A staffer for Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s 2025 campaign agreed to hear allegations from a Centenary University employee who wanted to report a hostile work environment while Dale Caldwell was president of the school — but failed to appear for their scheduled call, ghosted her, and blocked the woman on the messaging platform they had been using.
Caldwell, who took office as the state’s lieutenant governor and secretary of state in January, is under investigation by Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s office over allegations of inappropriate behavior toward women and potential ethics violations, including purported offers of state employment. Former Attorney General Christopher Porrino was retained to lead the investigation.
Now, Caldwell has begun pushing back on the allegations, telling a friend in a text message obtained by the New Jersey Globe that he was “in a war with evil.”
The New Jersey Globe has confirmed that the probe also includes allegations involving reimbursements and trips Caldwell submitted. The New Jersey Globe has also independently confirmed a BINJE report that the inquiry has been going on for at least two months – that’s when Caldwell first met with Porrino, BINJE stated; the New Jersey Globe has also confirmed that some of the issues surrounding the lieutenant governor began at least five months ago.
The Centenary employee had been searching for someone connected to Sherrill’s campaign after Caldwell became the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor.
The employee ultimately connected with Leslie Bockol, a Montclair resident and onetime children’s book author who was working as the grassroots outreach and support manager for NJ Victory 2025, the state Democratic Party’s coordinated campaign.
Bockol, a former co-executive director of NJ 11th for Change, a grassroots organization that helped Sherrill win her first congressional race in 2018, now works for Caldwell as his speechwriter at the Department of State.
The Centenary employee, a self-described Sherrill admirer, contacted Bockol in September 2025. In a message sent late on September 9, Bockol wrote: “This sounds like something serious you’d like to discuss.”
The next day, Bockol said she was “not a gossip” and would do her best to respect the employee’s confidentiality requirement. But she also said she might not be comfortable keeping the matter confidential if it involved other people’s safety, according to chat messages obtained by the New Jersey Globe.
“Though if your goal is to communicate your story to the campaign I’m working on, I’d be grateful for clarity about that,” Bockol wrote. “And if there are issues that affect other people’s safety, I might not feel comfortable holding a secret.”
The employee responded that she was comfortable with Bockol sharing the information, but not her identity.
“I think it’s up to you about whether or not you feel the information should be shared,” the employee stated.
“That makes sense to me, yes — and thank you for trusting me,” Bockol replied.
Bockol then arranged a telephone conversation for the late afternoon of Sunday, September 14.
But when the time came for the call, Bockol was a no-show. The employee said Bockol subsequently blocked the person on the platform where they had been communicating.
Instead, Bockol identified the employee to the campaign — and subsequently to Caldwell.
Reached on her cell phone, Bockol declined to discuss the matter with the New Jersey Globe.
“I am not authorized to make any comment,” Bockol said. “I have no interest in making a comment.”
Raj Parikh, counsel to the Sherrill for Governor campaign, said the campaign acted appropriately after receiving the correspondence.
“Governor Sherrill held her campaign to the highest standards. Any allegations provided to the campaign were reviewed and, if needed, followed up on promptly,” Parikh said.
“Even though this correspondence had no specific allegations, the campaign acted by engaging counsel in September 2025 to conduct a review,” he said. “Counsel’s review determined that the matter was related to internal faculty and administration discussions at Centenary University.”
But Parikh distanced himself from Bockol.
“Staff was not directed or authorized to independently engage or block the individual,” Parikh said.
Porrino and Shontae Gray, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney, are conducting the investigation.
Several hours after the Globe published its report on the Caldwell investigation Friday, Centenary President John Schol, who succeeded Caldwell, emailed university employees instructing them not to speak with the media.
“Given the sensitive and evolving nature of this matter, we will not comment on the allegations or speculate regarding any aspect of the reports,” Schol wrote. “We ask that you keep all those involved in your thoughts as this situation continues to unfold.”
“To ensure that the University provides a consistent, accurate, and appropriate response, Centenary associates should not respond to media inquiries or provide comments, statements, or information to members of the press regarding these allegations or related matters,” Schol said.
Cara Daniello, Centenary’s director of communications and public relations, said the university “takes matters involving the safety, well-being, and professional conduct of its community seriously.”