One New Jersey town's mayor, who has raised eyebrows for the number of public jobs he can hold at once, has returned to a congressional position as district director for Rep. Albio Sires (D-N.J.) — and is keeping his lucrative side gigs.
Weehawken mayor Richard Turner had served as Sires' district director from 2006 until last fall until controversy dogged the mayor over his outside public gigs. He dropped off the House payroll in late fall as Sires hired another district director, but according to the office's salary disclosures, his replacement got a promotion to deputy chief of staff, and Turner quietly returned to the district director post in June.
While mayor, Turner has taken a number of lucrative consulting gigs in neighboring towns, including a $90,000 contract for "mold remediation" last fall. The nature of the work meant that it did not require him to face competitive bidding.
More recently, the nearby town of West New York, N.J. awarded Turner a $17,500 contract "to perform special projects."
The Sires job pays him roughly $120,000 per year. His mayor job pays only $5,000 per year but his pension from a previous job with Sires in West New York reportedly pays him $72,000 per year.
