Was Christie behind mayor getting cushy pension-boosting state job?

SAYREVILLE – A state lawmaker said Gov. Chris Christie is a hypocrite for criticizing the pension system while his own administration gave a job to this borough's Republican mayor, who will be able to parlay his new six-figure salary into a significant pension.

"For the governor, this is a gross inconsistency," said Assemblyman John Wisniewski, D-19th District, who also lives in this borough.

A spokesman for Christie responded Friday by calling Wisniewski's attack "unsubstantiated" and "nakedly political."

Mayor Kennedy O'Brien, a longtime businessman, was hired in January to be director of the Department of Corrections' State Use Industries, or Deptcor, which uses prison inmates to manufacture license plates and office furniture. The position had been vacant for six months.

O'Brien, 61, has been mayor since 2000 and was a councilman since 1995. Despite earning no more than $5,500 a year in his elected position, O'Brien could retire from his new $110,000 job in three to four years and collect a $40,000 annual pension for the rest of his life.

The hiring was first reported Thursday by MyCentralJersey.com.

"This is the kind of activity that the governor himself has criticized in his ongoing criticism of our pension system," said Wisniewski, who also called into question O'Brien's qualifications.

"The mayor did not spend his career in the department and rise to the level of director based on his talents. It's clearly a patronage position," he said. "It's a set of skills I don't know you get being a mayor."

It is not clear who was involved in hiring O'Brien because a spokesman for the Department of Corrections this week declined to say how many people applied and who was involved in the decision.

But Wisniewski, a longtime Christie foe who chaired the legislative committee investigating the George Washington Bridge closing scandal, suspects top administration officials knew about it.

"For me, you don't get appointed to be a director in this administration without the governor being involved and signing off," he said. "This is not a file clerk. This is not a lifeguard at a state park. This is the director of a significant department in the Department of Corrections. I'm sure the decision wasn't made without running it up the flag pole."

The state's job posting requires a candidate for the position to have a master's degree. O'Brien never graduated from a college or university but ran his own businesses for more than 30 years handling sales and marketing for manufacturers of plumbing fixtures.

O'Brien said he has taken business-related courses over the years to further his skills but declined to answer Wisniewski's charges.

"I never liked, trusted nor respected anything about Assemblyman Wisniewski, and I will not spend any time to answer his false allegations," he said.

On Thursday, O'Brien said that he saw nothing wrong with his hiring and said he was qualified for the position for which he applied.

"I have no control over the pension system," he said. "It's a system I didn't create."

Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts on Friday defended O'Brien's hiring.

"Mayor O'Brien has served as the Mayor of Sayreville and run the city for over decade, making him a great and extremely well qualified pick to join the Department of Corrections and run the Deptcor jobs program," he said. "It's not hard to see that this is all about old political vendettas for the Assemblyman, who hasn't been able to let go of his hardcore partisanship from his days as the state democratic party chairman."

This would not be the first time the Christie administration has been accused of giving a supporter a high-paying job for the purpose of boosting a state pension. Last year, Christie appointed Gene Feyl, a Morris County freeholder, as executive director of the Highlands Council. After just 23 months, he was able to secure a $63,000 annual pension.

Christie criticized former Gov. Jon Corzine for such appointments before he left office. A 2007 law limited such pension-padding by newly elected officials, but officials already on the pension system were grandfathered.

O'Brien's new job could become a local campaign issue as O'Brien faces a primary challenge next month.

"I didn't think the mayor had a background in corrections," said his GOP opponent, former Councilman Frank Bella. "I don't know many people who can get a $110,000 job with just a high school education."

Staff Writer Sergio Bichao: 908-243-6615; sbichao@mycentraljersey.com