South Jersey Democratic power broker George Norcross | Mel Evans/AP Photo South Jersey Democrats' power takes a hit in chairmanship deal

When Democratic State Chairman John Currie and Essex County Democratic Chairman LeRoy Jones cut a deal last week that ended a yearlong fight over leadership of the state party and keeps Currie in office until June 2021, they maintained one status quo.

But in doing so, they may have broken another: South Jersey Democrats’ domination of the party.


For the last decade, South Jersey Democrats have been the single biggest force behind the party’s statewide power sharing arrangements. This time, however, they were not at the table when Currie and Jones struck their agreement in consultation with Middlesex County Democratic Chairman Kevin McCabe.

“I think it’s significant that the un-electeds and the other South Jersey folks weren’t involved, and I think that’s probably intentional on the part of LeRoy and the chairman, saying the Democratic Party is not available for the taking,” state Democratic Vice Chairwoman Peg Schaffer said in an interview.

Asked who she meant by the “un-electeds,” Schaffer didn’t hesitate.

“George Norcross,” she said, referring to the millionaire South Jersey Democratic power broker who has never held elected office, but is the unofficial leader of the South Jersey Democratic delegation along with Senate President Steve Sweeney, his close friend. Norcross holds sway over most of delegation’s major decisions.

Allies of Gov. Phil Murphy — who backed Currie for chairman amid his fight with the South Jersey delegation, which supported Jones — privately boasted that South Jersey was not part of the negotiations.

Sweeney, clearly angered by the outcome, openly complained about the deal, upset the contest didn't become a "fight for the party."

New Jersey politicos, meanwhile, looked on in awe as leaders from North and Central Jersey made an end-run around the South Jersey Democratic machine, wondering if it was a sign of things to come — that big deals could be cut without Norcross' blessing.

“I would like to see the power concentrated in the people who are elected to the position,” said Schaffer, adding that she believed McCabe and Jones did consider Sweeney’s interests during the negotiations. “If it portends that, then I would not be unhappy.”

The deal allows Currie, who has served as state chairman since 2013, to remain in the post until his term is up in June 2021, at which time Jones will take over — assuming the more than 100 elected state Democratic committee members agree.

South Jersey was not completely shut out.

At the heart of the fight was who gets to name members to the next state legislative redistricting commission. Under the state constitution, the chair of each party gets to choose five members. Murphy‘s rivals were not happy with the prospect that Currie would have free reign on the picks and be able to redraw legislative boundaries that could hurt their lawmakers’ reelection chances.

Under terms of the deal, Currie will get three of the five picks, one of which will be made in consultation with Jones and his fellow Essex County Democrats. Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin will each get one pick, ensuring they’ll have an ally at the table who can not only help shape legislative districts, but also inform them of any redistricting plan that would cut against their interests.

Schaffer, who is also the Somerset County Democratic chair, will remain as vice chair of the state party when Jones takes over.

Norcross, in a statement to POLITICO, hailed the deal as a favorable outcome for his allies.

“We are delighted that Leroy Jones prevailed in negotiating a resolution which will guarantee a strong Legislative redistricting team including Senate President Sweeney, Speaker Craig Coughlin, himself and the leadership of Hudson and Bergen Counties,” Norcross said, referring to a report that said the Democratic chairs of Bergen and Hudson counties — close Murphy allies — will have a say in the Currie picks. “His success was based on his support from Monmouth, Ocean, Union, Middlesex and Southern New Jersey along with his home county of Essex.”

Norcross said South Jersey Democrats are ”gratified that State Chairman Currie and Essex Chairman Jones will work together with all of us to reelect our incumbent and challengers for the House of Representatives” and that “a unified party in NJ is a very good thing in preparation for our 2020 election challenges.”

But Sweeney voiced his displeasure in an interview with NJ Advance Media last week.

“I’m really disappointed that LeRoy didn’t sit down with people that all were working together before he decided to do this on his own,” he said. “A lot of people stood with him … We were looking to fight for the party. We’re allowed to have fights. But when you go in with a team, you normally consult with a team before you make your final decision.”

For the last month, the Jones camp had all but declared victory, claiming it had enough votes to oust Currie. But while nobody gave a reason why they chose not to engage Norcross or Sweeney in the deal, it was clear that despite Sweeney's wish to stay and fight, neither camp was confident it had enough votes to win if it came to a vote at a January convention.

Sweeney wanted to push the fight all the way to a convention, but Jones — whose North Jersey power base is not dependent on Norcross — did not.

“It was pretty clear to everybody that nobody could be assured a victory at this juncture,” Schaffer said. “So it didn’t make sense to just go to a floor fight and walk away with a divided party.”

Murphy and his allies have enjoyed taking shots at Norcross, with a task force the governor appointed to examine New Jersey’s tax incentive programs leveling damaging allegations about Norcross’ role in how the incentives were designed and used in Camden. At the same time, progressive activists — many of whom have a strong distaste for Norcross and are allied with Murphy — have seen their influence grow in New Jersey Democratic politics in recent years, fueled by backlash to President Donald Trump's election.

Sue Altman, executive director of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance and frequent critic of Norcross, said the deal is a sign South Jersey Democrats’ influence is waning.

Grassroots progressive Democrats had sought a complete overhaul of the redistricting process, and while the deal did not give them a guaranteed seat on the commission come 2021, some were nevertheless happy to see the South Jersey Democratic machine take a hit.

“Obviously this has been a centerpiece of the South Jersey strategy for a long time. For [Norcross] not to be at the table when the deals cut is a seismic shift,” Altman said.

The two main players in the drama, however, left it to others to speculate about the long-term implications.

“Let me put it this way: I only had a call from Chairman Jones. And Chairman Jones and I had a talk and came to an agreement,” Currie said. “I think you would have to speak to Chairman Jones about South Jersey. I know nothing about that.”

Jones said the deal “put party first over personal aspirations and personal agendas.” Asked about South Jersey not being part of it, Jones said “I don’t really have a comment on that.”

“I think I took everybody into consideration who were partners in this to the best that I could, and I think everybody got a little bit of something,” he said. “That’s the essence of this business: The art of compromise. And the compromise was, I think, a fair one.”