Schwaneberg for ELEC E.D.?
By Wally EdgeThe announcement today that Dr. Frederick Herrmann will retire after 23 years as Executive Director of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission prompts speculation on his successor. While Herrmann had built a reputation as a non-partisan enforcer of campaign finance laws, his three predecessors came from political backgrounds – and while the new Executive Director will be named by the four ELEC Commissioners (two Democrats and two Republicans), it’s more likely that Gov. Jon Corzine will influence the process.
With some senior Star-Ledger reporters being offered buyouts, one possible candidate for Herrmann’s $125,000-a-year job is Robert Schwaneberg, who spent years covering state government, including the Judiciary and ELEC. Schwaneberg, the husband of New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Helen Hoens, is well-liked by Corzine and by Democratic and Republican leaders. One front office insider suggested that several soon-to-be former Star-Ledger reporters will find their way into the administration.
For extreme junkies: ELEC has had four Executive Directors: David Norcross, who was an aide to Gov. William Cahill when the commission was created (he later served as GOP State Chairman and was the 1976 Republican U.S. Senate nominee); Lewis Thurston, a Senate Republican staffer and later Chief of Staff to Gov. Tom Kean; and Scott Weiner, a Democratic operative who later served in Gov. Jim Florio’s cabinet.
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He's no Hermann
Fred Hermann has a PhD, and despite what anyone's personal feelings are about the strengths and weaknesses of ELEC, its pretty much without doubt that Hermann was a brilliant guy and a capable executive.
Of course the laws have been insufficient, but that's the fault of the Legislature, not Hermann.
I don't see how a newspaper reporter is at all qualified for this type of position. Schwaneberg's credentials are nowhere near Hermann's. His wife's resume doesn't count.
Bad Reporting...
The Ledger staff will find their way into the Corzine Adninistration? Everyone knows the Ledger is part of the Governor's Office already. They have been for a long, long, long time.
No Newspaper Reporter
There is apparently bipartisan agreement, since I agree with Mr. Democrat that someone who is a newspaper reporter, as such, is not qualified to be Exec. Director of ELEC. Why not appoint the Deputy Exec. Director, Jeffrey Brindle, who has a very long tenure with ELEC, as Exec. Director?
Draft Alan Rosenthal
Why not someone from academia?
Jeff Brindle for Executive Director
The only logical and right choice to replace Fred Herrman as Executive Director is Jeff Brindle. He has been a loyal and capable Deputy Director at ELEC for over 20 years. He knows election law inside and out and has the integrity and skills this job needs.