MONROE – Clerk dismissed from fire suit

By David Kilby, Staff Writer
   MONROE — Plaintiffs Patrick Hye and Michael Konowicz have dismissed charges against Township Clerk Sharon Doerfler in the lawsuit they filed against Monroe Fire District 3 on March 29.
   A court hearing on the lawsuit was originally scheduled for April 11 at 9 a.m. at the State Superior Court in New Brunswick but was postponed to May 2 at 9 a.m. at the same location. The plaintiffs are being represented by Leonard & Major, LLC, in Jamesburg.
   Mr. Hye, Mr. Konowicz, former candidates in the District 3 elections Feb. 19, and other concerned voters in District 3, filed a lawsuit against their fire district because they believed the district did not abide by state statutes during the election.
   The charges against the township clerk were due to the position she held as registrar of voters and chief election officer, not against her as an individual. But after learning that Monroe Township does not organize Fire District 3 elections, the plaintiffs dismissed the charges against the township clerk and the township.
   The lawsuit claims the district provided misleading information regarding polling places, denied voters entry to certain polling areas, didn’t provide proper ballots for the election and disqualified many votes.
   According to District 3, Commissioner Martin won with 314 votes and Commissioner Haff won with 255; Mr. McCloskey received 193 votes and Mr. Hye received 151. According to the lawsuit, Commissioner Martin won the election with 283 votes, and Joseph Haff won with 224. Robert McCloskey received 222 votes, Mr. Konowicz received 185 and Mr. Hye received 143.
   The lawsuit alleges that the disqualified votes could have changed the election results.
   A total of 49 votes were disqualified, according to the lawsuit.
   The results in the suit included votes before the absentee ballots were counted.