Well, this is something you don't see everyday.
Remember that NJ Transit Vote the Port Authority took from a while back -- Well Chairman Samson really "didn't intend to Vote" that day -- SO the Port Authority lawyer says it's OK, if they just strike that conflicted Samson vote from the official record ...
Just.Like.It.Never.Happened. How financially convenient of them.
Port Authority lawyer to alter vote by board chairman on NJ Transit lease
by Shawn Boburg and Abbott Koloff, The Record, Northjersey.com -- Feb 19, 2014
The Port Authority’s general counsel on Wednesday agreed to change the recorded board vote on a $1-a-year lease deal involving 13 acres of agency property after the board’s chairman said he did not intend to vote on the contract, which benefited NJ Transit, a client of his law firm.
The counsel, Darrell Buchbinder, was present at the February 2012 meeting and, according to the minutes, approved the vote as valid. After reviewing unspecified records kept by Port Authority Chairman David Samson, Buchbinder decided on Wednesday that Samson had “intended to recuse” himself on the issue rather than cast the recorded “yes” vote.
[...]
NJ Transit paid Samson’s firm up to $1.5 million for legal advice on an initiative to maximize profits on its parking lots, including one off Route 495 in North Bergen. The Port Authority, led by Samson, voted to give NJ Transit a 49-year lease on the park-and-ride lot for $1 per year. Previously, NJ Transit had paid more than $900,000. Samson voted for the deal, according to the now-disputed Port Authority official minutes.
[...]
For more on this "conflict of interest" Vote cast by Samson, on behalf of his paying clients, please see my post of a few days ago:
The Two Hats of David Samson
by jamess -- Feb 19, 2014
AND ... just in case this "Retro-active Recusal" trick 'doesn't take' in the NJ public psyche,
The Port Authority is floating a "new excuse" today to explain David Samson's non-recused vote, which retro-actively favored Samson's vested interests THEN:
David Samson had to Vote in order to "constitute a quorum" ...
PA offers new version of Samson vote recusal
seattlepi.com -- Feb 21, 2014
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) [...]
The Record newspaper reported (http://bit.ly/...) Friday that the Port Authority now says the vote was actually taken by an operations committee because not enough board members were present.
Meeting minutes from the Feb. 9, 2012 board meeting were formally adopted at the Port Authority's meeting the next month. They show that six board members, including Samson, voted to approve the NJ Transit deal.
Minutes of the operations committee from the same date reflect that Samson called a special meeting of the committee because there wouldn't be enough board members to constitute a quorum. The minutes show the committee considering three matters -- involving Newark Liberty Airport runway work, World Trade Center parking and an environmental lawsuit -- but not the NJ Transit lease. A Port Authority spokesman didn't return a message seeking clarification.
[...]
Ahhh,
Strike Two!
What pathetic excuse will they float next -- That the Wolff & Samson legal beagle ate the $1.5 Million dollar contract, that the firm has with their client NJ Transit -- but just on the day of the Vote, only?
Yeah that's the ticket! The office dog temporarily ate the contract. So David Samson's in the clear, Right?
He.Really.Didn't.Do.Anything.Wrong. Right? Conflict of Interest, is whatever THEY say it is ...
Or in other words, whatever is retro actively politically expedient for them NOW.