Bergen County, N.J., Donors Gave $571K, Won $25.8M in 2026 Contracts

Bergen TV Exclusive: HACKENSACK, N.J. — Thirty companies and professional firms awarded Bergen County contracts in 2026—along with their partners, executives, and employees—donated $571,583.34 in 2025 and 2026 to County Executive James J. Tedesco III’s campaign committee and the Democratic Committee of Bergen County while winning $25,800,903.11 in county contracts this year, a Bergen TV cross-check of New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (NJ ELEC) filings and Board of Commissioners resolutions shows.

Across the Oct. 7 and Oct. 20, 2026 Board of Commissioners meetings alone, the all-Democratic board approved $2,849,323.06 in contract awards, renewals, and ceiling increases for 10 of those donor firms—including three professional vendors whose contract caps were expanded or renewed just four to five weeks after they wrote September campaign checks to Tedesco.

Under New Jersey’s Elections Transparency Act, county political party committees can accept up to $37,000 per year from a single contributor, and contracts awarded through a “fair and open” advertised Request for Proposals (RFP), Request for Qualifications (RFQ), state contract, or county cooperative purchasing system are exempt from local pay-to-play contribution bans. All contributions and contract awards documented in the records appear to comply with state campaign-finance and procurement statutes, and there is no allegation of illegality in the records reviewed.

What the primary filings show is the scale of the overlap between the vendors paid out of Bergen County’s budget and the donors funding county political campaigns:

• $97,450.00 to Tedesco for County Executive: Reported across four 2025–2026 NJ ELEC Form R-1 filings (`DocIds 3878588`, `3895024`, `3934433`, and the 29-day pre-election report `3951230` filed Oct. 5, 2026).
• $474,133.34 to the Democratic Committee of Bergen County (BCDO): Reported across seven 2025–2026 quarterly Form R-3 filings (`DocIds 3861608`, `3885261`, `3894581`, `3915616`, `3927699`, `3944773`, and the Q3 2026 report `3960605` filed Oct. 15, 2026).
• $25,800,903.11 in 2026 Bergen County contracts: Awarded to those 30 donor-vendors across 148 Board of Commissioners resolutions adopted between Jan. 21 and Oct. 20, 2026.

September checks, October contract expansions

Comparing Tedesco’s Oct. 5, 2026 pre-election report (`DocId 3951230`) and BCDO’s Oct. 15 quarterly report (`DocId 3960605`) against the Oct. 7 and Oct. 20 Board of Commissioners dockets reveals four immediate sequences:

1. Eric M. Bernstein & Associates, LLC ($58,025 donated; $300,000 in 2026 contracts): On Sept. 2, 2026, managing partner Eric M. Bernstein of Warren contributed $5,500 to Tedesco’s campaign (following $25 in 2025 and $52,500 to BCDO across 2025–2026, including $30,000 in 2026). Thirty-five days later, on Oct. 7, commissioners adopted Resolution 1316-26, adding another $30,000 to the firm’s 2026 county labor-counsel contract (`Contract #2600001`). That resolution—following an earlier $30,000 hike on Aug. 5 (`Res. 1010-26`)—tripled the contract’s original $30,000 cap (`Res. 142-26`) to $90,000. Across 14 separate legal-services resolutions in 2026 (representing the County, the Sheriff’s Office, and the Prosecutor’s Office), the firm’s 2026 authorizations total $300,000.
2. DeCotiis, Fitzpatrick, Cole & Giblin, LLP ($54,533.34 donated; $70,000 in 2026 contracts): On Sept. 9, 2026, the Teaneck-based law firm contributed $5,200 to Tedesco’s campaign. In addition, 22 individual DeCotiis attorneys made synchronized fractional contributions to BCDO—such as batches of $833.33 / $833.34 and $666.66 / $666.67 checks on the same dates—totaling $49,333.34 in 2025–2026 ($19,333.34 in 2026 and $30,000 in 2025). Twenty-eight days after the Sept. 9 check to Tedesco, commissioners adopted Resolution 1263-26 on Oct. 7, adding $30,000 (+75%) to the firm’s 2026 contract (`Contract #2600005`) as Co-General Counsel and Special Litigation Counsel for the Bergen County Clerk’s Office, raising its cap from $40,000 (`Res. 150-26`) to $70,000.
3. Giovatto Advertising Inc. ($7,000 donated; $297,900 in 2026 contracts): On Sept. 8, 2026, Paramus-based Giovatto Advertising Inc. contributed $3,000 to Tedesco’s campaign ($7,000 total across 2025–2026). Twenty-nine days later, on Oct. 7, commissioners approved Resolution 1247-26, awarding Giovatto an $80,000 renewal (`BC-RFP-23-016`, 2nd option) as Marketing Consultant for the Division of Economic Development—bringing Giovatto’s 2026 county awards to $297,900 (alongside $200,000 under `Res. 736-26` for county event marketing and $17,900 under `Res. 1035-26` for digital billboards).
4. Alaimo Group ($41,000 donated; $86,570 on Oct. 20): After Alaimo Group principals Richard A. Alaimo and Tod A. Alaimo and firm executives contributed $8,500 to Tedesco (including $3,500 on Aug. 25, 2026) and $32,500 to BCDO in 2025–2026, commissioners on Oct. 20 adopted Resolution 1373-26, awarding Alaimo Group $86,570.00 for engineering services on Rochelle Avenue improvements in Rochelle Park.

