8 Congress Candidates In NJ-10 Call Foul On Democratic Party Leaders
NEW JERSEY — Several congressional candidates in New Jersey’s 10th District are calling foul on Democratic Party leaders in the wake of a hotly contested special primary election.
Residents of the district have been without a voice in the U.S. House of Representatives following the death of Donald Payne Jr. in April. See Related: Mourning Continues For NJ Congressman With ‘Big Heart’
Gov. Phil Murphy announced that a special election will be held to fill the rest of Payne’s unexpired term. A primary election was held to choose Democratic and Republican nominees on July 16. The winners and any independent candidates will face off again on Sept. 18 in the general election. A full term will be up for grabs in the general election on Nov. 5.
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Carmen Bucco was the sole Republican candidate on the ballot. Meanwhile, a large field of candidates competed for the Democratic Party nomination: LaMonica McIver, Derek Armstead, Brittany Claybrooks, John Flora, Darryl Godfrey, Alberta Gordon, Eugene Mazo, Shana Melius, Sheila Montague, Jerry Walker and Debra Salters.
The Associated Press has called the race in favor of LaMonica McIver, although the results remain uncertified.
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On Tuesday morning – prior to the close of polls – eight of the Democratic candidates put out a joint statement, alleging that the county committees’ ensuing selection process “appears to be an attempt to rig the system for the party’s preferred candidate.”
Signatories to the statement included Derek Armstead, Brittany Claybrooks, John Flora, Shana Melius, Sheila Montague, Darryl Godfrey, Eugene Mazo and Debra Salters.
The eight candidates are demanding that the three county committees which represent the 10th District – Essex, Hudson and Union – set a new nominating convention date ahead of Thursday evening, when it is scheduled to take place.
According to a letter filed by Bridgewater Mayor Matthew Moench, the attorney representing all eight candidates, several committee members and candidates have not received “proper notification” of the nominating convention, contravening the committee bylaws and the state statute.
Moench’s letter alleges that the rules of the nominating convention “set arbitrary deadlines” for key benchmarks and notices, making it “nearly impossible” for most candidates to receive the requisite nominating support.
Their allegations included:
The results of Tuesday’s special primary election may not even be fully certified by the convention date, the eight candidates pointed out.
The candidates added:
“Transparency, good governance, ethics, and the rule of law are pillars of our society, and that is why we have united together to uphold rule of law in the democratic process. The constituents of New Jersey CD-10 deserve the right to cast their votes, be duly notified of important meetings for their future representatives, and receive sufficient time for the democratic process to occur properly. We demand that the state party leadership follow the rule of law and stop interfering with the voice of the people who live in New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District.”
Patch reached out to party chairs LeRoy Jones Jr., Anthony Vainieri Jr. and Nicholas Scutari via email seeking comment about the candidates’ statement. We will update this article with any reply we receive.
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