A state appeals court Tuesday removed from office incumbent Morris County Republican Freeholder Margaret Nordstrom of Washington Township and declared the office vacant, saying that a Superior Court decision that voided the narrow June 2011 primary victory of challenger William “Hank” Lyon was improperly decided.
The ruling set the stage for a new election to fill the post.
“We believe this decision to be flawed on several grounds, we are reviewing our options,” said Nordstrom’s attorney Alan Zakin.
The appeals court reversed the order of Superior Court Assignment Judge Thomas Weisenbeck who, following a contested 2011 Republican primary that showed Lyon of Montville defeating Nordstrom by 10 votes, called for a new Republican election to choose their November nominee.
A recount of the June results reduced that margin to six votes, and Nordstrom filed an election challenge for a legal review of the election, claiming voter fraud and that an illegal campaign contribution was made by Lyon's camp.
Weisenbeck ordered the Morris County Republican Committee to hold a special election to choose between Nordstrom and challenger Lyon for the party’s candidate for the November general election.
The committee's vote tally in September was 213 votes for Nordstrom and 208 votes for Lyon.
In the general election, Nordstrom defeated Democrat Truscha Quatrone, 45,376 votes to 26,982 votes.
Nordstrom was sworn in for a fifth term on Jan. 1.
“We reverse the Law Division's annulment of Lyon's nomination because of multiple legal errors that materially contributed to the court's ultimate declaration that Lyon's "nomination is null and void,” the court wrote in its opinion released Tuesday.
Jeff Bindle, executive director of the state’s Election Law Enforcement Commission, which filed for intervenor status in the case, was delighted by the appeals court decision. In that filing, ELEC claimed that it alone, and not Superior Court has the authority to rule in issues relating to campaign contribution.
Weisenbeck had ruled hat ELEC’s jurisdiction over contributions applied to general elections, and not primary elections.
“We felt all along that a recent Morris County election should not have been overturned based on alleged violations of campaign finance regulations,’’ said Brindle.
“It is ELEC’s job to determine when such violations exist. Only in extremely rare instances does theagency have the ability to overturn an election. The appellate judges today clearly recognized these facts,” he said.
John Sette, Republican Committee chairman and a member of the county’s board of elections, said the committee will hold a convention within 30 days, as required by law. That was the procedure used last year following Weisenbeck’s ruling that nullified Lyon’s primary election win.
Sette said the winner of the convention would hold the vacant freeholder seat through the end of the unexpired term, to January 2013, when the winners of the November general election are sworn in at the start of their new terms.
The winner of the convention has the choice to file to run for the seat in the upcoming June primary, Sette said. Or they could chose not to run, he said. Either way, the convention winner will hold the seat even if they are not the party’s nominee on the November ballot, he said.
Sette said the appeals court ruling has no impact on the outcome of the November 2011 general election because that election was vacated by today’s decision. Since Nordstrom won that election and the Republicans held the seat, it is up to the Republican convention to fill the seat.
The June primary already has three open freeholder seats as incumbents William Chegwidden of Wharton, John Murphy of Morris Township, and Gene Feyl of Denville are up for re-election.
Domino
3:14 pm on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
I read in another account that Mrs. Nordstrom wants to throw her name into the ring for consideration. If you leave it up to John Sette he will simply reinstate Nordstrom in the freeloader chair. These Morris County Republicans just don't get it.
HistorianWT
9:20 pm on Monday, February 20, 2012
Domino, in terms of people throwing their hat into the ring, it sounds like you are from eastern Morris County, so you might not know that from 2005 to 2008 Washington Township had a "one and done" Committeeman named Kevin Nedd whose public statements were posted on a campaign site called "kevinneddsaid" and led to the biggest electoral loss of any incumbent is the 200 year old history of Morris County. Followed by a criminal conviction and life downward spiral. So not every elected iofficial is going to want a chronicle of his blather! lol...
Gene Johnson
3:45 pm on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Either Sette mis-spoke or Patch misinterpreted his comment. If the freeholder term is for three years ending in Dec 2014, the special convention election would not fill the unexpired term but only the balance of 2012. There would be new elections (primary and general) for the remaining two years of the unexpired term. Will be interesting to see if only the four announced non-incumbent Republican candidates will run for this seat at the convention or will Nordstrom, Lyon and others join in as well. It's cheaper than a full campaign.
Robert Lawrence
4:21 pm on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Nothing I've read in the appellate court's opinion or election law would limit the candidates for a new convention to just Nordstrom and Lyon.
Anybody could hop into the fray, as did 4 candidates at the recent convention to fill the DeCroce Assembly seat.
Perhaps Parsippany Councilman John Cesaro would take a shot at the Freeholder seat in a new convention. Perhaps others would too.
T.J.
8:12 pm on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Im happy with the courts decision on this matter. i may be wrong but i just didnt like nordstroms handling of the situation from the start. It certainly rubbed me the wrong way.
