MORRISTOWN, N.J. – Morris County Republicans may still adopt a “line” for Election 2021 and future cycles, but the vote will need to wait, possibly until February at the earliest.
On Friday, ex-county chair John Sette and former freeholder Scapicchio went to court and obtained an order temporarily restraining the county party from holding a meeting this weekend to consider an amendment to its bylaws allowing for a county line. The order was entered ex parte meaning the GOP organization led by Laura Ali did not get to participate; they will have a chance to weigh in at a hearing scheduled for January 19th.
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“Our meeting scheduled for tomorrow, January 16th has unfortunately been postponed due to a last minute legal challenge filed by a small group of obstructionists seeking to disenfranchise your voice as duly elected county committee members,” said Ali on Friday. “Their actions will temporarily prevent you from making your voice heard in our candidate selection process here in Morris County. A voice that nearly every duly elected county committee person in the state enjoys. The good news is that we will be before Judge Berdote Byrne at 2:30 P.M. on January 19th, to make our case and fully expect to prevail.”
The plaintiffs allege that the county committee failed to properly abide by its bylaws’ notice requirements in setting up the now-postponed meeting. Sette also insists – as do some other Morris Republicans – that a county line would hurt the party’s ability to attract new leaders.
“Open primaries give us a chance to bring fresh faces into our party,” said Sette in a separate email blast co-signed by two other county Republicans. “Does anyone really believe that eager, talented candidates, especially younger people, would stand a chance in a party convention against a long-term sitting county Commissioner? We say the answer is absolutely no, and that would be a shame.”
Pro-line committee members counter that there are few meaningful primaries under the current system; most of Morris’s leading county and legislative figures have been in the game for years and yet go largely unchallenged.
At best, Friday’s order only delays the ultimate decision. In her ruling, Superior Court Judge Maritza Berdote Byrne said “the court is satisfied an ex party order entering temporary restraints is appropriate because the matter would be clearly moot if heard on Monday, January 18, 2021, after the January 16, 2021 meeting is scheduled to be held. Moreover, there is no indication any party shall be harmed by the delay of the Republican Club meeting.”
New Jersey is the only state in the Union where counties (19 of 21) organize its election ballots around who was endorsed by the county party organization rather than the contested offices themselves.
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