ELEC fines ex-Chatham councilman

Former Chatham Borough Councilman James Lonergan has been fined $275 for failing to file campaign finance reports for his 2017 re-election campaign with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.

Lonergan did not spend any money on his unopposed run for renomination in the Republican primary, according to his reponse to a complaint filed by the commission.

He dropped out of the race that summer and was replaced on the Republican ticket with Bob Weber.

Weber won the general election, but Republican Thomas Steven Coffey lost the second seat to Democrat Thaddeus Kobylarz by 61 votes. A Republican, Gerald Helfrich, did not seek re-election to the Borough Council.

Kobylarz and Weber faced off in the 2019 mayoral election, with the Democrat winning with 53.6% of the vote.

Democrats also picked up two Republican council seats last month, which will give them a 5-1 majority on the governing body next year – once Democrats fill the vacancy caused by Kobylarz’s resignation.

Chatham’s new Democratic mayor will take office next month, replacing Republican Bruce Harris.

Harris was one of Gov. Chris Christie’s nominees to the New Jersey Supreme Court, but the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee rejected him in a 7-6 vote.