JACKSON – The Township Council called for Gov. Phil Murphy to impose stiffer penalties – and call in the National Guard – for those who violate the current pandemic social distancing rules.
“Unfortunately, not everyone has followed the law of the land,” Council President Barry Calogero said during the most recent Township Council meeting. “There are groups of people who hide behind cultures and religious beliefs who put themselves, our first responders and quite honestly all of Jackson and bordering towns at risk for their selfishness, irresponsibility and inability to follow the law put in place by President Trump and Gov. Murphy.”
Calogero added, “several weeks ago, we were enjoying the greatest economy certainly during my life. In a few short weeks we have had our worlds turned upside down. This is a time for reflection and counting our blessings. This is a time to follow direction and laws.”
“We have all been affected in one way or another. I have not seen my only grandchild (Lenora) in several weeks and it breaks my heart not to be able to hug and kiss her but I understand and respect the law put in place to protect us and put an end to this invisible enemy,” the council president said.
Urging residents to continue their compliance of rules in place by the state, Calogero said, “ladies and gentleman, this is a global pandemic! New York and New Jersey are the epicenter for this killer virus with over 230,000 people infected and 12.5 thousand deaths between our two states as a result.”
“How in God’s name can civilized people disrespect their neighbors, the president’s and governor’s orders? I implore Governor Murphy to set aside politics, and use your power and authority to call out the National Guard to enforce the law and protect Ocean County from those who cannot seem to follow our laws,” Calogero added.
The council president stressed that this is not about capturing bloc votes. “This is about life and death, Governor, please, do the right thing and enforce the law of the land.”
During his daily update concerning the coronavirus conditions in the state, Murphy said two days later that he had not yet heard directly from Jackson at that time. “I don’t know if we felt the need to pull the National Guard in between local, county enforcement as well as state police which has been so aggressive.”
The governor called on NJ Police Superintendent Col. Pat Callahan to offer his opinion. Callahan said, “When the first executive orders were issued a lot of the overnight reporting was about large crowd gatherings. We are not really seeing large gatherings. Here and there we see a store that is open with an excessive amount of people in it so I would say at this time to the governor’s point between local, county and state resources in law enforcement that we would not need the National Guard to perform that role.”
The governor did add to that, “That is something on the table. We reserve the right but we haven’t had to yet.”
Additional Fines For Gatherings
The Jackson Township Council supported the passage of Senate Bill S-2343 and Assembly Bill A-3917 stating that both bills would place appropriate financial penalties upon those who willfully refuse to comply with the governor’s executive order relating to social, political or religious gatherings during the COVID-19 health emergency.
If passed, people at public gatherings could be fined from $10,000-$15,000.
The Senate bill was sponsored by three local senators: Jim Holzapfel (R-10th), Robert Singer (R-30th) and Christopher Connors (R-9th); as well as Vin Gopal and Dawn Addiego.
The Assembly version was sponsored by local members Greg McGuckin and John Catalano (both R-10th); Sean Kean and Edward Thomsen (both R-30th); and Brian Rumpf (who works for the Ocean County Health Department) and DiAnne Gove (both R-9th); as well as Eric Houghtaling and Joann Downey.
“There have been a number of large public gatherings since the Governor has issued the stay at home order, and we feel violators should face significant consequences for failure to comply with a directive that’s necessary to save lives,” stated Senator Holzapfel. “During this public health crisis, the executive order mandating social distancing should not be taken lightly. Mass gatherings during this pandemic put an unnecessary strain on an already fragile healthcare system, create risk for responding law enforcement officers, and threaten the lives of participants.”
The bill would establish a monetary penalty of $10,000 to $15,000 for any person who willfully or knowingly hosts gatherings in violation of any provision of the “Emergency Health Powers Act.”
“There must be a stronger penalty for violating the social distancing orders during this outbreak,” said Assemblyman McGuckin. “The strong financial penalties that would be imposed by our legislation should discourage people from hosting gatherings in violation of the prohibition during this crisis.”
According to the legislation, the host of any indoor or outdoor social gathering that exceeds the number permitted to gather will be penalized when an order intended is to prevent the transmission or spread of an infectious disease. The penalty would be sued for and collected by the Commissioner of Health, along with all costs associated with the commissioner’s enforcement action.
“To combat the spread of this disease, we must adhere to the Governor’s orders to stay at home and distance ourselves from our friends and family,” added Assemblyman Catalano. “We know that socially distancing is hard, but it’s critically necessary to prevent the uncontrolled spread of the coronavirus in a way that would overwhelm our hospitals and result in the unnecessary loss of life. We hope that a substantial fine will make individuals think twice if they are considering to host a party or have friends over.”
Mayor Michael Reina concurred with the resolution regarding the fines, saying he had just taken part in a phone conference of mayors of Atlantic, Cape May and Ocean counties regarding the pandemic. “My mind is still boggling over what I’ve been hearing. Stay safe, stay home. Everyone is doing the best they can. Keep abreast of what is going on. If you have any questions contact us.”
~Chris Lundy contributed to this story