Big-ticket 2026 county contractors and their 2025–2026 political donations

Beyond the fall professional-services expansions, the largest dollar volume went to construction, IT, printing, janitorial, and furniture vendors:

• Joseph M. Sanzari, Inc. ($4,693,502.85 across 26 resolutions in 2026; $4,000 to Tedesco): Hackensack-based Sanzari won 26 county drainage and bridge repair resolutions in 2026 under cooperative bid `BC-Bid-23-13` and emergency bridge RFPs—including three Oct. 20 resolutions totaling $388,205.49 (`Res. 1370-26` for $39,035.43 in Paramus; `Res. 1389-26` for $294,500.05 and `Res. 1390-26` for $54,670.01 in Ridgewood). Executive Joseph Sanzari and General Counsel Carissalla contributed $4,000 to Tedesco in July 2025.
• SMBA Construction LLC ($2,564,000.00 in 2026; $3,000 to Tedesco): Awarded $2,564,000 on Jan. 28, 2026 (`Res. 137-26`, Bid `C-25-014`) for the Medical Examiner’s Office addition and renovations; contributed $3,000 to Tedesco in 2026.
• Royal Printing Service ($1,968,589.10 across 13 resolutions in 2026; $15,000 to BCDO): West New York-based Royal Printing received 13 awards in 2026 to print Bergen County ballots, sample ballots, mail-in certificates, and the county directory, while donating $15,000 to BCDO ($5,000 in 2026; $10,000 in 2025).
• JCT Solutions ($1,922,742.46 across 10 resolutions in 2026; $20,000 to BCDO): Awarded four contracts in October 2026 alone totaling $920,635.17 (`Res. 1346-26` on Oct. 20 for $336,460.70; `Res. 1248-26`, `1249-26`, and `1272-26` on Oct. 7 for $584,174.47) under cooperative bid `BC-Bid-24-38`. Donated $20,000 to BCDO ($10,000 in 2026; $10,000 in 2025).
• Maverick Building Services, Inc. ($1,831,806.00 in 2026; $6,000 to Tedesco + $2,000 to BCDO): Awarded $1,802,536 on Feb. 4 (`Res. 183-26`) for janitorial services across county buildings and $29,270 (`Res. 255-26`) for Winter Wonderland cleaning.
• Paramus Ford / All American Ford ($1,760,651.89 across 17 resolutions in 2026; $1,500 to Tedesco): Including three October 2026 vehicle awards (`Res. 1386-26`, `1303-26`, and `1304-26`) totaling $290,940.30.
• MRA International Inc. ($1,756,752.07 across 20 resolutions in 2026; $5,500 to Tedesco + $2,000 to BCDO): Long Branch IT vendor awarded 20 hardware, software, and managed-print resolutions in 2026, including three in October totaling $269,940.49 (`Res. 1349-26`, `1250-26`, and `1274-26`).
• Michael J. Formanek / Strategic Planning Services ($1,602,810.00 across 5 resolutions in 2026; $2,500 to Tedesco + $700 to BCDO): Owner’s representative consultant on the Bergen County Jail shower renovation (`$198,560`, `Res. 1197-26`), One Bergen County Plaza elevator modernization (`$360,250`, `Res. 1078-26`), and general owner’s representative contract (`$750,000`, `Res. 52-26`).
• Business Furniture Inc. (BFI) ($740,153.58 across 5 resolutions in 2026; $8,200 to Tedesco + $5,000 to BCDO): BFI’s 2026 state-contract awards include $269,031.11 on July 15 (`Res. 928-26`) specifically to buy workstations and office furniture for the County Executive’s Office and Treasury Division, plus $381,040.03 (`Res. 689-26`) for Health Department furniture.
• Engineering & Architecture Heavy Hitters: Neglia Group ($69,500 donated: $5,500 Tedesco + $64,000 BCDO; $220,461.64 in 2026 awards), Boswell Engineering ($64,700 donated: $6,700 Tedesco + $58,000 BCDO; $324,071 in 2026 awards), RSC Architects ($55,000 to BCDO; $505,000 in 2026 awards), Netta Architects ($32,000 donated: $4,500 Tedesco + $27,500 BCDO; $477,125 in 2026 awards), CP Engineers ($3,000 to BCDO; $465,281 in 2026 awards including $395,399 on Oct. 20 under `Res. 1369-26`), and Colliers Engineering & Design ($32,525 donated: $2,525 Tedesco + $30,000 BCDO; $52,640 in 2026).

County contracts and debt service are paid through countywide property taxes levied across all 70 Bergen municipalities. Homeowners can see how county, municipal, and school levies break down on their property with the free GardenState.ai Property Tax Calculator and model future tax changes with the GardenState.ai Tax Shock tool.

Bergen TV asks: Should Bergen County cap political contributions from county contractors even when contracts are awarded through “fair and open” RFPs or co-ops? Share your take in the comments.

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Sources

• New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (NJ ELEC) Form R-1 filings for Tedesco for County Executive: 2025 Q2 (`DocId 3878588`), 2025 Q3 (`DocId 3895024`), 2026 20-day post-primary (`DocId 3934433`), and 2026 29-day pre-general (`DocId 3951230`, filed Oct. 5, 2026).
• NJ ELEC Form R-3 filings for Democratic Committee of Bergen County: 2025 Q1 (`DocId 3861608`), 2025 Q2 (`DocId 3885261`), 2025 Q3 (`DocId 3894581`), 2025 Q4 (`DocId 3915616`), 2026 Q1 (`DocId 3927699`), 2026 Q2 (`DocId 3944773`), and 2026 Q3 (`DocId 3960605`, filed Oct. 15, 2026).
• Bergen County Board of County Commissioners 2026 agendas and adopted resolutions (Jan. 21 – Oct. 20, 2026, including Oct. 7, 2026 Agenda and Oct. 20, 2026 Agenda).