Assembly Minority Whip Brian Bergen wants to impeach Gloucester County Clerk James Hogan for producing a general election ballot that a Superior Court Judge found to violate state law.
“If we allow county clerks to break the law without consequence, we erode the very foundation of our democracy. Accountability must come first — not party, not politics, but the rule of law,” said Bergen. “This is about restoring trust in our elections and making sure every New Jersey voter knows their ballot is fair, legal, and beyond reproach.”
Earlier today, Judge Benjamin Telsey ruled that Hogan used an illegal office block ballot in a general election, but stated that the prospects of voter confusion made it impossible to require changes to a legal ballot.
“The court made it clear that the ballots ‘are violative of the statute’ and inconsistent with the intent of the legislature,” Bergen stated. “Yet instead of holding Hogan accountable, the ruling leaves voters stuck with illegal ballots and allows the damage to stand. This is an egregious abuse of power and a direct assault on the integrity of our elections. The County Clerk is not above the law, and the people of New Jersey deserve better than a partisan official who manipulates election laws for political gain.”
Impeachment could be the only form of disciplinary action to remove a constitutional officer, like a county clerk. The New Jersey State Assembly has the sole power of impeachment and would need to be approved by a majority of its members. If that happened – which is unlikely in a chamber controlled by Democrats – Hogan would then need to stand trial before the State Senate; it would take 27 of the 40 senators to vote to impeach him. That is also unlikely.
Hogan, 84, is not up for re-election until 2027.
Hogan was serving as the Franklin Township police chief in 1985 when Republicans recruited him to run against Democrat George Small, the popular and seemingly unbeatable Gloucester County sheriff. Hogan came within 1,800 votes of winning.
In 1988, Small retired and Hogan defeated Democrat Edwin Erickson, the undersheriff, by about 5,000 votes, 53%-47%. Three years later, Hogan was re-elected in a landslide 12,000-vote, 60%-40% rematch against Erickson despite being outspent by a 2-1 margin.
Hogan gave up his sheriff’s post in 1994 to run for Congress but lost to two-term Rep. Rob Andrews (D-Haddon Heights). He received 28% of the vote despite a Republican wave in President Bill Clinton’s mid-term election.
When Republican Joseph J. Hoffman decided to retire after seven terms as county clerk in 1997, Hogan decided to run for the post. He defeated Democrat Angelo Romero, a former freeholder, by nearly 8,000 votes, 55%-45%. That same election saw Gloucester County voters toss two Republican freeholders and stymie the comeback of a longtime Republican surrogate, but also re-elect GOP Sheriff Chuck Gill.
In 2002, one year after Sweeney, the Gloucester County freeholder director, defeated eight-term Democrat-turned-Republican State Sen. Raymond Zane, Hogan decided to switch parties and seek re-election as a Democrat.
Hogan defeated Republican Anthony DiMasi by about 18,000 votes; he won his sixth term three years ago by 6,113 votes, 53%-47%. That year, Democrats won a county commissioner race by 2,504 votes.
