- has 9 unpaid parking tickets
- argued her way out of getting her car towed over unpaid parking tickets
- didn't pay a $3000 veterinary bill until a collection agency came calling
- lives in housing designated for families with incomes a third of what she, as a single woman, makes
- oh, and strikes a cyclist with her SUV and, after he and his bike tumble over her hood and onto the street, drives away--and doesn't report the incident for six hours?
Answer: a Jersey City Council member. At least, for now.
This isn't some grim joke among cynical New York-area political reporters. This is the story of Amy De Gise, daughter of Hudson County Executive Tom De Gise, one of northern New Jersey's most powerful politicians.
As I reported in an earlier post, she didn't even slow down, let alone stop, to see whether the cyclist, Andrew Black, was OK. Rather, she hid in her cozy lair until the other night, when nearly everyone at a Jersey City Council meeting called for her resignation. To date, she hasn't so much as apologized to Black, let alone offer to reimburse him for whatever the crash may have cost him. (Thankfully, he suffered only minor injuries although his bike was trashed.) And her father is, in essence, telling people to stop "picking on" his daughter.
Her case has been moved to a neighboring county, Essex (which includes Newark) out of fears that she won't get a "fair" trial. So far, it seems that the only people, inside or outside Jersey City or Hudson County, who don't think she should resign are her father and a few other local politicians. That isn't surprising when you consider that Jersey City's corruption has long stood out in a state noted for its political corruption--and that Ms. De Gise is, at least for now, the heir apparent to her father, who is retiring.
The Roman poet Juvenal could have had someone like Amy DeGise in mind when he wrote, "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?"--Who will guard the guardians?
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