ED GORE CENSURE by STATE ETHICS COMMISSION - Part I

Ed Gore is a Republican, Hamilton Councilman seeking his 1st full term on Council.  Prior to completing an unexpired term on Council, Mr. Gore previously served on the Hamilton Board of Education. When one reads about Mr. Gore there is little mention of his BOE tenure.  I think we have figured out why.

Mr. Gore was the subject of a formal Complaint to the NJ School Ethics Commission regarding his official behavior while a member of the Board. On November 26,1996, the Ethics Commission determined that Gore while a member of the Hamilton Bd of Ed had violated NJSA 18-A:12-24b of the School Ethics Act by using his position on the Board to secure the home addresses of district employees for the purpose of sending employees an intimidating letter advising them that their jobs could be in jeopardy if they did not vote for the Board candidates Gore had endorsed.

The Ethics Commission recommended that Gore be censured and the NJ Commissioner of Education adopted the Commissions finding & directed that Gore be publicly Censured as a school official having violated the School Ethics Act. Rather than admitting his error and apologizing for his acts, Mr. Gore continued to deny that he had committed any impropriety and appealed the decision to the Commissioner of Education and the State School Board.  Both parties rejected Gore's analysis and affirmed the ethical failings and Ordered that Mr. Gore be Censured and that the censure be read at a Hamilton Township Board of Education meeting.

Do you think Ed Gore learned from his ethical failing?  Does the extreme nature of his abuse of his public office render him unfit to serve the citizens of Hamilton?  Tune in to Part II for the rest of the story.

Here is the link to the full body of the Gore Censure decision.

http://www.nj.gov/education/legal/sboe/1997/gore2.pdf