the staff of the Ridgewood blog
PARK RIDGE, NJ — The effort to recall Park Ridge Board of Education member Robert Fisher Jr. has hit a legal hurdle after Fisher formally challenged the validity of the petitions filed against him.
Fisher, who became one of New Jersey’s youngest school board members when elected in 2023, filed a challenge with the Bergen County Clerk’s Office on Friday, Aug. 22. In a letter dated Aug. 20, his attorney, Michael Collins, argued that recall supporters failed to properly notarize their petitions — a critical step under New Jersey’s recall election laws.
“The Recall Petition fails to comply with the statutory requirement that the circulators complete a signature under oath and affidavit,” Collins wrote, calling the defect “uncurable.”
Why the Recall Was Launched
The recall effort against Fisher began earlier this year, after residents raised concerns about his attendance and residency. Fisher, now a Vanderbilt University student in Nashville, has been criticized for missing school board meetings and declining to serve on committees.
The recall committee submitted 2,141 signatures earlier this month — surpassing the required 1,864 signatures needed for a recall vote. Critics also claim Fisher maintained his Park Ridge residency through a $10 rental agreement with a homeowner after his parents moved out of town.
What Happens Next
According to Sabrina Taranto, a supervisor in the Elections Division, county officials are currently reviewing Fisher’s challenge. If the objection is rejected, the Clerk’s Office would issue a certificate of sufficiency, forcing Fisher to either:
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Resign within five days, or
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Face a recall election on Nov. 4, when voters would decide his future on the board.
Fisher’s Response
Fisher, who could not be reached on Friday, has previously said he intends to keep his seat and return to Park Ridge after graduation.
“Like many college students, I chose to maintain my residency in the town where I grew up and continue to have longstanding connections to the community,” Fisher said last month. He added that his residency agreement has been recognized by the borough, county, and state.
On his absences, Fisher has argued that travel costs thousands of dollars but that he continues to return to New Jersey for meetings. He also said he won’t serve on committees unless they are opened to the public or required to keep official minutes.
Recall Committee Pushback
Laura Clark, a founder of the recall committee, said she believes the petitions will hold up under review.
“There is no requirement for notarization when it comes to the circulators’ statements and signatures,” Clark said, citing a June 24 email from the clerk’s office outlining signature-gathering rules.
Clark added that recall supporters are “anxiously waiting” for the county attorney’s determination.
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$10.00 rental agreement is farcical.
Toss him out for not being a bond-fide resident.
Bet his personal property is in parents new house.
Not farcical, fraudulent. Market rent for any residential space in Park Ridge or Bergen County for that matter, with a mailing address would be upward of $40 per square foot. Drag his ass back from Tennessee for all hearings or find him in contempt. BTW, what address is on is driver’s license? If it says his former address, he has violated the state’s requirements too.
He used the fraudulent rental/”roommate” address on his driver’s license change of address form. That’s a felony in NJ, if it turns out that he really doesn’t live there — not merely a mailing address, but REALLY lives there, as in making that address the center of his domestic life. Likewise, he used that address on his voter registration document. Time will tell whether or not he will be held to account for these actions.
Dweeb
The state-provided petition circulator forms do not have a space for notarization stamp, nor for name/signature of notary, nor do they say on them that they must be notarized. The relevant passage of Election law says:
“19:27A-9 Circulator of recall petition.
9. a. A circulator of a recall petition shall not be required to be a registered voter, but shall be voter eligible, which means at least 18 years of age, a resident of this State, a citizen of the United States, and not otherwise disqualified under the New Jersey Constitution.
b. Each completed page of any section of a recall petition which is filed with the recall election official shall include at the bottom of that page an affidavit signed by the circulator of that section which sets forth the following: (1) the printed name of the circulator; (2) the address of the circulator; (3) a statement that the circulator assumed responsibility for circulating that section, that the circulator witnessed the signing of that page by each person whose signature appears thereon, that, to the best information and belief of the circulator, the signers are legal residents of the State and of the county in which the section was circulated, and that the section was circulated in absolute good faith for the purpose of causing the recall of the elected official named in the petition; (4) the dates between which all signatures to that page were collected; and (5) a statement, signed by the circulator, as to the truth and correctness of the aforesaid information.”
While the law says, “..an affidavit signed by the circulator…”, again, it does NOT say that the form/affidavit must by notarized. Since the County Clerk stipulated in writing when directly queried about whether notarization was needed that no such notarization was required, the recall organizers reasonably relied on her advice, which is supported by the letter and spirit of the law, and which clearly was not intended to subvert the will of 2141 registered voters who signed the petition, whether or not there was any unintended omission, which there was not.
The recall petition signatures will be certified, and Mr. Fisher will be subject to recall on the Nov. 4th ballot, unless he decides to resign within 5 days of certification.
None of the 2,141 signatures were challenged. There would have had to be hundreds and hundreds of circulator forms. It would be a ridiculous burden on the public to get all of that notarized. Everything was done according to the directions of the clerk. All voters can weigh at the next election and they will resulting in a crushing and embarrassing loss for he that is bring recalled. Robert Fisher has not been seen in Park Ridge since he flew in on May 19 just to attend that BOE meeting, except for individuals who sponsored his candidacy. It seems that there may be a criminal conspiracy to committ election fraud going on. Elected officials must live in the district they serve. Robert Fisher’s dad sold his home in a gated community and therefore the Fisher family has nothing to lose if property values are lowered when chaos agents like Robert Fisher defund the school system