| One wonders how this news will go down in the front office of the most political governor in New Jersey's history, the Unitary Executive Chris Christie, whose number 2 on his ticket is also - Katherine Harris style - the top election official in New Jersey, by his order.
In the latest development in Olympic gold medalist and Democrat Carl Lewis' efforts to get on the LD-8 ballot for Senate, a federal judge has just ordered LG Kim Guadagno (who also serves Gov. Christie in a dual capacity as Secretary of State), NJ Attorney General Paula Dow and the three county clerks inside the 8th District to show why Lewis should not be included in the vote-by-mail primary election ballots due to be sent out Thursday.
Yesterday, in a highly questionable and certainly controversial decision, Guadagno knocked Lewis off the LD-8 ballot. In doing so she granted the position taken by Republicans that Lewis does not meet residency requirements. Administrative law judge John Schuster 3rd had earlier dismissed the GOP residency challenge, saying the Republicans failed to meet the burden of proof.
Guadagno's decision yesterday produced a howl among Democrats. And for his part, Lewis - who says Christie tried to talk him out of running - says it looks to him like Christie pushed Guadagno to rule against him.
Lewis has already filed suit against Guadagno in federal court, claiming the residency requirement violates the US constitution, and his civil rights, and requesting a restraining order on printing and mailing primary ballots without his name. US District Court Judge Noel Hillman said if Lewis is eventually found eligible to run "the mailing of inaccurate or incomplete primary election ballots could constitute irreparable harm and confuse voters on a matter of fundamental public interest." Hillman's order essentially keeps Lewis on the ballot, at least for now. And it requires state and county clerks to make their case against an injunction sending those ballots out. The parties meet at the U.S. District Court in the District of New Jersey in Camden at 1 p.m. tomorrow. |
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