In response to a New Jersey Globe report that Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) had mistakenly failed to report several of his family trust’s stock trades, all three of Kean’s Democratic opponents are harshly criticizing the congressman for his apparent violations of the congressional STOCK Act.
Last spring and summer, a family trust set up by Kean’s father, former Gov. Thomas Kean – a trust which the younger Kean has no personal control over – made six stock trades that were not reported as required under the STOCK Act. Kean, who represents the highly competitive 7th congressional district, said that he was not notified of the trades until last week and that he rectified the issue as soon as he learned of it.
But that wasn’t enough for Kean’s three challengers – former Working Families Party state director Sue Altman, former State Department official Jason Blazakis, and Roselle Park Mayor Joe Signorello – each of whom painted Kean as an unethical politician who is trying to deceive New Jersey voters.
“Before he was elected to Congress, Tom Kean Jr. was selling off hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of pharmaceutical stocks at the height of the pandemic,” Altman said. “Now that he’s in Congress, he’s neglecting to report trades altogether. No matter what office he holds, for Tom Kean Jr., his bank account and trust fund will always be more important to him than working New Jerseyans.”
Blazakis similarly questioned Kean’s commitment to his constituents and said that the House Ethics Committee should look into Kean’s actions.
“Tom Kean’s violation of the STOCK Act raises some serious questions about his ethics and honesty with New Jerseyans,” Blazakis said. “This is unacceptable and as a member of Congress, Tom Kean should understand how to comply with basic transparency measures. I’m calling on a bipartisan ethics investigation into Representative Kean. No one should use their elected position to line their pockets and New Jerseyans deserve better.”
The issue of STOCK Act disclosures is one that Kean already knows well from his 2022 campaign – but in that race, he was on offense, not defense. In 2021, the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into Kean’s opponent, Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes), for his failure to report stock trades worth hundreds of thousands of dollars; that investigation was never resolved, but it still featured prominently in GOP advertising and messaging against Malinowski.
Now, ten months after unseating Malinowski, Kean himself is coming under fire over the STOCK Act, albeit for less substantial violations. The irony, Signorello said, is palpable.
“You figure after all those negative ads Kean ran against Malinowski he’d make sure to get his fillings in order,” Signorello said. “The hypocrisy of the Republican Party has reached astronomical heights, and this is just the latest example from Junior.”