Judge dimisses Brindle ELEC lawsuit

A Superior Court Judge dismissed a legal challenge by former campaign finance watchdog Jeffrey Brindle to the new Election Transparency Act, arguing that the new law violated the State Constitution because its real purpose was to remove him from his job.

Jeff Brindle, the longtime executive director of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, alleges that Gov. Phil Murphy tried to remove him because of a homophobic comment in an email to a staffer.  He claimed that the legislature retroactively sought to change the statute of limitations on campaign finance violations to interfere with the political independence of the panel and to set appointments that initially did not require Senate confirmation.

The state denied that the new law was special legislation.

Mercer County Assignment Judge Robert Lougy ruled that the legislature “has established no statute of limitations period specific to ELEC enforcement actions.”

“The constitution specifically reserves to the legislature the authority to determine the appropriate appointment mechanisms for state officers other than advise and consent,” Lougy wrote.  “Different entities and different officers serve different roles and have different functions and the Constitution grants the legislature authority to establish appointment mechanisms as it sees fit.”

Lougy said Brindle and others are free to disagree with the legislature’s decision on the structuring of commissioner appointments.

“That does not mean the legislation lacks any conceivable rational basis,” he said.

Lougy dismissed the case with prejudice.

Brindle voluntarily retired on October 31.