Rich Constable

Rich Constable
Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs
In office
2012–2015
Appointed by Chris Christie
Preceded by Lori Grifa
Succeeded by Charles Richman
Personal details
Born Richard E. Constable III
Political party Democratic
Residence South Orange, New Jersey[1]
Alma mater University of Michigan
University of Pennsylvania Law School

Richard E. Constable III is a senior corporate executive at Wyndham Worldwide. From 2012 to 2015 he was the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. A former Assistant US Attorney, he also served as the Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Early life and education

Constable was raised in East Orange, New Jersey, and graduated from Seton Hall Preparatory School. He attended the University of Michigan, where he was awarded a Harry S. Truman Scholarship,[2] and graduated magna cum laude in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.[3] In 1997, he received his law degree and Master of Public Administration from the University of Pennsylvania.

Career

After graduating from law school, Constable clerked for Minnesota Supreme Court Justice and NFL Hall of Fame inductee Alan Page. Constable then worked as a litigation associate with Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in New York City from 1998 to 2002. Subsequently, he was hired by Chris Christie as a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark. For eight years, Constable represented the United States in criminal matters including public corruption, government, tax, and mortgage fraud. He investigated and prosecuted high-profile elected and appointed officials including US senators, state assemblymen, and mayors charged with bribery and extortion.[4][5][6][7]

In 2010, he left the U.S. Attorney's office to join the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, where he managed the daily operations.[8] Along with Commissioner Harold J. Wirths, Constable implemented several administrative and programmatic reforms to streamline the efficiency of the department. Constable was also an adjunct professor at Rutgers School of Law–Newark and Fordham Law School in New York.[9] In 2011 he was appointed Commissioner of the NJ Department of Community Affairs by Governor Christie. As commissioner, Constable chaired the Council on Affordable Housing, the Interagency Council on Homelessness, the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority, and the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission.[10][11]

Constable resigned as commissioner in 2015 to take a position at Wyndham Worldwide, a global hospitality company.[12][13]

Commissioner of NJ Department of Community Affairs

On November 21, 2011, Governor Chris Christie announced that he chose Constable to join his cabinet as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), and replace incumbent Commissioner Lori Grifa. Christie stated that Constable was "someone who has worked with me for years and whom I have turned to many times for his leadership skills, integrity and friendship."[14] Constable was unanimously confirmed, by the NJ State Senate, as DCA Commissioner in 2012.[15] Constable, a lifelong Democrat, said of working in the Christie Administration, “I’m not working for a Republican governor, I’m working for Chris Christie, a man I’ve known for years, a friend.”[16] When Constable stepped down in March 2015, he was succeeded by Charles Richman.[17]

Council on Affordable Housing

As DCA Commissioner, Constable was the chair of the NJ Council on Affordable Housing (COAH). COAH met April 30, 2014 and voted 5-1 to adopt proposed new guidelines that govern municipal and contractor obligations to provide constitutionally mandated affordable housing in the state as directed by the New Jersey Supreme Court in a January 2014 ruling.[18] The proposed rules called for roughly 110,000 affordable housing units to be added across the state between 2014 and 2024. That amount included previous affordable housing needs that were not met.[19] If implemented the proposed rules would have yielded 8,000 units less than had previously been proposed by COAH. Further, it would have increased the number of units developers were permitted to build in exchange for one affordable housing unit (from four to nine).[20]

The Fair Share Housing Center, an affordable housing advocacy group, filed a lawsuit requesting a copy of the contract COAH had with Dr. Robert Burchell, a Rutgers University professor who prepared the plan for publication and adoption and other documents used in the methodology for determining the number of units to be built. COAH deemed the contract proprietary.[21] Further, it stated that, it was not in possession of a 2003 document which it used to calculate the Second round guidelines. The Star-Ledger quoted a spokesman for the New Jersey Attorney General's Office, who said, "There is no missing data". He stated that it is "neither exceptional nor problematic" that the files no longer exist, as the data are supported by existing documents.[22] On July 25, 2014, a New Jersey Superior Court judge ruled that COAH must immediately release the contract,[23] and conduct an email search for documents the agency says do not exist.[22]

In October 2014, the COAH Board failed to meet the deadline by the Supreme Court for establishing new Third Round guidelines, when the Board voted 3–3, to adopt the proposed rules (a tie means that the motion fails).[24] In the absence of action by the state, the state Supreme Court ruled in March 2015, that determination of affordable housing obligations would be administered by the court.[25][26][27]

