Moorestown Pay-to-Play Reforms Repealed

It’s official: Moorestown’s pay-to-play rules are back to square one.

Town council unanimously repealed Monday pay-to-play reforms that jacked up the maximum contribution amounts, while increasing transparency. The move came after a pretty significant public backlash following passage of the reforms in August.

Opponents of the new rules collected nearly 1,300 signatures from residents who sought to overturn the reforms.

Council certified the petition Monday, but Mayor Stacey Jordan said it’s a moot point following the repeal. Jordan and Deputy Mayor Chris Chiacchio have said the petition did not factor into the repeal, but rather the general confusion and concern over the reforms.

"I never intended for (the changes) to be anything but simplifying and less confusing,” Jordan said previously. “Obviously that's not happening."

Following the repeal, the maximum contribution allowed for individual candidates and party committees is $300, and $500 for political action committees. 

Councilman Greg Newcomer, who voted against the reforms from the beginning, has urged council to continue to discuss the issue in order to establish best practices for campaign finance going forward.

However, Jordan said Tuesday she was “not inclined” to take up the issue again anytime soon.

“It was very political, and that’s not what it was meant to be,” she said.