New Jersey’s top elections watchdog filed a lawsuit against Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday, only days before an expected vote on fast-track legislation that critics say could gut meaningful campaign finance regulation.
Jeff Brindle, the longtime executive director of the Election Law Enforcement Commission, claims that Murphy and his aides are conspiring to boot him from his job and end the commission’s traditional status as an independent agency.
In his lawsuit, filed in Mercer County, Brindle seeks protection from the governor and personal damages.
Brindle, an ELEC employee since 1985 and who has led the agency for several years, has been sharply critical of the growing role that so-called dark money plays in New Jersey political campaigns. Under his leadership, ELEC’s political donation databases, lobbying reports and other critical campaign data have become more accessible to public inspection.
“Jeff Brindle is being persecuted by the governor because he is a strong critic of dark money political contributions,” Bruce Afran, Brindle’s attorney, said in an interview. “We all know that this governor benefits by dark money and will use dark money in any future campaign for office … Jeff is an embarrassment to him.”
Afran said Brindle was summoned to the governor’s office in November and ordered to resign for allegedly making an offensive homophobic slur in an email. But the Murphy aides who confronted Brindle, Afran said, never showed him the email or revealed what was in it.
“This is not about an email,” Afran said.
Alexandra Altman, a spokeswoman for the governor, declined to comment.
Rewriting campaign finance laws
Brindle’s lawsuit was filed as a key Senate committee voted to advance legislation that would rewrite New Jersey’s campaign finance laws and upend ELEC’s 50-year tradition as an independent watchdog.
The sweeping “Election Transparency Act,” sponsored by Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D-Union), would give Murphy a one-time opportunity to name new ELEC commissioners without approval of the state Senate.
It would also double campaign contribution limits, end the patchwork of local pay-to-play laws governing public contractors and affect the state’s ability to enforce campaign finance violations.
The legislation also allows political parties to create new “housekeeping” accounts that would greatly expand the influence of big donors and prop up local political organizations. While there would be new disclosure requirements for some independent groups, party bosses and county political groups that select candidates and control the primary ballot would be empowered.
‘This is a transparency bill that runs counter to transparency. It erodes public faith in government at a time when we need faith in government more than ever. It’s just bad policy.’ — Maura Collinsgru, New Jersey Citizen Action
“We’ve been fighting for years to end party-boss control and reform the ballot, and this bill comes in and makes them stronger,” said Sue Altman, director of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance.
‘What is the emergency?’
Joseph Donohue, an ELEC official who testified Thursday before the budget committee, wondered why lawmakers are rushing to change an agency that has a long history as an independent campaign watchdog, whose commissioners have included a long line of ex-judges, prosecutors, college professors and other distinguished figures.
“What is the emergency?” Donohue asked.
Donohue said the legislation would expose the commission to political control and cut back drastically on its ability to investigate past campaign violations. About 80% of ELEC’s current enforcement cases, he said, would be eliminated by this legislation, which sets a two-year statute of limitations on violations. The current limit is 10 years.
Donohue pointed out that ELEC does support some aspects of the legislation, including proposals to streamline pay-to-play regulations and increase dated limits on individual donations. But he said other aspects of the bill, including cutting back enforcement, would have a “a devastating impact.”
Donohue and other opponents entered Thursday’s hearing without the opportunity to review a series of last-minute amendments made to the legislation earlier this week. The amendments included the proposal to end Senate approval for the next batch of ELEC nominees.
“This is a transparency bill that runs counter to transparency,” said Maura Collinsgru of New Jersey Citizen Action. “It erodes public faith in government at a time when we need faith in government more than ever. It’s just bad policy.”
The bill, which was first proposed last year, was pulled from a committee vote earlier this year after an outcry from public advocate groups and leading Republicans who oppose the bill. Democrats are expected to post the bill in the Senate for a vote next week.
Murphy’s office declined to answer questions about the legislation.
