With conversation circulating in public about Steve Goldin’s proposal for the redevelopment area, one resident has been publicly accusing Councilwoman Heidi Kleinman of having a conflict of interest relating to a temple project a few years ago in which she and Goldin were both involved.##M:[more]##
Sapphire Drive resident Marshall Lerner first raised the issue during the Township Council’s regular meeting on November 10, when he suggested that Kleinman’s involvement in council discussions with Goldin, InterCap Holdings CEO, at a workshop meeting on November 7 were influenced by her role as co-chair on the building committee for an expansion project at Congregation Beth Chaim. Goldin served as the chair for the committee, and Lerner was on Beth Chaim’s board of trustees at the time.
Lerner said he was confused over Goldin’s role in the deliberations at the council level, particularly with reference to the number of housing units he is proposing — 935 total units — which he says is not a far cry from the 1,”000 units proposed by Hillier that had been so heavily criticized in 2007 as being too many.
Lerner said he was troubled that a potential conflict of interest had not been investigated in an open public session. “I know that when issues have been raised, I think it was on the planning board, with the JCC [Jewish Community Center], you felt it would be inappropriate to be involved, and you stepped away, and the process went forward,” Lerner said. “But I noticed you stayed involved in the redevelopment project, in spite of the relationship you had with Mr. Goldin, and I noticed you’ve been driving the process forward with a great deal of energy over these last few weeks.” He said he just wanted assurance that there have been “no working relationships, no shared clients, no referrals taking place over the last five years or so.”
Kleinman denied such accusations and said that she brings to the council her architectural expertise, which “is what drives my passion to sit up here.”
“One of the things that has driven me crazy over the last year is that it’s so difficult to talk about the project, how to accomplish this goal, how to balance the many issues that make this so complicated,” Kleinman added. “Because I’m so interested in this project, I have gone to every meeting that Steve Goldin has had. I have been very active to understand what he and all the other stake holders might have to say in this. We do things in our township at the council level in public, and that’s why the meeting was a marathon meeting last week. Everyone here could see everyone ask questions.”
“There is no other relationship,” Kleinman stated. “I am a council member representing the best interests of West Windsor, and Steve Goldin happens to own a key parcel of land in the redevelopment area. He might be the source of solving our COAH problem. He might not be, but he might be.”
Kleinman also called Lerner “gutsy” for his suggestions of behind-the-scenes deals, “especially when you sat here for seven hours last week and saw what happened,” she said, alluding to the November 7 discussions, during which Goldin was involved.
Goldin also released a statement following the meeting that denied any financial relationship with Kleinman. “From the beginning, we have made it clear that absolutely no political contributions have been given by me, InterCap Holdings or our consulting team to the Mayor or members of the Township Council,” Goldin said. “There have also never been any business dealings between me, InterCap Holdings or our consulting team with the Mayor or members of the Township Council.”
Further, “I feel compelled to note that the inflammatory statements made by one or two vocal opponents of this redevelopment plan are only intended to derail the process and the good efforts of our local leaders to find a workable solution that will benefit this community,” he added.
Township Attorney Michael Herbert and council members Charles Morgan and Linda Geevers, defended Kleinman, who says her work was simply a volunteer position and that she has no financial connections whatsoever with Goldin. Council accused Lerner of bringing politics into the process.
“I can’t help it that out of the blue one day, he decided to buy land. It could have been anyone in town who has decided to do that,” Kleinman said. “I was elected to get this job done and to talk to anyone who is interested in talking about it as well as work with all of the council members. I don’t choose these people as my friends, but I work to get the project done, and he is the big elephant in the room, and we are going to try to see what we as a township can benefit by using his land, and I think it’s worthy of discussing of it.”
Lerner insists that he is just asking questions and wants to see transparency in the process. “I never said that Heidi shouldn’t be involved in the redevelopment process. I wanted to question the aspect that has to do with Goldin, and I asked for information.”
“As a member of the community, I want assurance that only the best interests of the community are at work,” and that personal relationships do not interrupt with the process, he added.
Morgan said he agreed that the process has to be conducted in the best interest of the community, and insisted that the council was, indeed, doing so. “We are driving it to the smallest number of housing possible,” said Morgan. “The numbers you are seeing I assure you are smaller than the numbers we believe we are stuck with if we don’t act. We actually, believe it or not, are driving it to a place that is in the best interest of the community.”
Morgan said that residents, like Lerner, “are assuming facts that are not true. It’s just really difficult to move forward in a positive way.”
Herbert said he did not find that Kleinman has violated any ethics policy. “She is a friend to a lot of people in the community. The question was is that sufficient to be a conflict, and I rule that it is not.”
