Record 9/20: Judge to Hear Challenge to Senate Election

As reported in today's Record, Judge Peter Doyne has agreed to hear Teaneck Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg's challenge to the results of the Bergen County Democratic Committee caucus held last Thursday to select a replacement for Byron Baer's Senate seat. The hearing will take place this afternoon at 3:30 PM. See today's Record or click on http://tinyurl.com/bd7xn for the item at the Record's http://www.Bergen.com web site (registration required).

Judge to hear challenge to Senate election Tuesday, September 20, 2005 By SCOTT FALLON STAFF WRITER

The fate of Byron Baer's state Senate seat could be decided as early as today when a Superior Court judge hears Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg's challenge to the special Democratic election last week.

Weinberg will ask Judge Peter Doyne to count five unopened ballots that were disqualified in her defeat Thursday at a Bergen County party convention to Hackensack Police Chief Ken Zisa.

Weinberg believes all of those ballots are in her favor. If she's right and the judge opens the ballots, Zisa's 114-110 victory to fill Baer's seat through November and 112-111 win to be on the November ballot would be overturned.

The hearing is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. in Hackensack.

The five ballots were cast by county Democratic committee members from Tenafly. They were appointed to their posts in June, but their names were not forwarded to the Bergen County Democratic Organization until the day before the vote on a successor to Baer, who retired.

Under the organization's bylaws, the names of new members have to be sent to the organization 30 days before a special election. Rep. Steve Rothman, D-Fair Lawn, who was called in by both sides to oversee the election, disqualified the ballots.

"They are duly elected county committee members," Weinberg said. "The only problem has to do with paperwork filed to the Bergen County Democratic Organization."

Zisa said he hopes the judge declines to rule on the case.

"No court has ever interfered with the inner workings of a party in 50 years in this state," he said.

Zisa said that there were several inconsistencies with the filing of the five Tenafly names, including one committee member, Roger Politzer, who was replaced but never resigned his seat.

But Politzer won't factor into today's court case. Politzer, a Weinberg supporter, was allowed to vote Thursday.

"It was completely inadvertent," said Michael Barnes, the Tenafly chairman. "Roger had said he didn't want to be on the committee and I thought that was enough for a resignation.

"It's moot anyway. Roger had always been a Weinberg supporter and his vote counted."

Politzer could not be reached for comment Monday.

"This isn't the case of accidental oversight," Zisa said. "They failed to comply with virtually every bylaw of the county organization."

If Weinberg loses her court battle, it would be a victory for county Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero, who supported Zisa.

Weinberg's candidacy and her endorsement from U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, was seen as the first threat to Ferriero's control over the party in the county.

Copyright © 2005 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

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