Citing personal reasons, Tonio Burgos has resigned his seat as a Democratic National Committeeman from New Jersey, a post he’s held for more than 30 years.
That leaves two vacancies among the five New Jersey seats to be filled before March 6, the DNC deadline to have national committee members in place if they want to have a vote at the Democratic National Convention this summer.
George E. Norcross III resigned his DNC seat in 2021 after changing his voter registration to his Florida home. Democrats have not filled the vacancy.
The two seats would be filled through the convention, with a vote coming up late this year to seat all five DNC members, including incumbents Marcia Marley, Bernadette McPherson, and John Graham, for another four-year term. None of them have formally announced their candidacy for re-election; there is speculation that McPherson, a former Bergen County freeholder and Rutherford mayor, might be ready to depart.
Burgos, 72, has been a longtime fixture in New Jersey and New York politics. The Jersey City resident spent fifteen years working for New York Gov. Mario Cuomo and served as a New Jersey commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He’s a former vice chairman of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.
Under state party by-laws, there is no special election to fill the vacant seat on the Democratic National Committee. Democratic State Chairman LeRoy Jones, Jr. can appoint the replacement.