New Jersey Watchdog Wins New York Press Club Award

Congratulations to reporter Mark Lagerkvist who has been honored  for his story on Double-Dipping Public Officials!

Alexandria, Va—New Jersey Watchdog, an investigative news site of the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity, has won a New York Press Club Award for a report on “retired” public officials who collect both paychecks and pensions from the Garden State.

The story, by reporter Mark Lagerkvist, was published last August and was selected by judges in the category of political coverage.

“Double-dipping enables public officials in New Jersey to game the system at taxpayer expense,” said Lagerkvist. “The public deserves to know about a practice that drains money from state pension funds already facing a $42 billion debt.”

Lagerkvist’s investigation uncovered five dozen retired state employees back on New Jersey’s payroll– one third hired under Governor Chris Christie, who boasted about his efforts to reform government.

“We are extremely proud of Mark and happy that he is being recognized for this ground-breaking investigation of New Jersey public officials,” said Jason Stverak, president of the Franklin Center. “His work has shed light onto a system that has been abused for years.”

The New York Press Club Awards will be presented on Monday, June 10, at the Press Club’s Awards Presentation Dinner at Manhattan’s Water Club. You can view all the NYPC award winners here.

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The Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity is a leader in non-profit journalism. It was founded in 2009 to address falling standards in the media as well as a steep falloff in reporting on state government and provides professional training and assistance with a mission of exposing waste, fraud, and abuse in government.