SOUTH JERSEY PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS TO APPEAL CAMDEN JUDGE’S RULING 

July 12, 2025

On Friday, July 11, 2025, in Camden Superior Court, Judge Michael Kassel ruled against the three representatives duly elected to serve on the Cherry Hill Democratic Committee, elected on the South Jersey Progressive Democrats (“SJPD”) slate. According to state statute, vacancies of municipal committee are to be filled by the elected committee members, which means that the undisputed winners, Susan Druckenbrōd, David Stahl, and Rena Margulis on the SJPD slate, are empowered to make those appointments. The Camden County Democratic Committee, Inc. (CCDC) seeks to restrict who the Defendants can select to fill those vacancies, to a list of the 74 candidates from the losing slate. The outcome of the court hearing in Camden was ultimately a 45 day stay during which neither SJPD nor the CCDC can attempt to fill those vacancies. The elected candidates plan to file an emergency appeal.

The Cherry Hill electeds presented undisputed evidence during the three-hour oral argument that over 62% of Cherry Hill voters voted for them, as did a whopping 90% of the voting districts across the municipality. If the Judge’s decision were to stand, it could effectively render 58% of Cherry Hill voting districts with no or under- representation, while allowing 25% of the districts to be over-represented.

“The CCDC’s assertion that the election was a tie is completely absurd. Our candidates won overwhelmingly. They are now the elected Cherry Hill Democratic Committee members and the state statute expressly states that they are legally empowered to fill the vacancies on the municipal committee. In the outreach we performed before the Norcross machine filed their lawsuit to try and reverse the election, we connected with nearly 100 interested Cherry Hill Democrats who would like to be considered for a spot on Cherry Hill Democratic Committee. The people who expressed interest in being considered are representative of the diversity of the Cherry Hill community. The legal actions of the CCDC post election not only seek to overturn an election result they don’t like but they also are once again illustrating that they want the party to be closed off, inaccessible to new people, a space open only to their loyalists. We all pay for the closed culture of Camden County politics in a loss of new voices, new talent, new perspectives. But Cherry Hill voters voted for change. We have the support of Attorney General Platkin and I believe public opinion in our county and state is on our side. I’m confident in the merits of our case and that we will find justice at the appellate division,” said South Jersey Progressive Democrats President Kate Delany.

“The Municipal Committee race in Cherry Hill is a winner take all race and has been for decades. The winner takes all. To the winner goes the committee. This spring, we ran. We talked to voters. We campaigned. And in June we won. We won because the voters elected us. We see no logic in today’s courtroom interpretation of the race and the results, we cannot see the validity of the losers, Camden County Democrats, now taking control of the committee. That move is antithetical to what democracy and elections mean. We have democracy because as Americans we agree that voters and votes matter. Do we believe in the sanctity of democracy and in respecting the will of the voters? I certainly do! We will appeal this decision and we will continue to advocate for a more perfect union,” said Defendant Susan Druckenbrōd, Treasurer of the Cherry Hill Democratic Committee. 

“I look forward to appellate judges from outside of Camden County reaching a decision that reflects the will of Cherry Hill voters, who ousted the Norcross machine incumbents.  I look forward to a decision that considers the statutory interpretation of the New Jersey Attorney General, who has sided with us in this case,” said Defendant Rena Margulis, Vice-Chair and Secretary of the Cherry Hill Democratic Committee.

“Call me an idealist, but I believe in democracy and the potential of our country. Of late, there have been attacks on democratic ideals prevailing in the court systems. We mustn't take our democracy for granted, and when a SCOTUS justice states that the status of our democracy keeps her up at night, we really need to be extra vigilant in upholding the will of the electorate. 5500 voters–62%--chose the three of us as duly elected representatives. Ignoring that clear mandate and handing control of the committee to the election losers is counter to that system,’ said Defendant David Stahl, Chair of the Cherry Hill Democratic Committee. 

“The Court’s decision was obviously disappointing to us, particularly because the law is clear that the three newly elected members of the Cherry Hill Committee are the ones identified in the statute as having the power to appoint individuals to fill the vacancies.  There is no provision anywhere in the law requiring the losers of an election to be appointed into a vacancy.  And the judge appeared to twist himself into knots to find that this race had a “tie” requiring 71 of the losers to be appointed, thereby giving the vast majority of the seats to the slate that was drubbed in the election.  This was obviously not a tie in any sense of what a tie means.  It was a landslide election victory for the SJPD candidates.  The will of the voters has to prevail.  We were prepared for this, and we fully expect a reversal on appeal,” said Joseph Bouvier, Esquire of South Jersey Progressive Democrats, elected member of the Merchantville Democratic Committee.

The Defendants are represented by Yael Bromberg, Esq. of Bromberg Law LLC, a constitutional rights litigator, legal scholar, and lecturer of election law at American University Washington College of Law. Bromberg said: “The will of the voters directs the mandate: they voted for change. That call for change did not happen in a vacuum; it happened in an ecosystem. Both the law and the constitution are on their side, and we are confident that an appeals court will find in our favor.”

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South Jersey Progressive Democrats is a grassroots organization working to restore democracy to South Jersey. We stand for a transparent, accountable, and just government that works for all people. For more information about getting involved in the organizing work of South Jersey Progressive Democrats, email info@southjerseyprogressivedemocrats.org and follow SJPD on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.