While a federal judge mulls whether organization lines in New Jersey should be abolished, Union County GOP Chairman Glenn Mortimer has denied party support to some incumbent county committee members in Scotch Plains, where the municipal chairman is supporting another candidate for county chairman.
At the same time, Mortimer has awarded the line to controversial Clark Mayor Sal Bonaccorso, who has been charged with official corruption and faces a possible five-year prison sentence.
The local Scotch Plains GOP chairman, Joseph Sarno, must now seek re-election off-the-line in a race against former Mayor Bill McClintock, who has Mortimer’s backing. Sarno is one of thirteen candidates facing a challenge for a county committee seat in Scotch Plains. Mortimer denied the line to 25 Sarno-backed candidates, including two incumbents.
Sarno supports Carlos Santos, who is seeking to depose Mortimer when the county GOP reorganizes this summer.
The move comes at a time when many county chairs are trying to keep their heads down as they await U.S. District Court Judge Zahid Quraishi’s decision. The move to punish a municipal chair could validate anti-line viewpoints.
The New Jersey Attorney General’s office alleges Bonaccorso used township property and employees to run his landscaping business and filed forged permit applications in about two dozen towns to remove underground oil storage tanks.
Despite the allegations, Bonaccorso is unopposed in the Republican primary and the favorite to win re-election in November.
Mortimer did not immediately respond to a text message seeking comment.