Stephen Reid is the mayor of Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey. In December 2017, under Mayor Reidâs leadership, Point Pleasant became the first New Jersey city to preemptively ban any cannabis industry operations, should the state legalize them. The Point Pleasant Beach ban kicked off a statewide trend, leading to more than 10 percent of all New Jersey towns, representing nearly every county, passing resolutions restricting, banning or opposing cannabis industry operations and adult-use legalization.
Today, the total number of towns that have opted out has topped 60, and Mayor Reid continues to be a leading voice in the effort to oppose marijuana reform â in fact, he gets paid to do so. Thanks to the investigative efforts of blogger Patrick Duff, we now know that Point Pleasant Beach Mayor Stephen Reid is on the payroll of an influential anti-marijuana lobbying group.
In late November 2018, New Jersey lawmakers in both the Assembly and Senate voted to advance an adult-use bill, marking the first official legislative action on the issue since pro-legalization Gov. Phil Murphy assumed office in 2018. But since their 2016 takeover of the New Jersey legislature, Democrats have expanded qualifying conditions for medical cannabis treatments, licensed more dispensaries and centered criminal justice reform.
At the same time, opposition to the adult-use industry dug in, and a groundswell of anti-cannabis advocacy prompted a number of cities to opt out of any legal-weed future. Point Pleasant Beach mayor Stephen Reid has been at the heart of that movement. After making his city the first to ban the retail cannabis industry in late 2017, Reid has traveled around the state advising other towns to join Point Pleasantâs policy of prohibition.
But since at least May 2018, Reid has been pushing prohibition on the payroll of the prominent anti-marijuana lobby group New Jersey Responsible Approaches to Marijuana Policy. Now, that connection and its potential conflict of interest are the subject of a lawsuit filed against Point Pleasant Beach.
Mayor Reid isnât just on NJ RAMPâs payroll. Since May 2018, he has been the groupâs executive director. Blogger Patrick Duff revealed the connection after suing Point Pleasant Beach himself, to obtain records of Reidâs emails with the group. Reid has himself never been upfront about his connection with RAMP. In fact, he failed to properly register his lobbying activity on behalf of RAMP with the state until October, five months after taking the job.
As mayor of Point Pleasant Beach, Stephen Reid banned the cannabis industry before he began receiving checks from NJ RAMP. But in his public statements about marijuana policy after May 2018, Reid has never fully disclosed he was receiving compensation from the anti-cannabis group.
And that compensation is substantial. Being mayor of Point Pleasant Beach pays just $6,500 annually. NJ RAMP has been paying Mayor Reid $3,000 monthly since May. Duffâs lawsuit against the city alleges Reid improperly mixed his work as RAMP executive director with his duties as mayor. Duff called the mayorâs undisclosed lobbying efforts âthe ultimate misuse of office.â
Reid acknowledges that he didnât properly register his lobbying activities with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. But he denies any conflict of interest. âI donât see it as a conflict; I see it as a complement,â Reid told NJ.com. Reid then doubled down on his denial, accusing the marijuana industry of coming after him.
New Jersey law may be on Reidâs side. According to the director of the stateâs election commission, Joseph Donohue, the agency has no specific laws preventing local government officials from working as lobbyists.
The post New Jersey Mayor Who Banned Weed in His Town Revealed to be Paid Lobbyist appeared first on High Times.