Hurricane Sandy

On Monday, October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused unprecedented damage to New Jersey’s housing, business, infrastructure, health, social service and environmental sectors.[28] Immediately following the storm, Governor Christie selected Commissioner Constable and DCA as the lead agency in providing Sandy-displaced families with temporary and permanent housing options. The DCA was entrusted to administer billions in federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds to support efforts to rebuild homes, businesses, and infrastructure.[29]

In 2013, the DCA engaged Hammerman & Gainer Inc. (HGI) to administer the federally funded, $1.2 billion Rehabilitation, Reconstruction, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) program, which gives grants of up to $150,000 to homeowners to repair and rebuild homes damaged by Sandy. HGI's $68 million bid was $127 million lower than Tetra Tech, the only other bidder.[30] "It would have been fiscally irresponsible for the state to take the higher bidder," said Constable.[31] The $68 million contract was originally meant to run from 2013 to 2016,[32] but in December 2013 was revised to end in January 2014.[33][34][35] Initially, the RREM program had problems, leading to complaints from some applicants and Democratic lawmakers.[36] Constable cited HGI's "performance problems" and noted several months of "corrective action" by DCA.[37] HGI's bills totaled $51 million.[35] It was paid $36 million,[38] and $15 million was subject to an arbitration dispute.[39] The DCA subsequently retained ICF International to perform the work HGI had previously performed. At a New Jersey Assembly Budget Committee hearing in April 2014 Constable said "the good news is that we’re at a place now where the concerns that were widely publicized don’t exist anymore.”[40]

On January 18, 2014, on the Up with Steve Kornacki MSNBC cable program, the Democratic Mayor of Hoboken Dawn Zimmer said that Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno and Constable had, on two separate occasions, in May 2013 pressured her to support a Rockefeller Group development project in Hoboken in exchange for the city receiving federal Sandy relief aid.[41] On January 20, appearing on a CNN cable program, Zimmer also stated that in December 2013 Marc Ferzan, Director of the Governor's Office of Recovery and Rebuilding, had also pressured her to support development in exchange for federal Sandy aid.[42] Following her television appearances, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey met with Zimmer.[43] After a 16-month investigation the US Attorney for NJ concluded that Zimmer's claims were unfounded.[44] In "clearance" letters dated May 1, 2015 to Guadagno, Constable and Ferzan the US Attorney wrote: "Based on the evidence developed during the investigation and our review of applicable law, we have concluded that no further action is warranted in this matter. Accordingly, the investigation of these allegations have been closed."[45]

