Superior Court Judge Stuart A. Minkowitz will hold a hearing on Friday morning to determine whether he’ll sign an order to show cause and halt the December filing deadline for the special filing deadline in New Jersey’s 11th district.
Former Morristown Mayor Donald Cresitello filed a lawsuit yesterday alleging that the condensed timeline in the race to fill Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill’s old congressional seat favored Gov. Phil Murphy’s preferred candidate, Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill. Murphy endorsed Gill before issuing the writ of special election that set the filing deadline and a February 5 primary.
Cresitello, a perennial candidate who served as mayor in the 1970s and again in the early 2000s, claims the ten-day window over the Thanksgiving holiday put some of the candidates at a disadvantage – and violates his constitutional rights.
Minkowitz ordered Cresitello to serve “all parties in this matter, and all statewide political organizations” by the end of today. That might not be so easy – not all candidates circulating nominating petitions have announced. He also ordered the state to file a written answer by tomorrow.
Since the 11th district includes parts of Essex, Passaic, and Morris counties, it’s not clear if Morris was the correct venue for Cresitello to file in. Most election-related cases involving multiple counties go to the Mercer vicinage.
