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Caldwell probe leaves Sherrill in a tight spot

Transparency concerns shadow governor's move

By: Charles Stile
Political Stile
USA Today Network

..... Governor Mikie Sherrill has started spreading the wealth from her well-stocked "Mission to deliver" political action committee, eager to build good-will and IOUs for a time when she may decide to step out on the national stage.
..... But for now, the former U.S Navy helicopter pilot, is grounded in Trenton with a politically sensitive mission to deliver a report about her lieutenant governor, Dale Caldwell.
..... Months age Sherrill, a Democrat, quietly hired Christopher Poirrino, a former New Jersey attorney general under former Republican Governor Chris Christie. Porrino was assigned to investigate accusations that Caldwell acted inappropriately toward women and possible ethics violations involving the offering of a state job. Few details about the probe have emerged, but the report's release is expected soon.
..... Caldwell has said nothing publicly about the matter since it was first reported on September 4 [2026] by the New Jersey Globe, a political news website. But in a response to inquires from the chief state ethics officer in May, [2026] Caldwell vigorously denied the accusations, which weer detailed ion an anonymous letter signed by A concerned NJ Resident."
..... The letter, according to a New York Times report, prompted Sherrill to bring in Porriono to investigate the short and otherwise below-the-radar tenure of the state's backup governor.
..... Sherrill, for her part, has refused to confirm the investigation, other than issuing a general pledge to fully examine "any" credible report" or misconduct.
..... "If the evidence warrants, I will take appropriate action quickly," she said in a statement this month. [09/2026]
..... Much is riding on Porrino's report, both for Caldwell and for Sherrill's own political future.
..... The issue poses a threat to the governor's brand.
..... As a candidate in 2025, Sherrill stood before a statute of Thomas Paine in Morristown and promised a new era of transparency and countability.
..... Sherrill is already stuck cleaning up the non-citizen voter registration mess she inherited from the previous administration.
..... Now, she also faces criticism from both parties for keeping Porrino's probe under wraps for much of the summer. [2026]
..... One veteran Democratic lawmaker said it was a mistake not to disclose her decision earlier. Secrecy and silence only breed suspicion and conspiracy theories.
..... "You hire a former Republican Attorney General? How does that not come out?" the lawmaker said.

Is race a factor in investigation?

..... Perhaps the biggest concern for Sherrill is the combustible issue or race. Caldwell, who is Black, is also a pastor, a former president of Centenary University in Hackettstown and a longtime member of the New Brunswick Board of Education. He is well-known in African American political and professional circles in New Jersey.
..... Caldwell, 66, touched on the issue of race in his reply to the ethics officer in May, [2026] according to a report first published in BINJE, a business news site.
.... Caldwell, who is not married, was responding to allegations that he had brought "three uninvited female guests" to three events earlier this year [2026] and that he was soliciting dates with women by handing out his business cards, according to the BINJE report.
..... He called the allegations a "slander" and "false and misleading" and also suggested that race may have been at play.
..... "While I am troubled by this accusation, as the first single Black man to serve as this level in government, I suspect that there will be false accusations or rumors in the future," he wrote. "Unfortunately, in this current political environment, false accusation's especially against people of color, seem to be commonplace."
..... A group of his supporters, calling themselves "Let the People There Be Heard," has mobilized around the concern that Caldwell has been singled out because of his skin color. The supporters include organizers of the annual Whiteboro Black History Gala hes at the cape May convention Hall in April, where Caldwell was the keynote speaker. in an interview, Felicia Simmons, an Asbury Park activists who helped stage the event, told me Caldwell arrived at the event with security staff, an aide, and a gust. She did not witness any alarming conduct or anything like what was described in the anonymous allegations, she added.
..... Simmons said she met the entourage at the door and noted that she had set aside more space for Caldwell, expecting a larger group. She also said she was not interviewed by Porrino or his staff.
..... "I believe that he is a just man in a world that is sometimes unjust," she said of Caldwell in an interview.
..... Caldwell has also hired Peter Harvey, another former New Jersey attorney general, raising speculation that the lieutenant governor is preparing t vigorously defend himself against whatever is produced by the investigation. Harvey did not return messages seeking comment.

Could New Jersey see nasty political divorce?

..... Caldwell few facts serves as New Jersey's secretary of state, overseeing election statewide.
..... With few facts known publicly, it's all speculation right now. But some longtime political observers fear that if the Porrino report prompts Sherrill to push her understudy out, an unprecedented political fight could emerge, with a powerful white governor seeking to depose a prominent black official.
..... It is an outcome that could sour Sherrill's relations with New Jersey's Black community and haunt her outreach to Black voters and officials around the country if she were to seek national office. the issue also is fraught with other political dangers.
..... In a post-#MeToo era, Sherrill cannot be perceived as going easy on an official who is facing allegations of misconduct toward women, especially someone second-in-line to the governor and a man who Sherrill personally selected as her running mate last year. [2025]
..... Adding to the sensitivity is a scandal that undermined the national ambitions of her predecessor, former governor Phil Murphy.
..... Katie Brennan, a housing official with the Murphy administration, failed to get administration officials to address her accusation that she was raped while serving on Murphy's campaign in 2017. A Wall Street Journal story revealing the allegations set off a firestorm and put the young Murphy team's conduct under the microscope of a legislative investigation.
..... Brennan, who is now a democratic state assemblywomen form Hudson County, posted a lengthy statement on X on September 8 [2026] about the Caldwell reports. In included a list of workplace harassment legislation that she plans to introduce.
..... "Governor Sherrill moved quickly her, and I'm glad she did," Brennan wrote. "But survivors shouldn't have to hope that the people in charge will do the right thing."

..... Charlie Stile is a veteran New Jersey political columnist. For unlimited access to his unique insights into New Jersey's political power structure and his powerful watchdog work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

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