DRUG TESTS OF GOVERNING BODY MEMBERS OK'D

JACKSON -- Less than a month after Township Committeeman Michael
Kafton pleaded guilty to drunken driving and was charged with
possession of a toxic chemical, the Township Committee voted to
provide voluntary, random drug testing for its members.

"I believe that the Jackson Township Committee should take the lead,
set an example, and subject themselves to random drug testing to
prove that Jackson's elected officials are willing to hold themselves
up the highest standards of personal conduct," Republican
Committeeman Mark Seda said Tuesday night.

Seda, who had called on Democrat Kafton to resign, proposed the
resolution setting up the drug testing.

Under the resolution, committee members will be tested twice yearly
by the firm the township currently uses for drug testing. Those
participating agree to pay a $500 penalty if a test proves positive,
and to attend at least 10 hours of certified drug and alcohol
counseling sessions. The resolution also stipulates that
participating committee members agree to resign after a second positive test.

The resolution passed by a 5-to-0 vote, but not before Kafton called
it "political grandstanding" and said the vote should be tabled so
the committee could draft a measure calling for tests of committee
members before every regular meeting.

Several people in the audience laughed at Kafton's suggestion.

Ed Baldwin said he thought both measures are examples of
grandstanding -- Kafton's for going too far and Seda's for not going
quite far enough.

"Let's put some more thought into it," Baldwin said following the meeting.

Kafton asserted that committee members could potentially be "tipped
off" to the dates of their tests and that, therefore, the resolution
has "no teeth."

Other committee members expressed confidence in the ability of USIS
Commercial Services Inc. to conduct surprise random checks as
prescribed in the resolution.

Kafton received no support on his motion to table the testing plan.
He then voted for the resolution. However, he vowed to introduce a
more stringent one in the future.

Seda said Tuesday night he would take his efforts further by calling
for another resolution asking every committee member to sign a
binding agreement to resign if charged and found guilty of any drug
or alcohol offense.

On Nov. 30, Kafton, 40, who has served as mayor and has been a
Democratic candidate for freeholder, pleaded guilty to a drunken
driving charge filed by Belmar police at 3:30 a.m. June 24.

Marijuana-possession charges filed the night of his drunken-driving
stop were dropped by the Belmar municipal prosecutor.

But also on Nov. 30, authorities charged Kafton with possession of a
toxic chemical, butyl alcohol, found during the police stop. Kafton
has maintained it was simply compact disc cleaner.

Under state law, a person may be charged for possession of a toxic
chemical if fumes are inhaled for the purpose of intoxication, or if
the chemical is for that purpose. In relation to the charge, Kafton
requested and was granted a conditional discharge, meaning after a
year's probationary period with no further drug-related charges, the
possession charge will be dismissed.