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Bid for Bogota vote on English rejected
Saturday, August 26, 2006

By BRIAN ABERBACK
STAFF WRITER


Bogota's request to pose a ballot question on whether English should be the town's official language has prompted a 13-page legal opinion from the Bergen County Clerk's Office.

The conclusion, in plain English: No way.

The opinion prompted County Clerk Kathleen Donovan on Friday to reject the borough's bid to put the non-binding question on the ballot in November.

Under state law, ballot questions may address only issues that a town can act upon, lawyer John Carbone said in the opinion.

Bogota, he said, does not have the power to declare English its official language.

"Action if any in this area is exclusive to the United States government and then to the State of New Jersey," Carbone wrote. "It deals with a matter that is not in the sphere of interest of municipalities," he added Friday.

Carbone also said making English Bogota's official language would be unconstitutional.

Mayor Steve Lonegan vowed to appeal the rejection, calling the decision "outrageous."

"I'm going to take this all the way" through the court system, Lonegan said. "This is a gross violation of our right to vote."

The referendum would gauge voters' sentiments toward an ordinance that would require all borough business to be conducted and written in English only, unless mandated otherwise by state or federal law.

Carbone said the state already has jurisdiction in mandating the fluency or use of English in certain circumstances, as well as demanding bilingual requirements for other circumstances.

He said an English-language ordinance would also violate the "constitutional rights of non-English speaking persons with regard to their obtaining access to their government."

Borough Attorney Andrew Fede said he would argue that Donovan overstepped her bounds when she asked Carbone to review the ballot question, which the borough submitted to her on Monday.

"I don't think it's a question for the county clerk to address," Fede said. "I think that's beyond the county clerk's authority."

Fede said there is not a clear-cut case that an English-language ordinance would not be upheld.

Twenty-seven states, and towns in Pennsylvania and Missouri, have designated English as their official language.

Lonegan charged that Donovan, a fellow Republican, was administering political retribution for his support of Todd Caliguire, who defeated Donovan in the GOP primary for county executive in June.

"This is a gross misuse of power," Lonegan said. "She's abusing her office to get even with me."

Donovan dismissed the claims. She said she had no problem with a second Bogota ballot question asking voters if the town should buy two new firetrucks.

Donovan also said it is her responsibility to contact the attorney if she feels a ballot question might not be appropriate.

"Politics had absolutely nothing to do with it," Donovan said.

The Borough Council passed a resolution approving the referendum by a 4-2 vote last week during a heated meeting. A fight nearly broke out in the audience during the emotionally charged debate.

Lonegan's call for an English-language referendum came one month after he demanded that McDonald's remove a Spanish-language billboard in the borough and replace it with an English version.

Lonegan has said the Spanish billboard sends the message that immigrants do not need to learn English or assimilate into the community. He has said making English the town's official language would ensure unity in the future.

The mayor's opponents have said he is playing on residents' fears about immigration and is dividing the town, which has seen an influx of Hispanics over the past 15 years.

E-mail: aberback@northjersey.com