Bring On The Carpetbaggers

by: deciminyan

Wed Dec 21, 2011 at 10:18:05 AM EST

The holy grail of any democracy is the ability of citizens to vote for the candidate of their choice. Some people vote on whether they agree or disagree with the candidate's platform, but that's not the only criterion for choosing one person over another.

People may vote for someone based on good looks, ethnicity, past movie star or athletic status, or even the spelling of his or her name. But one criterion that restricts a voter's choice is the place where the candidate happens to live. That needs to be changed.

deciminyan :: Bring On The Carpetbaggers

In this past election, citizens of the eighth legislative district were denied a choice in the state senatorial election when the Republicans successfully kicked long-time New Jersey resident Carl Lewis off the ballot because Mr. Lewis maintained residences in New Jersey and California. The courts ruled that since Mr. Lewis had voted in the Golden State, he was ineligible to hold office in the Garden State.

This decision denied the voters a choice. On the Democratic side was a man who was not only a multiple gold medalist but chaired a foundation to better the lives of children. On the GOP side was an incumbent senator who had been appointed to that post by the Republican establishment, not the voters. It would have been an interesting contest in this heavily GOP district, but the voters were not allowed to choose based on the residency laws.

Now, we're seeing the residency battle again - this time in the fourth legislative district, where newcomer Gabriella Mosquera (along with her running mate Paul Moriarty) handily defeated Republican challengers. Mosquera's election is being challenged by runner-up Shelley Lovett, who asserts that Mosquera did not meet the one-year residency requirement as stated in the New Jersey Constitution.

Let me say at the outset that I would not be upset if Lovett won this case in court. She is a moderate Republican and as far as I can tell, Mosquera would be a conservative Democrat. Not much difference there, and strengthening the moderate wing of the Tea Party-controlled GOP would be beneficial to the citizens of New Jersey.

But Mosquera won, and an unfavorable court decision might be necessary based on current law. The will of the voters would be ignored. This needs to be changed.

The United States Constitution requires that in order for a person to be elected to the Senate, he or she must simply be "an inhabitant" of the state to be represented on the day of election. We should amend the New Jersey Constitution to eliminate the one-year local residency requirement for legislators. If a qualified carpetbagger wants to represent me in Trenton, I should have the choice of taking his or her prior residency into account and voting accordingly.

There's yet another residency battle brewing. Multimillionaire William Mennen is vying for the GOP seat vacated by the death of Assemblyman Pete Biondi. The election will be in November, 2012, and Mennen does not live in the district, so there's no way he can meet the one-year requirement. But that hasn't stopped him. He's fighting in court to be on the Republican primary ballot against district resident William Spadea. Interestingly, Mennen is using the same constitutional arguments that ultimately failed for Carl Lewis. And while I feel that the voters of the 16th should decide, I'm glad to see Mennen spending his fortune on this fight. After all, there are some really awesome Democrats in the 16th, and I expect one of them to win the seat in November. Let the voters decide!

Tags: Carl Lewis, Gabriella Mosquera, William Spadea, William Mennen, Pete Biondi, US Constitution, New Jersey Constitution, LD-16, LD-4, (All Tags)

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Bring On The Carpetbaggers | 4 comments

Mennen just dropped out of the race (0.00 / 0)

http://www.politickernj.com/53...

Readington Councilwoman Donna Simon is running for the seat now, although I doubt she can clear the field the way Mennan was supposed to.

"We are the leaders we've been waiting for." - Paul Wellstone

by: Stephen Yellin @ Wed Dec 21, 2011 at 16:44:28 PM UTC

by: you @ soon

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I'll say it again (0.00 / 0)

I don't recall this issue being raised at all during the campaign. Why did the GOP wait until after the election to raise it?
It would be troubling if the court reversed the result of an election that was not even close. This is not quite the same as the Lewis case as Moquera has lived in NJ far more than the required 4 years and in the district 11 months, one month shy of the one year requirement. Hardly a carpetbagger.

Blog: Pick's Place

by: jeffpickens @ Wed Dec 21, 2011 at 23:57:05 PM UTC

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I believe in the rule of law (0.00 / 0)

If this were to be challenged during the campaign, I would probably say the same thing I said about Carl Lewis: the law is the law. If you don't like it, change the law.

But regardless of what the law says, I agree with Jeff in this situation. Gabby was elected by a very impressive margin. The people have already chosen their representative. The will of the people should not be reversed at this point.

If the GOP is successful in this court challenge, what happens? Will Lovett assume the seat? Will the Democrats choose a replacement? Will there be a new election?

by: southernbluedog @ Thu Dec 22, 2011 at 06:25:16 AM UTC

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GOP thought they had this in the bag (0.00 / 0)

This is pure speculation on my part, but I think the GOP saw Gabby as the weakest of the four candidates, and if they got her tossed off the ballot, a replacement Dem candidate may have been harder to beat. They were caught off guard by not only the the result, but the large margin on victory. I have no proof but this how I think they saw it.

Blog: Pick's Place

by: jeffpickens @ Thu Dec 22, 2011 at 13:06:15 PM UTC

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