Do Republicans even care?

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 request for an advisory opinion came from a lawyer representing Wayne Bryant, the former Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman who has been indicted on twenty counts of official corruption.  Another ex-Senator with legal trouble, Joseph Coniglio, never asked ELEC for permission – he has already used about $90,000 in leftover campaign funds to pay his attorney.

In late October, when the commission was dealing with potentially sensitive campaign finance matters -- like whether Democratic Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein should receive $100,000 in Clean Elections relief money – Corzine appointed Gabriella Morris as the new Republican Commissioner.  The appointment was withdrawn one day later when Corzine realized that Morris, who handles government affairs for Prudential, could not hold the post because ELEC also regulates lobbyists.