Garfield’s 120-day Bonus Draws Nearer to End and SEEC Hires Lenge, Long-time Counsel, To Replace Him

 

Jeff Garfield is finally finishing his double-dipping stint as a retirement-collecting former director of the State Elections Enforcement Commission, back on the state payroll, receiving 70 percent of his pay as, yes, executive director of the SEEC. To be fair (and the Blogster loathes being fair in this case, since Garfield didn’t return a call for a recent newspaper story about retirees who decide to come back for a few months as “temporary workers”), the SEEC had been reeling after a federal court threw out the state’s campaign-finance law. Garfield added some expertise as state officials regrouped. 

But starting October 23,  Albert P. Lenge will be the new executive director and general counsel after 14 years as Garfield’s deputy. “He brings continuity, experience and dedication to his new role and will continue to make significant contributions to the operations of the Commission with the utmost degree of professionalism,” Garfield said in a canned quote from the SEEC.

Coincidentally, there’s a $90-a-head retirement dinner for Jeff within an hour of his final day at work, October 30. The soiree is in the Marriott Hotel Downtown. A reception with open bar and apps is from 6 to 7, followed by dinner and dancing between 7 and 11. The $90 includes a gift. Do you think lobbyists – and maybe even lawmakers like Sen. Joe Crisco, who forged those campaign-finance documents last year and was ruled ineligible for state election funds – will feel they have to go?