Secretary of State feels heat again: 3 photogs on Thomas staff
Trentonian.com
April 28, 2005
PETE DALY
TRENTON -- New Jersey Secretary of State Regena Thomas came
under fire again yesterday, this time for having three staff
photographers earning nearly $200,000 a year in salary and
benefits.
An audit of state expenditures by Millennium Radio New Jersey
found taxpayers are footing the bill for the shutterbugs --
though Thomas’ office admitted it doesn’t even
know what the pictures are for or where the photo lab is located.
The disclosure comes on the heels of reports that Thomas worked
for Sen. John Kerry’s campaign for president in an effort
to land a job in Washington. In another incident earlier this
year, some white students at a Catholic high school in Camden
County walked out on a talk by Thomas at the school because
they were offended by comments by the secretary, who is black.
The audit found Jerry Casciano, director of the "Governor’s
Photo Lab" earns $108,842, photographer Jennifer Caruso
is paid $45,276 and photographer Courtney Burke is paid $36,529.50,
according to documents supplied by the Department of State.
A spokeswoman for Thomas confirmed that the three photographers
are still on the payroll, but told Millennium she "doesn’t
know what the pictures are used for or where the photo lab
is."
A spokeswoman at Thomas’ office declined to comment
yesterday afternoon.
Kelley Heck, spokeswoman for acting Gov. Richard Codey, said
in an e-mail to The She said several photographers have been
on staff since Gov. Christine Todd Whitman held office.
The report drew heavy criticism from Republican politicians,
with some calling for Thomas’ resignation.
"If the secretary of state doesn’t know where the
photo lab is, maybe we can give the secretary a tour or ask
her to be more responsible about her office," said state
Assemblyman Bill Baroni (R-Hamilton).
"The drum beat is getting louder. Day after day, we read
or we hear another allegation against the secretary,"
Baroni said. "The taxpayers of New Jersey deserve to
know what the secretary of state is doing."
The spokesman for the New Jersey Republican State Committee,
Steve Berlin, went even further, saying Thomas is "derelict
of her duties" and that the committee demanded her resignation
last week.
"She epitomizes what is wrong with our state government,"
Berlin said. "It’s waste, fraud and abuse. If Regena
Thomas weren’t so busy working for (gubernatorial candidate
Sen. Jon) Corzine and Democratic political campaigns, she
might actually know what people are doing in her office."
"After our continuing review of what’s going on
in Secretary of State Regena Thomas’ office, I just
can’t in my wildest dreams understand why she would
be controlling about $200,000 worth of photographers out of
her office," Assemblyman Joseph Malone (R-Burlington),
the ranking Republican on the Assembly Budget Committee, told
Millennium Radio.
Two other prominent Republicans have called for Thomas’
resignation after learning that a state ethics panel was investigating
her ongoing interest in a political consulting firm and charging
that she violated federal law by working on Kerry’s
2004 presidential campaign in exchange for the promise of
a federal job if he won.
Thomas was named secretary of state by then-Gov. Jim McGreevey
in 2002 when his administration took office.
Her duties constitute, among others, the "promotion and
preservation of the arts, history, and culture of the Garden
State," according to Thomas’ biography on the state
of New Jersey Web site. Thomas also oversees many state commissions
and programs.
Thomas was the source of controversy last month when she delivered
a speech on racial justice to students at the predominantly
white Paul VI High School in Haddonfield.
Some of Thomas’ comments, which weren’t disclosed
by her office, were viewed as confrontational and disrespectful
by white students, some of whom walked out on the speech.
