ELEC releases list of dismissed campaign finance complaints

The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission today released a list of 107 candidates and campaign entities facing complaints over campaign finance issues who are now off the hook under the new Elections Transparency Act that changed the statute of limitations from ten years to two.

Among the complaints to disappear are complaints filed against the Democratic and Republican state committees, the Senate Democratic Majority Committee, and the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee on issues related to the 2017 campaign.

Some of the open complaints go way back more than a decade: a 2011 issue in Belleville, and 2012 matters in Alpha, Gloucester City, Irvington, Shrewsbury, and Westhampton.

Newark Councilman Dupre “Doitall” Kelly faced compliance complaints from his unsuccessful 2018 campaign.  He later won the West Ward seat in 2022.

Most of the now-dismissed charges involve little fish, like Don Dezam, the Libertarian candidate for State Senate in the 14th district in 2013.  Dezam raised no money and received 1.6% of the vote,  but had an ELEC complaint for not filing a report.   Edward Forchion, known as “The Weedman,” no longer faces issues related to his 2019 independent bid for State Assembly.

Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr., the Republican candidate for State Assembly in the 34th district, had a complaint from his 2019 independent Assembly bid dismissed.  He’s already been fined three times for failing to file reports from his eight previous unsuccessful Assembly bids.

The commissioners voted to dismiss the 107 complaints at their July 25 meeting.

The new law applied retroactively to alleged infractions prior to January 1, 2021, since the effective date of the legislation was January 1, 2023.

The commission will still have 130 active cases, Joe Donohue, ELEC’s deputy executive director, told the New Jersey Globe last month.