NJ’s No. 2 is gone. Will Sherrill step up? (Opinion)
New Jersey suddenly has a new person overseeing its elections just a few weeks before Election Day.
Lieutenant Governor Dale Caldwell resigned Friday after Gov. Mikie Sherrill called on him to step down following an independent investigation into his conduct.
Because Caldwell also served as secretary of state, his departure created a vacancy in the office responsible for overseeing New Jersey elections.
Sherrill appointed Acting State Comptroller Shirley Emehelu as acting secretary of state.
The governor announced the change Friday.
When the investigation became public, I argued that allegations should not automatically become convictions in the court of public opinion.
After the report came out, I wrote that Caldwell should defend himself, especially because he and his attorney disputed important findings and challenged the fairness of the investigation.
I still believe in due process, but Caldwell succumbed to political pressure and resigned. New Jersey now has to move forward.
The Governor is still obsessed with fighting Trump
Sherrill acknowledged that elections must run smoothly, and that voters must have confidence in the officials overseeing them.
Emehelu has substantial legal and management experience: nine years as a federal prosecutor, private practice, service as the third-ranking official in New Jersey's Attorney General's Office, and a stint as acting state comptroller.
Her published résumé does not identify prior experience administering elections.
That does not mean she cannot do the job, but experience and a rise above partisan politics deserve consideration if we are going to restore public confidence in our elections.
Sherrill described Emehelu as having “the judgment to run our elections” and “the strength to stand up to Trump’s attacks on voting.”
Those were Sherrill's words.
When the appointment of a chief election overseer is characterized in this way, we have a problem.
The election integrity fight isn't going away
The problem originates with the exposed issue of thousands of non-citizens registered to vote in New Jersey and the hundreds that we now know have cast ballots.
According to the Trump Administration there are potentially tens of thousands of more where they came from; that's an enormous problem.
For the Governor to characterize the action of preventing non-citizens from voting as an 'attack on voters and our Democracy' are ridiculous and wildly off base.
Over the weekend, I had several conversations about whether the governor could have approached this extraordinary situation differently.
Could a temporary appointment of someone with direct election experience or demonstrated cross-party credibility have strengthened public confidence?
One of the Trump administration's stated priorities is citizenship verification.
A March executive order directs additional federal steps involving citizenship data and voter eligibility. Federal law already prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections.
The legality and scope of the administration's proposed measures, including the proper division of federal and state authority, remain separate questions.
Sherrill's administration says eligible citizens should be able to vote while ineligible registrations are removed.
Still, she is pushing back on the legitimate investigation and actions from the Federal Government.
Why?
The state says it was an MVC 'software error' that led to improperly registered roughly 6,600 people who had indicated they were not U.S. citizens between June 2023 and June 2024.
Of course, the software company disputes this, and I was quick to point out that NJ has a much bigger problem than the few thousand voters exposed here.
For the Governor's part, she had no choice but to deal with the issue.
In an August update, the administration said about 5,100 records had been placed in deleted status and about 1,450 in rejected status pending further review.
It said approximately 340 people newly registered through the error voted.
Given that we have some local elections decided by a handful of cotes, where those votes were cast matters, and the Gov has been silent on that so far.
Perhaps Secretary of State Dale Caldwell disagreed with the Sherrill administration directives to fight Trump at every turn and ignore the potential of a much greater problem in our voting system.
Need a new secretary of state? How about a friend and donor?
Why Emehelu's political ties are raising questions
Emehelu and Sherrill have known each other for many years, including time working together as federal prosecutors.
Emehelu made campaign contributions to Sherrill's congressional campaigns, and Sherrill publicly praised her appointment to then-Attorney General Matthew Platkin's leadership team.
This reads as classic New Jersey politics: Who do you know, and how much have you contributed?
Now, to be fair, political ties and contributions alone do not prove that an appointee will administer elections unfairly.
It does, however, show that the Governor is doubling down on partisan politics and seemingly has no desire to put election integrity as the focus.
As for her time with the former AG, Emehelu served from May 2022 until September 2024 as executive assistant attorney general, the department's third-ranking official.
According to the Attorney General's Office, she coordinated the work of civil litigation and regulatory units, including the Division of Law, Consumer Affairs and Civil Rights.
Why is this important? Republican Assembly members later introduced a resolution seeking Platkin's impeachment.
They alleged failures involving criminal-justice oversight, an improper state takeover of the Paterson Police Department, refusal to defend a state election law, and political targeting of pregnancy resource centers.
The pregnancy-center dispute is significant on its own terms.
Platkin's office subpoenaed donor information from First Choice Women's Resource Centers.
In April, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that First Choice could pursue its First Amendment challenge in federal court.
Again, some events occurred after she left the office; and it's unclear how involved she was in the contested actions.
The point is, we now have a politically connected insider who, according to the Governor, is ready to fight Donald Trump.
New Jersey deserved better than this.
New Jersey residents have long suffered at the hands of hyper-partisan politics, and the players involved who are more interested in satisfying ambition and thanking donors than in delivering actual public service to constituents.
Perhaps, as the Governor is clearly eyeing a run for higher office, it's not too late for her to do the right thing.
What if, instead of playing insider politics, the Governor acted as a leader for all New Jerseyans and appointed an experienced former public official as an interim caretaker through Election Day?
As well as the immediate post-election period until all of the votes were counted and winners declared?
The assignment could be narrow: work with county officials, administer existing law, communicate clearly about registration corrections and oversee an orderly certification.
Sherrill could then make a longer-term choice after the election.
This is not intended to attack the Governor or even tell her who I specifically think she should appoint.
Rather, my intention is to show that there are plenty of qualified people in the Garden State who have earned the respect of both Republicans and Democrats, and have the experience to get the job done and aren’t Trenton insiders.
Alternatives who could bring a different perspective
Want a few types of unique resumes that would immediately restore confidence in New Jersey elections?
Below are three.
Would Sherrill ever appoint them? Nope.
Would these three even be interested in the job? Unlikely.
Instead of appointing an insider or crony with the security of our elections on the line, I use these examples to illustrate the outside-of-the-box thinking that Governor Sherrill could, or should, be using with Election Day just five weeks away.
Kathleen Donovan
Donovan served for more than two decades as a countywide elected offcial in Bergen County, the state’s largest county.
Kathleen served as Bergen County clerk, a job directly involved in election administration, and later as county executive.
She is a Republican, but she brings the hands-on election experience most relevant to a short-term transition.
Jeff Chiesa
Chiesa served as New Jersey attorney general and briefly as a U.S. senator.
His background is in law enforcement and statewide management, both of which are critical to running safe and fair elections.
His confirmation as attorney general by a 37–0 Senate vote speaks to the breadth of bipartisan support he received at the time.
Tom MacArthur
MacArthur is a former congressman and Randolph mayor, and offers a different credential.
The Lugar Center–McCourt Bipartisan Index ranked him 15th among House members in the 115th Congress, based on legislative work across party lines.
The secretary of state's job is to follow the law, protect eligible voters, prevent ineligible voting, maintain accurate rolls and report the results transparently.
Sherrill herself set the right standard when she said New Jerseyans need confidence in the officials overseeing their elections.
With the chief election officer sacrificed on the altar of politics weeks before Election Day, an appointment which combines experience, stability, independence and public trust would be the smartest choice for the Governor.
Instead, Sherrill picked politics over policy.
The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own
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Gallery Credit: Jen Ursillo
The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own.
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