ELEC

The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission voted 3-0 today against allowing former State Sen. Wayne Bryant to use leftover campaign funds to pay for his legal defense.  Bryant, who left office earlier this month with $650,000 remaining in his warchest, has been indicted on 20 counts of corruption.

Governor Jon Corzine will fill the Republican seat on the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission “within weeks or even days,” according to his spokesman, Jim Gardner. The seat has been vacant since Corzine named Judge Theodore Davis to serve as the Chief Operating Officer of Camden in December 2006.

Earlier this week, ELEC postponed a decision on the use of campaign funds to pay attorney fees in a criminal corruption case by a 2-1 vote, with the lone Republican Commissioner voting against the postponement. Republican National Committeeman David Norcross sharply criticized Corzine for leaving the GOP seat vacant for more than a year, calling it “inexcusable.” Norcross, a former ELEC Executive Director, said the law requires the commission to be bi-partisan.

The vote by the Election Law Enforcement Commission to postpone a ruling allowing a candidate to use campaign funds for their legal defense in a criminal matter was along party lines: Democratic Commissioners Jerry English and Albert Burstein voted to postpone the issue, while Republican Commissioner Peter Tober voted no.

While state law requires ELEC to be equally divided among both political parties, Democrats have enjoyed a 2-1 majority since December 2006, when Governor Jon Corzine named one of the Republican Commissioners, retired Judge Theodore Davis to serve as the Chief Operating Officer of the City of Camden. 

Had the Republican seat been filled, it is possible that the motion to postpone the decision would have been tied at 2-2 – lacking the votes to pass.  That would have forced ELEC to act today.

The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission is expected to issue an advisory opinion in about two weeks on former State Senator Wayne Bryant’s ability to use his leftover campaign funds to help finance his legal defense.  Bryant, who has about $650,000 in his warchest, has been indicted on twenty counts of official corruption.   Another former State Senator, Joseph Coniglio, has already used about $90,000 from his campaign account to pay his lawyer.  Coniglio, who is the target of a federal probe but has not been charged, dropped his bid for re-election last year. 

ROBERTS PRESCRIBES THREE CHANGES
TO IMPROVE, STRENGTHEN CLEAN ELECTIONS
Speaker Wants to Keep Leftover Clean Election Funds for Possible Use in Local Elections

(TRENTON) - Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr., today outlined a series of changes in the state's Clean Elections program so that it may have a greater impact on future legislative campaigns.