References

  1. ↑ "About the Commissioner". NJ Department of Community Affairs. February 24, 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  2. ↑ 07 — Truman Scholars Association. Trumanscholars.org (May 7, 2010).
  3. ↑ Department of Labor and Workforce Development | About the Deputy Commissioner. Lwd.dol.state.nj.us (February 16, 2012).
  4. ↑ Whelan, Jeff S. (April 29, 2008) Guttenberg mayor, wife found guilty of extortion, tax charges. New Jersey On-Line.
  5. ↑ Ryan, Joe (January 20, 2010) Passaic County councilwoman pleads guilty to disability fraud. New Jersey On-Line.
  6. ↑ Ex-Linden housing official sentenced to 5 years in prison for bid-rigging scheme. New Jersey On-Line.
  7. ↑ East Orange code official admits taking bribes for building permits. New Jersey On-Line.
  8. ↑ About the Deputy Commissioner. lwd.dol.state.nj.us
  9. ↑ Richard Constable. Fordham Law.
  10. ↑ "September 13, 2010 – Governor Chris Christie Files Appointments". Office of the Governor. September 13, 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  11. ↑ State Ethics Commission | Members. Nj.gov (March 15, 2012).
  12. ↑ Johnson, Brett (March 23, 2015). "Christie's community affairs commissioner set to leave". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
  13. ↑ "Wyndham Worldwide Appoints Richard Constable to Corporate Counsel and Government Relations Leadership Position" (Press release). www.hotelnewsresource.com. March 23, 2015. Retrieved 2015-03-31.
  14. ↑ Christie Nominates Deputy Labor Commissioner To Take Over Department Of Community Affairs. Njtoday.net (November 21, 2011).
  15. ↑ State Community Affairs chief Lori Grifa to be replaced by Deputy Labor Commissioner Richard . NewJerseyNewsroom.com (November 21, 2011). Newjerseynewsroom.com (November 21, 2011). Retrieved on June 21, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Sitting Next to the Leader: Richard Constable ('97), Deputy Commissioner, Department of Labor, State of New Jersey". Fels Institute of Government. April 27, 2011. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  17. ↑ http://www.northjersey.com/news/top-n-j-official-in-superstorm-sandy-housing-recovery-effort-steps-down-1.1294179
  18. ↑ O'Dea, Colleen (May 1, 2014). "COAH Votes to Propose New Rules Virtually Sight Unseen". NJ Spotlight. Retrieved 2014-07-20.
  19. ↑ COAH draws heat at public hearing on new proposal for affordable housing. NJBIZ.
  20. ↑ Johnson, Brent (April 30, 2014). "NJ releases new affordable housing rules, but advocates are not happy". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 2014-07-20.
  21. ↑ ADVOCACY GROUP PURSUES COAH AND THE CASE OF THE MISSING DOCUMENTS. NJSpotlight.com.
  22. 1 2 "Affordable housing group offers $1,000 reward for document 'lost' by Christie administration". Newark Star-Ledger. July 25, 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-20.
  23. ↑ Norman, Jim (July 25, 2014). "State court orders Christie to release housing contract". The Record. Retrieved 2014-07-28.
  24. ↑ "N.J. affordable housing council fails to adopt Christie's new rules despite Supreme Court deadline". The Star-Ledger. October 25, 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  25. ↑ http://www.northjersey.com/news/n-j-supreme-court-judges-taking-over-enforcement-of-affordable-housing-1.1285819
  26. ↑ http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/15/03/11/coah-is-history-supreme-court-declares-troubled-state-agency-moribund/?utm_source=NJ+Spotlight++Master+List&utm_campaign=d32f54a85a-Weekly_2_13_15_5_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1d26f473a7-d32f54a85a-398643377
  27. ↑ http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/03/nj_supreme_court_rebukes_christie_administration_puts_courts_in_charge_of_affordable_housing.html#incart_related_stories
  28. ↑ Testimony of Hon. Richard E. Constable, III Commissioner, Department of Community Affairs. Hearing of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. njleg.state.nj.us. April 15, 2013
  29. ↑ Waldron, Kelly (June 12, 2013) Sandy-Impacted Communities Get $1 Million Boost. Nj1015.com.
  30. ↑ Haddon, Heather (Sep 22, 2013). "Sandy Contractor Draws Fire in Home-Reconstruction Effort HGI Also Faced Criticism for Its Katrina Work". The Wall Street Joutnal. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  31. ↑ Jordan, Bob (February 25, 2014). "NJ may face legal action from fired Sandy contractor". The Asbury Park Press. Retrieved 2014-08-02. Constable noted that HGI’s bid price of $68 million over three years was the biggest factor in deciding the award. The only other bidder, Tetra Tech, asked for nearly three times more money. “It would have been [fiscally] irresponsible for the state to take the higher bidder,” he said.
  32. ↑ "A83958 Hammerman and Gainer" (PDF). State of New Jersey Procurement Bureau. May 8, 2013. Retrieved 2014-07-20.
  33. ↑ Katz, Matt (January 23, 2014). "Christie's Biggest Sandy Contractor Fired Homeowners, Legislators Had Bitter Complaints About Firm". WNYC. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  34. ↑ Hanna, Maddie (January 26, 2014). "N.J. terminates Sandy recovery contractor". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  35. 1 2 O'Neill, Erin (February 26, 2014). "Housing recovery firm billed NJ $51M for less than 8 months of Sandy work". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  36. ↑ Haddon, Heather (September 22, 2013). "Sandy Contractor Draws Fire in Home-Reconstruction Effort HGI Also Faced Criticism for Its Katrina Work". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2014-07-20.
  37. ↑ N.J. Official: Sandy Contractor Ousted Over Performance. Insurancejournal.com.
  38. ↑ Delli, Angela (April 7, 2014). "NJ paid fired Sandy contractor $36M". Business Week. Retrieved 2014-07-20. Because the severance is being negotiated, and could wind up in litigation, Constable declined to discuss details of the contract termination. But he did say the decision to end the agreement was mutual and followed months of attempts at corrective action
  39. ↑ Tanfani, Jpseph (June 21, 2014). "Since Sandy, a storm pattern of costly stumbles in New Jersey". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  40. ↑ Sudol, Karen (April 7, 2014). "N.J. officials defend Sandy aid distribution, say problems have been fixed". The Record. Retrieved 2014-07-28.
  41. ↑ Friedman, Matt (January 18, 2014). "Hoboken mayor claims Christie administration held city's Sandy recovery funds 'hostage' to help developer". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  42. ↑ Isherwood, Daryl (January 20, 2014). "Zimmer adds Sandy recovery czar to list of people she says pressured her on development project". The Star-Ledger.
  43. ↑ Baxter, Christopher (January 21, 2014). "Experts: Enough evidence to pursue Hoboken mayor's claims against Christie administration". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 2014-12-11.
  44. ↑ . CNN Politics.
  45. ↑ . NJ.com.
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