The Stig
10:31 pm on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
The person who should be flogged is Superior Court Assignment Judge Thomas Weisenbeck, who completely overstepped his authority when he voided the primary. If he had left it up to ELEC in the first place, we wouldn't have this mess.
Moses Lonn
10:59 am on Thursday, February 9, 2012
Voltaire was right. Planet Earth really is the insane asylum of the universe. The ‘unelected’ Appellate judge’s decision was wrong on many levels. The Appeal Court judges just told would-be political candidates that the Election Law Enforcement Commission rules don’t mean anything. Cheating in a campaign by collecting and spending excessive, unreported contributions in the closing days of an election is now OK. There is no longer any need or reason to report large contributions despite what the ‘law’ says. Lying in late, targeted campaign literature has always been part of the political game. Now it’s so much easier to do.
For that matter, election fraud has just been ratified by the Appellate Court decision. More than ten absentee votes in Parsippany were stolen according to witness testimony. No one can know how those votes were cast, if they were voted at all. However, ten is a greater number than the final four vote difference between Nordstrom and Lyon. That fact alone should void the primary election result.
Lastly, 40,000 Morris County general election voters have been disenfranchised by the Court ruling. Justice may be blind but I had no idea it was so stupid.
Moses Lonn
11:44 am on Friday, February 10, 2012
If Ms. Nordstrom's candidacy in the general election was illegal, the next highest vote recipient in last November's general election should take the seat on the Morris Freeholder Board. Here's an extract from former the Morris Democratic Chair on the issue.
"Margaret Nordstrom was not disqualified after her election-that is just when the ruling happened. She was in fact not qualified to be on the general election ballot.
40:20-35.11a.
2. a. When any vacancy occurs on the board of chosen freeholders ... it shall be filled by election for the unexpired term only at the next general election …
... if the person elected to that office dies or otherwise becomes unable to assume office, the county committee of the political party ... shall appoint another person to fill the position until the next general election. If the person elected was not the nominee of a political party... the governing body shall appoint a successor to fill the office until the next general election without regard to party.
Ms. Nordstom was not the qualified nominee of a political party... Mr. Lyon also was not on the ballot due to the errors of his own party process. Ms. Quatrone obeyed the statute and received more votes than any other qualified candidate. Therefore when Ms. Nordstrom's term expired, Ms. Quatrone was entitled to be sworn in.
MadInNJ
12:17 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012
Nice try, but the original judge in this case completely screwed this up, and Ms. Q doesn't get to prosper because he misinterpreted the law and screwed over the Republican's real choice.
The fair thing to do would be to leave the seat open until the General Election, and let everyone vote in their respective Primaries to determine their party's candidate, and then in November, let everyone have a real vote to fill the last two years of the term. No more party conventions in Mt. Lakes run by the organization that's determined to re-re-appoint Nordstrom.
Dan Grant
2:24 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012
No Mad, Two people were on the November ballot and one of those was illegally, there so says the Court. Truscha was the only qualified person on the ballot so she won the race. We are a country of laws and Truscha followed those laws and the Republican didn't. Read Paul Mulshine's Column for the details but Party's are running for office People do so why would the winner not be seated? I don't care why the loser lost or was disqualified, they were.
MadInNJ
2:34 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012
Wrong Dan. Just because you "don't care," doesn't make it a fact or legal.
A judge removed Lyon's name and told the Republicans to pick again. So you can't use that ruling, and a subsequent contrary decision to remove Nordstrom, as a way to put your candidate in office.
And I commented on Mulshine's column earlier because he's wrong too, and trying to have some fun at John Sette's expense (for good reason). But his opinion carries as much legal weight as yours . . . i.e., none.
Dan Grant
2:42 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012
Republicans aren't the only ones with lawyers. The fact is there was a General Election with two people. Now it turns out that one of those was there illegally. Lyon wasn't on the ballot so he is out and Margrett was there in violation of the law so the only legally authorized candidate was Truscha. Granted the Republicans messed this up but why then is Truscha automatically excluded from being the winner. ( Aside from your belief that Democrats don't count.
MadInNJ
3:02 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012
How did the Republicans mess this up? Did they rule that Lyon had to be taken off the ballot? Did they not select a candidate per the judge's ruling? Did another set of judges then overrule the original judge?
If you think Quatrone will be legally seated, then you are either living in fantasy land, or have knowledge that this whole incident is a giant conspiracy and your end result was the plan all along.
And I never said Democrats don't count, just your (and Mulshine's) opinion on this matter.
Domino
3:39 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012
One thing is for certain. Whether she has yet grasped the reality of it or not, Nordstrom is done.
MadInNJ
5:38 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012
For this seat, she should be. If she wanted to unite the party this year, she would bow out and ask that no one else oppose the kid for the balance of this year. If another seat opens up (is Murphy going to run again?) try for that one, but she should just let this go.
