In a move that potentially transforms them from bystanders to aggressive watchdogs over campaign spending, the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission will become involved in a lawsuit connected to Jersey Freedom, a shadowy independent expenditure group closely tied to South Jersey Democrats.
The panel will file an amicus curiae brief in a lawsuit filed by the New Jersey Republican State Committee after a unanimous vote by the four commissioners – two Democrats and two Republicans.
Prior to an executive session, Chairman Thomas Prol said the panel will work to seek out transparency in New Jersey elections. He later said ELEC will seek to offer the commission’s perspective on the law without formally taking sides.
Jason Sena, the Republican State Committee attorney, wants officials of Jersey Freedom, including phantom candidates and the circulators and signers of their petitions to testify under oath.
The tenebrous Jersey Freedom group, founded in September and run out of a post office box in Jamaica, Queens, and spent money supporting a phantom State Senate candidate with a conservative slogan in an apparent attempt to siphon votes from the Republican candidate. They sent attack mailers to GOP voters and ran cable TV ads on Fox News.
In one filing, the group showed a $45,226 expenditure with a debt and no revenues. Superior Court Judge Michael Blee froze their bank account days before the election, but not before the coffers had been emptied.
After the election, it became clear another South Jersey Democratic independent expenditure group, Brighter Future Forward, entirely funded Jersey Freedom. The Carpenters union and another South Jersey-connected independent group, the American Representative Majority, primarily funded them. American Representative Majority received a $1.9 million loan from Democratic powerbroker George E. Norcross III.
The attorney for Jersey Freedom, William Tambussi, is also the longtime counsel to the Camden County Democratic Committee.
Jersey Freedom claims to be in full compliance with the new Election Transparency Act, which eliminated 48-hour notifications of donations and expenditures.
Costanzo, a 62-year-old restaurant account manager from Clementon, remained a mythical figure on the campaign trail. He raised no money, opened no social media accounts, and had practically no digital footprint. He made no case for his own candidacy and no longer answers his cell phone. Until earlier this year, he wasn’t even a registered voter.
His conservative running mate, Maureen Dukes-Penrose, a Democrat, told the New Jersey Globe that retiring State Sen. Fred Madden, a former Gloucester County Democratic Chairman, encouraged her to run as an independent. Madden said that wasn’t true.
Jersey Freedom also made independent expenditures in support of Libertarian Senate candidate Shawn Peck in the 2nd district. Peck’s outage over the Jersey Freedom mailer led him to drop out of the race and endorse State Sen. Vince Polistina (R-Egg Harbor Township) for re-election.
“Transparency is truly paramount in our election laws,” said Antoinette Miles, the acting executive director of New Jersey Working Families. “Jersey Freedom made a mockery of our election laws.”
State Sen. Vincent Polistina (R-Egg Harbor Township) applauded ELEC’s decision to seek Blee’s consent to file an amicus brief.
“Money in politics is always going to be there, but we need to make it as transparent as possible,” he said.