Murphy taps four new ELEC commissioners

Gov. Phil Murphy is taking the first steps to reshape the state’s campaign finance watchdog agency today, appointing two Democrats and two Republicans to serve on the Election Law Enforcement Commission, including Thomas H. Prol, the first openly gay president of the New Jersey Bar Association, as the new chairman.

Murphy will also name former Assemblyman Ryan Peters (R-Hainesport), longtime Clark Municipal Prosecutor Jon-Henry Barr, and former Senior Deputy Attorney General Norma Evans to serve on the panel, which will be charged with enforcing the Election Transparency Act passed by the legislature in March and signed by the governor in April.

“The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission plays an important role in protecting the integrity of our elections and the fairness of our democratic process, and today I’m pleased to appoint four highly qualified members to lead the Commission,” Murphy said. “These members bring a variety of backgrounds and perspectives — including experience in private legal practice, as state and municipal prosecutors, and in elected office. 

Among the new commissioners’ first tasks will be determining the future of ELEC’s executive director, Jeffrey Brindle. Murphy had sought to oust Brindle from his post earlier this year over an email sent to a staffer last fall that mocked National Coming Out Day.

Prol and Evans are Democrats; Peters and Barr are Republicans.

Prol, a 54-year-old civil rights leader from Asbury Park, was a founding member of Garden State Equality and remains on the group’s leadership team.  A partner at one of the state’s top law firms, Sills Cummis & Gross, he led the New Jersey State Bar Association from 2016 to 2017 and argued cases in defense of the state’s Anti-Bullying Act and the Criminal Justice Reform Act.

Murphy called Prol “a highly-respected and trailblazing attorney who made history.”

“The integrity of elections is a vital and sacrosanct component of a free and fair democracy,” Prol said. “I commit to engaging the important work ahead with fairness, honesty, and respect for the dignity of all. Our representative government requires adherence to the rule of law and due process and I look forward to implementing the Commission’s mandate with the guidance of those bedrock democratic principles.”

Peters served two terms as an assemblyman before giving up his seat in 2021 and spent two years as a Burlington County freeholder.  An Annapolis graduate and attorney, Peters, 41, has served as a U.S. Navy SEAL for nearly nineteen years and is a SEAL team commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve.  He won hugely competitive elections for countywide office and State Assembly in the 8th district — and walked away from a blossoming political career to spend more time with his family.

“It is a privilege to serve this State, and I am grateful to once again have that opportunity,” said Peters. “I look forward to working alongside my fellow commissioners, continuing my commitment to public service, and protecting the integrity of our elections with transparent and fair enforcement of the law.”

Barr has been the Clark municipal prosecutor for more than 22 years, a former New Jersey Municipal Prosecutors Association president.  He became a Clark councilman in 1993, at age 23, serving a thirteen-month unexpired term; he formed an exploratory committee to seek the Republican nomination for Congress in 2008 after Rep. Mike Ferguson announced his retirement but decided not to run.  A conservative Republican, he’s made modest contributions to the Senate Conservative Fund and Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Montana).

“My life’s work has been a commitment to justice,” Barr said.  “I can think of no better way to serve the people of New Jersey than with the enforcement of our election laws. I am extraordinarily honored and grateful that the Governor has entrusted me with this appointment.”

Evans, 64, spent nearly nineteen years as a Deputy Attorney General before retiring in 2017.  She served as president of the Association of Black Women Lawyers of New Jersey and would become the first Black woman to serve as an ELEC commissioner.  She is a resident of Evesham.

“As a career public servant, I am committed to vigilantly maintaining the integrity of campaign finances and other election matters, as well as providing transparency to the citizens of the State of New Jersey,” said Evans. “I am proud to continue the important work of the Commission. I sincerely thank Governor Phil Murphy for this esteemed opportunity.”

The new law permitted Murphy to make one-time direct appointments to the four open seats without Senate confirmation.  Prol and Peters will get three-year terms on the reconstituted board, while Barr and Evans were named for two-year terms.  After that, commissioners will return to terms of six years.

Prol, Barr, Evans, and Peters may take office as soon as Murphy files the nominations.

The commission has been completely vacant since March 30, when the three sitting commissioners – Eric Jaso, Steven Holden, and Marguerite Simon—resigned in protest after the legislation was passed.   The second Republican seat has been vacant for more than six years.

The new law doubled most limits on campaign contributions, added reporting requirements for independent expenditures, standardized – and relaxed – pay-to-play laws, permitted political parties to maintain “housekeeping” fundraising accounts, and instituted a two-year statute of limitations on ELEC’s enforcement of the state’s campaign finance laws.

Brindle has served as executive director since 2009.  He is suing Murphy and some top aides over their bid to force him out.

This story was updated at 10:21 AM with comment from Murphy and the four new commissioners.