Record 9/21: Judge Upholds Zisa's Victory

The Record reported today on Teaneck Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg's failed attempt to have five unopened ballots counted in balloting to fill Byron Baer's vacated 37th District Senate seat. See today's Record or click on http://tinyurl.com/7hjfs for the complete text of the article at the Record's http://www.Bergen.com web site (registration required).

Judge upholds Zisa's victory Wednesday, September 21, 2005 By SCOTT FALLON STAFF WRITER

A Superior Court judge effectively upheld Hackensack Police Chief Ken Zisa's state Senate victory Tuesday by dismissing Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg's request to open five disqualified ballots that could have given her the win.

Judge Peter Doyne said in his ruling that he was reluctant to interfere in intra-party squabbles especially when there was no conflict between state law and the Bergen County Democratic Organization's bylaws.

"We believe we were right on the law," Zisa said after the ruling was issued. "The judge made the right decision and now I will go on to serve the people of the 37th District."

Weinberg said she would decide today whether to appeal the ruling.

"I hope we can all move forward," Zisa said. "The longer this drags on, the worse it is for our party."

The conflict came after county Democratic committee members on Thursday voted 114-110 for Zisa to fill retired Sen. Byron Baer's seat through November and 112-111 for him to be on the Election Day ballot.

Rep. Steve Rothman, D-Fair Lawn, who was called in by both sides to oversee the election, disqualified the five ballots from Tenafly because the voters' names were not forwarded to party leaders 30 days before a special election.

Weinberg's lawyers argued that Rothman should not disenfranchise voters because of an apparent error by the Tenafly Democratic chairman. They also said the 30-day rule had not been enforced in the past.

But Doyne said state courts historically acted with "judicial humility" by refraining from ruling on a party controversy.

"There is no suggestion that Rothman acted in other than an honorable fashion, although [Weinberg and the five Tenafly voters] suggest erroneously so," he wrote.

"This court should not, and therefore shall not, substitute its determination as somehow superior to Rothman's."

The ruling was sent by e-mail to the parties after a brief hearing Tuesday afternoon. It was a bit anti-climatic considering the small courtroom was packed with about 50 people - most of them Weinberg supporters - who thought the ruling was going to be delivered from the bench.

Among those attending were the self-dubbed "Tenafly Five," who said they voted for Weinberg. The late filing was an honest mistake, they contend.

"Sometimes volunteers don't follow every rule," said Daniel Kornfeld whose vote, and that of his wife, Constance, were not counted.

"It's very easy to overlook something," he said. "It seemed inconsequential up to this point. There's never been a reason to make a brouhaha over this. This is what we've done for decades."

Another of the five, Paul Bernstein, said the bylaws are too stringent. "It's such a narrow interpretation," he said.

The election was watched statewide after Sen. Jon Corzine, now the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, endorsed Weinberg. Many saw it as a direct challenge to county Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero, who supported Zisa. He criticized Corzine for meddling in a local election.

Even though she lost, Weinberg said the battle for the seat was the first step in reforming an organization that has been criticized for pay-to-play practices - awarding lucrative government contracts to campaign donors - and Ferriero's autocratic rule.

"I am putting people on notice," she said. "This is the first step in opening up this party. We need it."

Copyright © 2005 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

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