New Jerseyans aren’t always civil, but it’s still possible for a liberal Democrat and a conservative Republican to have a rational and pleasant conversation about politics in the state. Dan Bryan is a former senior advisor to Gov. Phil Murphy and is now the owner of his own public affairs firm, and Alex Wilkes is an attorney and former executive director of America Rising PAC who advises Republican candidates in New Jersey and across the nation. Dan and Alex are both experienced strategists who are currently in the room where high-level decisions are made. They will get together weekly with New Jersey Globe editor David Wildstein to discuss politics and issues.
New Jersey Globe: South Jersey Democrats have acknowledged that Jersey Freedom, which spent money trying to convince Republicans to vote for a phantom candidate in the 4th district, is one of their groups. That got hidden until after the election. Did the Election Transparency Act work?
Dan Bryan: The reality is that there isn’t much any state can do given the destructive effects of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling. I commend the Legislature for trying to do *something* – force more campaign dollars into the daylight, and encourage hard-side donations. But the fatal flaw in our campaign finance system must be fixed at the federal level.
Alex Wilkes: The Elections “Transparency” Act is about as honest and transparent as the cash stuffed in Bob Menendez’ jacket.
Democrats specifically wrote the legislation to benefit them and their special interests in an otherwise difficult year. It was then hastily passed over the strenuous objections of good government advocates and then ruthlessly deployed in the most competitive races.
The way Democrats interpreted and used this new law, parents running for school board could be expected to make more frequent and thorough disclosures to ELEC than sophisticated, multimillion dollar independent expenditure groups.
The phantom candidate strategy is sleazy and cowardly, and we see Democrats deploy it whenever they feel particularly vulnerable. This year, however, the Elections Transparency Act effectively allowed the Democrats to prop up Giuseppe Costanzo using a funding source hidden from the public until after Election Day that made contributions on his behalf far in excess of what a real candidate would have been able to raise.
It’s wrong, and fair-minded legislators should – at a minimum – reinstate the 24/72 hour reporting system for independent expenditures that all of the other political entities are required to follow. To go further, serious consideration should also be given to authenticating the true intentions of candidates and petition filers. New Jersey deserves better.
NJ Globe: Congress will likely expel George Santos today. Is that a slippery slope, removing people from office without a trial – or should New Jersey consider a law to suspend elected officials under indictment?
Dan: Yes. If an elected official is under indictment, they do not have the ability to discharge the responsibilities of their office. Likely, any elected official in that position has already lost the trust of the community they were elected to serve. Any American should be allowed to defend themselves in court, but suspending an elected official from office makes sense.
Of course, it gets more difficult in execution. What is the fairest manner in which to choose an interim? And who gets to choose? There is a long way to go before this initiative gets serious, if it ever does, but I believe it’s a worthy conversation.
Alex: The allegations against politicians like Bob Menendez and George Santos are deeply troubling and only further undermine the public’s already waning trust in our institutions.
I am personally, however, wary of any law that would automatically upend due process or the will of voters (and think it may be unconstitutional as applied to federal officeholders). But serving in public office is a privilege not a right, which is why I think that calls for resignation or even expulsion are not unjustified.
There are a lot of people in this country who are concerned about the politicization of our systems of justice — and it’s not a one-sided issue. Many Democrats were just as concerned about former FBI Director James Comey’s handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s misuse of classified documents as Republicans are about sweetheart deals from the Justice Department for the President’s son. I think the proposal has good intentions, but would only exacerbate fears of political retribution on both sides.
NJ Globe: This one is weird, even by New Jersey standards: election officials in Hudson County simply forgot to put an independent State Senate candidate on the ballot. Does New Jersey need to have a conversation about centralized elections?
Dan: It’s hard to make far-reaching decisions based on one truly bizarre situation. I do not believe there was any ill intent here, and it is flat-out impossible to believe that the outcome of the election would have changed if the candidate were on the ballot. That said, Olivera has the right to an explanation, for sure, and maybe even damages. Every county should learn from this mistake and put processes in place to ensure this never happens again.
Alex: No, not weird — just more sloppy incompetence that makes the abolition of county executives who oversee these bloated messes look like a better idea with every passing moment. Hudson is far from the worst offender. Look at Mercer County in the 2022 elections with the widespread machine failures that have still gone unaddressed. This year, in Bergen County, County Clerk John Hogan used his office to snap up Taylor Swift concert tickets faster than he released the full results of this year’s elections (the day before Thanksgiving).
We don’t need centralized elections (particularly when the Attorney General has yet to address previous election issues); we need leaner county governments that actually serve the taxpayers.
NJ Globe: Just a couple of weeks after the election, Brandon Umba and Anthony Angelozzi have already said they’ll run again for State Assembly in the 8th district in 2025. Considering the difficulty of legislative candidates to become known to voters, should a two-year campaign become the new normal?
Dan: The best political operations never take a month off, let alone a year. I understand the exhaustion with longer and longer campaign seasons, but in politics, fortune favors the bold.
Don’t worry about whether or not it’s “too early” to campaign. Knock on doors, fundraise, and build deep connections with your community. If you do all of that early and often, you create your own luck in this business.Alex: I mean, when we have to compete against the Democrats, their Election Transparency Act money spigot, and government checks sent with VBM ballots? Seems prudent.
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November 7, 2019