Dan Grant
6:09 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012
This is about a 3 year term that Truscha Quatrone won. If the Republicans had done the right thing than Lyon would have been Truscha's opponant. Now the Courts have said that the Republican Candidate was not qualified so how is it that the Republicans get to pick someone else from their party? The answer is simple throw out Nordstrom's votes and the next highest candidate wins the 3 year term.
MadInNJ
7:04 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012
As usual, nothing is complex to a simple mind.
Tom Basta
12:54 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
Mr. Grant: While novel, your reasoning has no support in New Jersey Election Law jurisprudence. So it's a nonstarter. But more to the point, in my opinion under your theory, Mr. Lyon would have just as valid an argument to the seat as Ms. Quatrone. Looking back at it in hindsight, the Court have stated now (but vitally, not at the time) that he was the rightful GOP nominee. So under your theory, Ms. Quatrone, who I take you deem to be the only "legitimate" candidate, should be declared the winner (though this is legally impossible). Mr. Lyon could make a similar argument that he was a "legitimate" candidate but was barred from the ballot in a general election where the voters decided to elect a Republican by a fair margin. So in that sense, he would feel as wronged as Ms. Quatrone. Regardless, this is a completely academic discussion, as state election statutes are clear. Ms. Nordstrom was a legally legitimate general election candidate at the time of the election as per the Law Division's ruling and her selection by the Morris GOP as their candidate at the convention. I suspect that Ms. Quatrone spoke to an attorney regarding this issue who told her something similar to what I'm saying now. If you don't like the rules of the game (and I often don't) that's one thing- but they are what they are.
Thomas Lotito
1:13 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
Dan, please stop, you're embarrassing yourself.
Dan Grant
1:42 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
Tom Basta, Are you a lawyer? The two things I have learned is that no case is a "NonStarter" and that half the lawyers in Court wind up being wrong. (by wrong I mean losing). What I don't understand is why this becomes a Republican right to fill the vacancy. While Mrs. Nordstrom is a Republican, it is not the Republican party that gets elected. She did and yet she is not a qualified candidate You say I may not like the rules but in this case it seems that no one follows the established rules. As far as Mr Lyon regardless of how it happened he wasn't on the ballot and got no votes in the general so he is just woulda, coulda, shoulda,. Mr. Lotito there is no embarrassment in defending the rights of a candidate is this weird case but I do embarrass myself by responding to people like you and MadinNJ.
MadInNJ
3:17 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
The only things that are embarrassing, Mr. Grant, are 1.) your pathetic "theory" of how your candidate should be handed a seat that she LOST; 2.) your attempts to change the facts; and 2.) your constant attempts to sound non-partisan whilst your views are all obviously hyper-partisan.
The Appellate court reversed the judge's decision to nullify Lyon's win. Unless the Republicans had been prescient enough to know that that would happen, they selected a candidate per the judge's direction. Again, not sure how that then justifies giving a Loser a seat on the Freeholder board just because she was the runner up. The citizens of Morris county were denied a real election by the judiciary, not the Republicans. And we need to have one before anyone gets the seat.
Thomas Lotito
1:17 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
Was it because of voter fraud the judge didn't give Lyon the seat? No one has reconciled that.
Tom Basta
2:02 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
Dan: Guilty, I am a lawyer, and trust me there are plenty of non-starters, based on the number of cases every lawyer turns down. Ms. Quatrone could have filed a Motion to Intervene in the case (much as ELEC did) and did not for reasons that are known to her and her attorney, so obviously it's only conjecture. And I would agree that people run in elections, not parties. But our Supreme Court tends to somewhat disagree to an extent, stating that extensive efforts should be made to ensure that voter choice between a Democratic candidate and a Republican one (See State Democratic Party v. Samson, colloquially known as the Torricelli/Lautenberg switcheroo) be honored. I'd be willing to venture that you agreed with that decision. While the facts of that case were different, as they invariably are, the principle is the same: that voters should go into the voting booth with the opportunity to decide between a GOP candidate and Dem candidate. What's good for the goose...
My point is that I know of no case in NJ where, in the case of the disqualification of the winner, the silver medalist was given the gold. This isn't the Olympics. A situation has arisen in Camden County, where in a legislative district the general election winner, a Dem, was ruled to not meet residency requirements. The case is on appeal I believe (I don't know the specifics), but it's been ruled that the Democratic party down there would pick a replacement. So basically, there it is.
Thomas Lotito
2:35 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
How ridiculous Dan, Your candidate lost by a landslide, Lyons or Nordsrtom would have won the election, your candidate was never even a threat. Did you condone her remarks that calling Republicans tea baggers is portmanteau?
Moses Lonn
2:58 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
@ Dan - As far as this election is concerned, Hunter Thompson may have the best line on it all. "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." I'm afraid we have all gone through the looking glass.