A day after he was ousted as a member of the commission redrawing New Jersey’s legislative districts, former state Senate President Stephen Sweeney filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to be reinstated.
The suit, filed in state Superior Court in Mercer County, claims state Democratic Party Chairman LeRoy Jones removed Sweeney in a “unilateral and unlawful” way, “without cause or authority.”
“I’m dumbfounded,” Sweeney, a South Jersey Democrat, told NJ Advance Media after his attorneys filed the suit. “I haven’t done anything wrong. I’m a loyal Democrat.”
An attorney for Jones — an Essex County Democrat who oversees the party’s delegation on the commission — dismissed the suit’s claims, saying the chairman was within his authority to boot Sweeney.
This all comes just weeks after Sweeney left the Senate, having lost re-election in a stunning upset that ended his 12-year tenure as president, the longest in New Jersey history.
Sweeney was appointed to the redistricting commission nearly two years before his loss, but Jones announced Wednesday he removed the former lawmaker because it’s his “responsibility and duty to select standard bearers who will best represent the Democratic Party’s interests.”
“No person or organization’s goals and ambitions are above the interests of our party and the people of this State,” Jones added.
Though Jones did not specify which “person or organization” he was referring to, the remarks appear to be aimed at the South Jersey Democratic political bloc overseen by Sweeney and powerbroker George Norcross — who have often clashed with their counterparts in other parts of the state.
Jones replaced Sweeney with Laura Matos, a longtime Democratic operative and the chairwoman of the Pinelands Commission who is now the only Latina on the redistricting panel. Jones said this was “a long overdue step to bring broader, more diverse voices and perspectives” to the panel and to “continue to build a party that reflects our great state.”
The move marks another blow to the South Jersey coalition, which lost six seats in November’s legislative elections, including Sweeney’s. It also renews a longstanding rift between the party’s northern and southern factions.
MORE: Top N.J. Democrat just booted ex-Senate president Sweeney from panel redrawing legislative districts
Every decade, a bipartisan commission is tasked with redrawing the 40 districts represented in the New Jersey Legislature, the body that crafts the state’s laws and pass its budget. Under the state Constitution, state Democratic and Republican chairs each name five members to the legislative panel.
As part of a deal cut in 2020, Sweeney was allowed to select one member. He chose himself.
Sweeney’s lawsuit argues that the New Jersey Constitution “does not provide for the removal of a member of the Commission once appointed” and does not permit “the appointment or certification of a member of the Commission beyond the constitutional deadlines.”
The lawsuit also claims breach of contract, noting Sweeney and the other four Democratic appointees to the commission signed a loyalty agreement in 2020 that called for them to “fully adhere” to its terms or face “immediate removal.” Sweeney, the suit says, “fulfilled all duties and obligations” and it was unlawful of Jones to remove him because he did not and cannot “offer any evidence that Sweeney failed to comply with the terms and conditions” of the agreement.
“Is this the process now, where I look at you the wrong way, and you’re gonna knock me off a commission?” Sweeney asked in an interview Thursday. “Then why have a commission? My attitude going into this was to make sure we do the best job for Democrats on the map.”
Jonathan Berkon, an attorney for Jones, pointed to how Sweeney, shortly after becoming Senate president, removed Orange Mayor Eldridge Hawkins Jr. from the state’s congressional redistricting commission in 2010. Previous Senate President Richard Codey, D-Essex, had appointed Hawkins before Sweeney ousted Codey, and Sweeney said at the time it wasn’t “fair to bind him” to the selection.
“Chairman Jones had the authority to remove Mr. Sweeney from the Commission, just as Mr. Sweeney had the authority to remove Mayor Hawkins from the congressional redistricting commission a decade ago,” Berkon said in a statement Thursday.
Sweeney argued this situation is different because he removed Hawkins before the redistricting process began.
The suit also says Sweeney’s removal violates a provision in the state Constitution calling for each party chairman to give “due consideration to the representation of various geographical areas of the state.”
Sweeney, a West Deptford resident, was the only Democratic member of the commission who lives in South Jersey. Now, the suit says, there is no Democrat representing eight counties in the southern part of the state.
Matos hails from Burlington County in South Jersey, but she now lives in Belmar, Monmouth County, considered part of Central Jersey.
The case comes about a month before the commission’s March 1 deadline to produce a new legislative map.
The suit also names Matos and New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way as defendants. Way certified Matos’ appointment Wednesday.
Matos told NJ Advance Media she appreciates “the opportunity and am proud to participate in this commission’s important work.”
“I don’t have any comment on the litigation,” she added.
Sweeney — who is expected to run for governor in 2025 — said he has “no issues with Matos.”
“I have a problem with what they’ve done here,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Way did not immediately return a message.
Both Sweeney and Jones are represented by well-known attorneys — Sweeney by William Tambussi, Jones by Berkon and Marc Elias.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @johnsb01.