Michael Elms can be added to the Democratic slate of council candidates on the June 4 primary ballot, replacing Morristown Councilman Kevin Gsell, who bowed out after a deadline for changes had passed, a judge ruled on Thursday.
At the same time, the judge shot down a surprise move by Democratic challengers to add resident Christine Conti-Collins to the ballot as a challenger to Mayor Tim Dougherty.
State Superior Court Judge Stephan Hansbury said the Michael Elms decision came down to a balancing act:
“The bottom line is, I have to weigh the right of voters to vote for six people [on the ballot] vs. the administrative inconvenience of doing so. There appears to be little administrative inconvenience,” the judge said at a hearing in Morristown.
The Morristown Democratic Committee agreed to pay an estimated $500 for Morris County to re-print absentee ballots with Michael Elms’ name replacing that of Kevin Gsell, who told town officials he was withdrawing because he is buying a home in Morris Township.
The committee indicated to the judge that it satisfied a legal requirement by obtaining half of the same signatures that appeared on Kevin Gsell’s original nominating petition, ensuring that the will of those voters is respected.
So Michael Elms, a realtor and former campaign treasurer for the Mayor, will join council incumbents Michelle Dupree Harris and Toshiba Foster and the Mayor on the Democratic slate.
They are being challenged in the primary by council contenders Jessica Williamson, Tommy Alexander and Michael Pooler, who, along with Christine Conti-Collins, hired attorney Alan Zakin to represent them in court to oppose adding Michael Elms to the ticket.
Alan Zakin argued that the April 10 deadline for changes had passed. He further contended that Jessica Williamson, a member of the Democratic committee, had not been notified of committee meetings to choose the initial slate or to replace Kevin Gsell. Jessica’s requests for the committee’s bylaws and minutes also were not answered, and she questioned some of the signatures obtained on behalf of Michael Elms, the lawyer said.
And then, in a move labeled a “Hail Mary” by the Democratic committee’s lawyer, Dan Zwillenberg, Alan Zakin asked that if Michael Elms were added to the ballot, Christine Conti-Collins should be added, too, as a mayoral candidate.
Alan later explained that since the court was liberally construing election laws to allow maximum participation by candidates and voters, it was a valid request to add Christine’s name.
But the judge deemed the request a separate matter and nixed it.
“There is no issue before me on mayoral candidates because a vacancy was not created [on the ballot for mayor]. This is an entirely new political candidate,” Judge Hansbury said.
Christine, a former zoning board member who is retired from the telecom industry, attended the hearing but declined to comment afterward. Last year, Christine filed complaints against downtown bars and demanded tighter regulation. This month, she spoke in favor of a bar application and was critical of town officials.
Jessica Williamson and Tommy Alexander also attended Thursday’s court hearing, but did not comment.
Alan Zakin said he would discuss an appeal with them.
Michael Elms was not present. The town was represented by lawyer Rajiv Parikh and attorney Dan O’Mullan was there for Morris County. Town Attorney Vij Pawar and town Clerk Matt Stechauner also watched the proceedings.
Mary Dougherty, Morristown’s Democratic committee chairperson, was pleased with the outcome.
“It’s wonderful that the judge gave Democrats of Morristown a fair choice in who they want to represent them,” said Mary, who is married to the Mayor.
She also showed reporters copies of emails that she had sent to Jessica Williamson and other committee members informing them about a March 7 nominating meeting, and an April 17 phone conference to name Kevin Gsell’s replacement.
“We run good, clean elections. We don’t get into drama,” Mary said after the judge’s ruling. “I wish all the candidates all the best, and we’ll see who the people choose on June 4.”
