP), a private equity firm. BCP’s hopes to make a profit off of hard up municipalities and counties who need the funds generated by selling off their public utilities. In their home state of Louisiana, Bernhard Capital faced local opposition when officials sought to monetize the water and sewer systems. In Louisiana, officials resigned from their posts when faced with pressure to privatize and that’s happened in Cumberland County too.

Privatization is almost always a losing deal for the public. Privatization leads to an increase in costs for the public. Data from Food and Water Watch puts the average national rate of increase at a whooping 64%. This could be especially harmful in Cumberland County where the poverty rate hovers around 20% (compare that to NJ’s rate of 9%). The median household income is $50,000. (That’s $30,000 less than the state median income).

Along with rate hikes, privatization leads to a loss of transparency. Once a utility is sold off, the public’s access to information about that utility is restricted. (Fun fact: even BCP’s website is password protected and not accessible to the public). To maximize profits, private owners may cut corners — or cut jobs. The Center for Community Change notes that “water system privatizations have led to a loss of roughly one in three jobs.”

SJ Machine Politicians Serve as Willing Shills

So where are the elected officials who should be the voice of the community while this privatization plan is being deliberated? It would seem that the vast majority of them are ready to rush it through or rubber stamp whatever is needed to sell off the sewer system. Citizens are being ignored. State contracting laws are being violated. Once again, the pernicious effects of machine politics are on full display.

The little constellation of consolidated power works like this: the party boss of Cumberland County is Doug Long, an attorney who recently plead guilty to tax evasion for failing to pay taxes on the $250,000 generated by his law firm and for concealing $800,000 in personal income. Long was formerly the Cumberland County Democratic Committee chair but resigned due to this scandal. Long was also formerly the director of the Cumberland County Freeholder Board. Though Long is scheduled to be sentenced in October, his rebranded firm is still under contract with the Cumberland County Utility Authority (CCUA), the political entity pushing for sewer privatization, and his firm continues to get contracts throughout South Jersey.

How is this possible? It’s simple. Doug Long serves fealty to South Jersey boss, George Norcross. The money trail, discoverable via the IRS and NJ Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC), lists Doug Long as a donor to:

• George Norcross’s PAC, General Majority
• George Norcross’s younger brother, Congressman Donald Norcross
• the organization George Norcross built, the Camden County Democratic Committee, which continues to do his bidding
• as a host of Camden County electeds loyal to George Norcross including all the sitting Camden County Commissioners, State Senator/Camden County Democratic Committee Chair Jim Beach, Cherry Hill Mayor Susan Shin Angulo and Assemblywoman Pat Egan-Jones who has retired from office and now serves as treasurer of George Norcross’s new PAC
• George Norcross’s closest ally, Steve Sweeney, as well as the organization Sweeney runs behind the scenes, the Gloucester County Democrats.

Political machines use the public’s government like a private club to enrich themselves and their allies. The Cumberland County Utility Authority (CCUA) seems to do just that. Doug Long’s father-in-law, William Andre, is a commissioner of the CCUA. In addition to contracting with Long’s rebranded firm, the CCUA also contracts with Pennoni, the engineering firm at which Kenneth Long, Doug Long’s brother, works. Pennoni has donated to General Majority for years, and has donated to George Norcross’s new PAC, American Democratic Majority. Kenneth Long also sits on the board of the Camden Schools Foundation which is headed by Jack Tarditi of Conner, Strong & Buckelew, George Norcross’s insurance company. The CCUA also contracts with Bellia, a workspace, technology and print/design company, that has donated over $200,000 to machine candidates throughout South Jersey, especially those in Cumberland County. The attorney for the CCUA is Greg Zeff who has a history of representing machine interests, including a lawsuit against former County Commissioner Jack Surrency. Surrency was kicked off the ballot line when he refused to vote in favor of new county contracts with Doug Long’s firm.

Machine Politics & Public Asset Privatization: Two Sides of One Coin

Given that the CCUA is already run in such a way that the private interests of a few are maximized via public contracts, it’s not surprising this authority would be amenable to privatization. Machine politics and privatization of public assets are two sides of the same coin; indeed they are even embodied by two different Norcross brothers. While George Norcross runs the political machine that controls who gets elected to office, Phil Norcross’s lobbying firm Optimus Partners brokers the privatization of water and wastewater systems of communities throughout South Jersey.

The groundwork for the Cumberland County sewer deal seems to have been flawed from the start. Secret meetings, rushed bidding, lack of public hearings — these details are all indicative of a plan that has kept citizens out of the loop. But if this Cumberland County situation is indicative of just how corrosive machine politics can be to democracy, it also provides a silver lining. Residents continue to show up and speak up. Will officials listen? Can some power be wrested from the hands of a select few through pressure or elections and be returned to the people? Only time will tell. It’s time to pay attention to Cumberland County.