Sweeney wants law to suspend indicted local officials

Announcement follows resignation of Hoboken mayor accused of corruption.State Sen. Stephen M. Sweeney (D-West Deptford) said Friday he intends to introduce legislation in the fall to establish a process for suspending any locally elected official indicted for crimes that would result in their dismissal under a conviction.

Sweeney, the state Senate majority leader, said in a statement that elected local officials cannot serve the public trust while “under a black cloud of suspicion.” He went on to declare that if public officials facing such charges do not step down on their own, “the state needs a way to force them from office until they can clear their names.”

Under Sweeney’s proposal, the suspensions may be without pay if a hearing to withhold salary is conducted. If the suspended official is exonerated, back pay could be collected.

The bill would apply only to local officials, not state legislators. Creating a bill to include state legislators would require an amendment to the state constitution, which would then need ratification by voters in a general election. The earliest that could happen would be 2010.

Sweeney’s proposal comes on the same day that Peter Cammarano III resigned from his post as Hoboken mayor. Cammarano was indicted more than a week ago, along with 43 others from the public and private sectors, on corruption charges, and had resisted calls for his resignation until Friday afternoon.

E-mail Joao-Pierre Ruth at [email protected]