Matt Rainey/The Star-LedgerN.J. Attorney General nominee Paula Dow in Newark. The push to name an Essex County building after Paula Dow is a bad idea rife with conflicts of interest. Dow is the former county prosecutor now on her way to being named the state’s new attorney general. The Essex County freeholders want to chisel her name into the side of a building to pronounce to the world that one of their own has made good.

Essex County freeholder Ralph Caputo says, "It’s quite fitting." Actually, it’s wrong for many reasons, and it’s telling that elected officials don’t see that.

Let’s remember that Essex County freeholder Samuel Gonzalez is under indictment for election fraud. Gonzalez hasn’t resigned, so, unless he recuses himself, he could vote on whether to name a building after the woman whose office will try to put him in jail.

Another problem: One of the biggest supporters of the "Essex County Prosecutor Paula T. Dow Crime Scene Unit" is County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, who said Dow is "well-deserving." While DiVincenzo hasn’t been connected to any of the alleged criminal activity, he probably should refrain from commenting on possible impropriety because he scored so poorly on the last test: When his buddy, election superintendent Carmine Casciano, was charged with giving unauthorized paid holidays to employees who worked on political campaigns, DiVincenzo refused to ask his friend to resign. Casciano eventually did.

David H. Weiner, president of CWA Local 1081, which represents 650 welfare workers, says the Dow Building "could be construed as an attempt to influence her in the performance of her public duties." He’s right. Dow, the acting attorney general, will become the chief law enforcement officer policing state and local officials.

Dow’s spokesman said she is not seeking the honor and would leave the decision to DiVincenzo. He defends the naming by saying Dow "brought morale up."

There should be a higher threshold than that, especially when questions about conflicts of interest and perceived favors could cast a shadow whenever Dow takes action — or doesn’t — on a case involving Essex County.

The Lincoln Memorial wasn’t built until 50 years after Abraham Lincoln’s death, and the Washington Monument was constructed 89 years after George Washington died. The Paula T. Dow Crime Scene Unit can wait.