Candidates try to prove residency in local court

When Yelena Shvarts, a four-year resident of New Brunswick, found out she was disqualified from running for a position on the Middlesex County Democrat Committee this June, she was confused.
“I am eligible to run for this office … I have lived at my current address since August and a block away in the same neighborhood before that,” said Shvarts, a Rutgers College senior.
Shvarts, a registered Democrat who has interned with the governor and volunteered with the Democratic Presidential primary campaign, said the New Brunswick Democrats claim a candidate must live in a district for at least one year. This statute applies for city council, mayor or freeholder, but not for in-party elections.
“While a candidate must live in their district, rightfully so, there is no one-year residency requirement for candidates for this particular office,” Shvarts said. “This was confirmed by the secretary of state and New Jersey attorney general in court.”
Judge James P. Hurly will decide on the case tomorrow at 2 p.m., which involves Shvarts and 19 other candidates of the Democrats for Change campaign at the Middlesex County Superior Court.
The candidates, who are part of the campaign, must prove their residency in order to be eligible to run, according to city law.
School of Arts and Sciences junior Carmen Rao has also been disqualified from running, although he has been living here for a year, confirmed by his lease from June 1, 2008.
The clerk used his last voting location as a signifier of residency, Rao said. While he voted in New Brunswick in the November 2008 election, the city claimed he must have moved here in November, which was not the case.
He said this looks like he had been living here for six months and not a year.
Rao also disagreed with the way the city filed the disqualifications.
“I got the letter on April 17, and the following Monday was the last day to appeal that decision,” he said.
While the candidates were able to appeal on time, he said it was not right.
“We got it done, but it just didn’t seem very professional,” Rao said.
Anthony Fuscaldo, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore, moved to New Brunswick in January.
The city saw him as a dual resident with Washington Township because that was where he grew up, yet he is a resident of New Brunswick now and intends to live here long after he graduates.
“I’m staying close to school, so that’s why I chose to live here,” Fuscaldo said.
In court today, he said he would use bank statements, his lease and his mail as evidence that he is a resident of the city.
Many of the disqualified are not even current students; many are recent graduates who have lived and worked in New Brunswick for some time, Fuscaldo said.
Both Fuscaldo and Rao are optimistic about tomorrow’s case.
“As far as I know, apparently the attorney general of the state sided with us,” Rao said.
A lot of students and citizens all across the state are registered to vote other than where they reside, so using this as a requirement could throw off many other candidates in New Jersey, messing up the elections, Rao said.
“I think the average person can pretty much see what’s going on here,” he said. “All we want is to run a fair election.”
If they fail, it will only embolden the group’s campaign, Rao said.
“Imagine that I am disqualified on the residency issue … the campaign is still going to move forward,” Fuscaldo said. “We worked so hard we’re not going to stop now.”
Many in the community have been behind the movement, he said.
“I’m looking forward to the court case [today],” Fuscaldo said.
Shvarts said it is important for the students to be able to run.
“By providing jobs, frequenting the local businesses and renting housing, we support a large part of the New Brunswick economy, yet we are treated like second-class citizens,” Shvarts said.
City Attorney William Hamilton and Assistant Attorney T.K. Shamy were unable to be reached for comment as of press time.