Bergen Judge Orders Former East Rutherford Republican off the Democratic Ballot

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

East Rutherford NJ, The Record newspaper reported on Friday, September 28, 2018 that East Rutherford Councilman Jeffrey Lahullier will not be allowed on November’s ballot, and local Democrats will have only one candidate for two open council seats this election.

A Superior Court judge ruled Friday in favor of Republican council candidate Joel Brizzi in his suit against Lahullier, the Bergen County Clerk and the East Rutherford Democratic County Committee to block the incumbent’s candidacy.

Statement from republican candidate Joel Brizzi who challenged the legal candidacy of Republican Councilman Jeffrey Lahullier :

“Superior Court Judge Estela De La Cruz ruled today ruled that the East Rutherford Democratic Party cannot run former Republican Councilman Jeff Lahullier as their Borough Council candidate this year. The Judge also ruled that the Democrats have run out of time to fill their 2018 council ticket and will have to run just one candidate for local office.
I applaud the Judge’s decision because it supports the rule of law, which has been well settled in matters such as this. What is obvious is that the local Democratic leaders chose to ignore the law to suit their own political goals.
What I find most upsetting about this episode is that the local Democratic Party and Mr. Lahullier have tied up our town’s council election for more than three weeks as the Bergen County Clerk’s office and the courts sorted out the facts of this case.
East Rutherford doesn’t need this kind of political intrigue simply to elect two people to the Borough Council. We deserve better.
We don’t need political bosses pulling strings behind the scenes as they seek to get an advantage on Election Day.
Our candidates and our elected officials have to be answerable to the people who live in our community – and only to them.
As a candidate for council this year, I pledge to run a campaign – with my running mate Tom Banca – on issues that are important to the future of our town and the people who live here.”