Today, Reuven Hendler for Congress campaign filed a lawsuit against the Mercer County Democratic Committee (MCDC). MCDC failed to follow their own bylaws by refusing to allow our campaign to participate in their March 16th Convention. When endorsing candidates, the MCDC is required by law to ensure fundamental fairness between candidates. The MCDC violated their own bylaws and deprived their delegates of crucial information and the ability to endorse the candidate of their choice.

Hendler followed the rules set forth by the MCDC’s Constitution and Bylaws. He notified the Chairperson of the MCDC, Janice Mironov, of his intention to appear at the convention. He did so well in advance of the arbitrarily set deadline. The MCDC knew that he wanted to appear as a candidate and yet effectively dodged his repeated inquiries to appear as a candidate. If we were to allow this course of action to stand, it would be expressly permitting county committees all across the State to ignore their own rules at their own whim in denying candidates the right to seek their endorsement.

Mironov made the decision as to Hendler’s eligibility on her own, without the input of the Convention Committee and the Mercer County Executive Committee.

We must not let the Mercer County Democratic Committee deprive their members of their right to endorse a candidate of their choice by allowing them to violate both their bylaws and state law.

As such, Hendler is asking the Court to order the MCDC to reconvene and conduct a new convention in which he, along with any other qualified candidates, may seek the county party’s endorsement and obtain preferential ballot placement.