MER-L-001598-22 09/15/2022 Pg 1 of 4 Trans ID: LCV20223337888

PREPARED BY THE COURT

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
COUNTY OF MERCER
Jenna Figueroa Kettenburg LAW DIVISION, CIVIL PART

v.
Docket MER-L-1598-22
Evangeline Ugorji and Brandon Garcia, in
his official capacity as the City Clerk for CIVIL ACTION
the City of Trenton
ORDER FOR HEARING

This matter being opened to the Court and for good cause shown;

IT IS ON September 15, 2022 ORDERED THAT:

1. Plaintiff shall serve a copy of the complaint and this order on all named

parties by 4:00 pm today, September 15, 2022;

2. Plaintiff shall serve a copy of the complaint and this order on all interested

parties including:

a. Evangeline Ugorji;

b. Mercer County Clerk’s Office,

c. Mercer County Counsel’s Office,

d. Mercer County Board of Elections,

e. Mercer County Superintendent of Elections Office,

f. New Jersey Attorney General’s Office,

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g. The Mercer County Republican Committee;

h. The Mercer County Democratic Committee;

i. City of Trenton Republican Committee;

j. City of Trenton Democratic Committee;

3. Proof of service shall be filed on or before noon on Friday, September 16,

2022;

4. Defendants or any of the parties ordered to be served may file any responsive

documents in support of their positions on or before 4:00 pm on September

16, 2022, including proof of service;

5. All parties shall provide a valid email address for service of papers;

6. Oral argument shall be on video court at 1:30 pm on Monday, September 19,

2022;

7. The court clerk shall provide the link to appear in video court at the email

provided by the party;

8. Filings with the court shall be through eCourts by parties represented by

counsel and by JEDS for parties appearing pro se, unless directed otherwise

by the court clerk;

9. Filing in eCourts shall be deemed service on parties in the case that are

represented by an attorney;

10. All parties served shall preserve all evidence, including papers and electronic

information;

11. Any further action on the municipal election or ballot is stayed pending the

hearing and further order of the court;

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12. the reasons are as set forth below.

/s/ William Anklowitz, J.S.C.

OPINION:

Petitioner asked that Evangeline Ugorji be prohibited from appearing on the ballot

for the general election to be held on November 8, 2022. Petitioner proposed that to be

on the ballot a certain number of nominating petitions must be submitted and that

Evangeline Ugorji did not obtain the proper number of valid petitions. As such,

petitioner asked that the city clerk’s approval of Evangeline Ugorji to be on the ballot be

reversed.

The City of Trenton appears to be a Faulkner Act jurisdiction. A municipality

operating under “the Optional Municipal Charter Law (Faulkner Act), N.J.S.A. 40:69A–1

et seq., [means that] voters adopted a change in their form of government to the mayor-

council plan with the municipal election held … pursuant to the Uniform Nonpartisan

Elections Law, N.J.S.A. 40:45–5 et seq.” Corvelli v. Fonseca, 323 N.J. Super. 342, 344

n.2 (Law. Div. 1999). The law has clearly recognized “the nonpartisan nature of

municipal elections in Faulkner Act municipalities.” Fuhrman v. Mailander, 466 N.J.

Super. 572, 596 (App. Div. 2021).

Petitioner’s complaint alleged that:

N.J.S.A. 40:45-8(a) states that the petition of nomination for

a candidate to a non-partisan office shall consist of
“individual certificates, equal in number to at least 1%, but
in no event less than 25, of the registered voters of the
municipality or the ward.”

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The petition further alleged that 68 petitions were needed and that less than that number

of petitions submitted were valid petitions. Petitioner asked for an early decision before

ballots are approved and printed. As such, the ballot process is temporarily stayed and an

early hearing is scheduled.