A Superior Court judge this week tossed a lawsuit filed by the former executive director of the state’s election commission who claimed he was pushed out of his job by former Gov. Phil Murphy in retaliation for writing a satirical article criticizing dark money in politics.
Judge Douglas H. Hurd ruled in favor of Murphy and some of his top deputies, who had argued that Jeff Brindle, who once led the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, had no First Amendment protection against termination because Brindle conceded he wrote the article pursuant to his official duties.
If Brindle doesn’t appeal Hurd’s ruling, the decision ends a legal fight that started three years ago. Brindle’s attorney did not return a request for comment. A Murphy spokesman declined to comment.
Brindle published the article at the center of the case, “How Not to Enter Politics (A Satire),” in October 2022. He claimed top Murphy officials almost immediately demanded he resign over an email in which Brindle mocked National Coming Out Day to a staffer, and when he wouldn’t, they suggested they would release it to the press to embarrass him.
The dispute went public months later when lawmakers unveiled an election finance bill that aimed to give the governor the power to appoint and dismiss members of the Election Law Enforcement Commission without legislative approval (Murphy signed the bill in April 2023).
Brindle filed his lawsuit in March 2023, and in July 2024, a judge dismissed most of his claims but allowed his First Amendment claim to proceed. He announced his intention to retire that month and he formally stepped down that November.
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