Superior Court Judge Stuart Minkowitz signaled skepticism that Monday’s filing deadline for the special primary election to fill Mikie Sherrill’s 11th district congressional seat is unconstitutional after a 45-minute hearing on Friday morning.
Former Morristown Mayor Donald Cresitello filed a lawsuit earlier this week alleging that the condensed timeline outlined in Gov. Phil Murphy’s executive order created an unfair advantage for some candidates who need to obtain the signatures of at least 500 registered Democrats from the district during a ten-day window that included the Thanksgiving holiday.
Cresitello claimed that the short timeline became burdensome because it included a holiday week, especially since the petitions were not available until November 21. Sherrill resigned on November 20 as she prepares to assume office as New Jersey’s 57th governor.
“I went to a building the other day where normally I could gather 60 or 70 signatures. I only could get 30 because of the holiday. So even if I had more people on the streets, the real problem is they’re away,” said Cresitello, who represented himself in court. “This is the shortest petition window and highest signature requirement in modern history for congressional races.”
Minkowitz challenged the premise that the special election was a surprise and said Cresitello, like other candidates, had the opportunity to build an organization to collect signatures.
“I mean, it’s not been a secret. As soon as the governor-elect put her hat in the ring to run for governor, it was on notice to everyone that that seat, if she won, would become vacant, and therefore, Anybody had the opportunity from that moment on to garner an organization of whatever sorts they wanted to,” Minkowitz said. “That statutes are not a secret.”
Cresitello told Minkowitz that the process of gathering signatures is just a veiled way for political powerbrokers to make it more difficult for outsiders to run for office.
“Quite frankly, I think that gathering signatures is archaic, but 500 is simply burdensome,” he said. “I didn’t expect Mikie to resign so quickly. If she had resigned a week later, I might not be here with you because it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving week.
Cresitello asked the court to reduce the signature requirement approved by the legislature earlier this year. Minkowitz said the condensed timeline doesn’t prevent him from running for Congress, noting that a candidate could file as an independent with 250 signatures up to February 5.
At one point, Cresitello appeared to anger Minkowitz by dropping the name of another judge.
Minkowitz had asked him a question about his judicial authority.
“I may have to ask my nephew, the assignment judge,” Cresitello said, referring to Michael V. Cresitello, Jr., the assignment judge in an adjacent vicinige.
“Let’s not go there, Mr. Cresitello,” Minkowitz stated. “That’s inappropriate.”
Deputy Attorney General Marc Gulbranson said the deadlines were established to meet multiple legal requirements before the February 4 special primary election, including a federal law requiring military ballots to be sent 45 days before the election.
Murphy provided three additional days for petitions than he did last year in the 10th district, where candidates had seven days to obtain signatures to run in a special primary election following the death of Rep. Donald Payne, Jr. (D-Newark).
Minkowitz said he expects a written decision by the end of today.
