NEWTON — The Sussex County Republican Party will abandon an effort to recall one of their own, county Commissioner William Hayden , after failing to gather enough signatures, the party's chairman confirmed on Thursday.
Hayden, who's been accused of fabricating his military record and other transgressions, has been a target of the recall campaign since March. But ahead of a state deadline to file recall petitions on Friday, GOP Chairman Joseph Labarbera said the move had fallen short.
"The state sets a pretty high bar," he said. "We would need to get more than 27,000 signatures."
Hayden, one of five members of the all-Republican board, has faced calls to resign ever since accusations surfaced last year that he falsely claimed in his 2022 campaign to be a wounded veteran who served in the Navy SEALs. In some retellings, he allegedly claimed to have been injured in action against a drug cartel.
Commissioner said he'd sue for slander
In February, Hayden was formally censured by the rest of the board. The 56-year-old, who lives in Frankford, has denied any wrongdoing. In March, he filed a notice of his intent to sue his fellow commissioners and other officials for slander.
Hayden didn't immediately return a message Thursday afternoon seeking comment. He is in the second year of a three-year term that's due to end on Dec. 31, 2025.
If the GOP had gathered enough signatures, voters would have decided in November's election whether to remove Hayden from office.
New Jersey's constitution says "a recall election shall be held upon petition of at least 25% of the registered voters" in a community. According to the Sussex County Clerk's office, that put the threshold for the petitions at 27,258 signatures, based on the 109,030 voters registered for last fall's election.
Commissioner Director Jill Space, whose term coincides with Hayden, has said she will seek re-election next year, but with a different running mate.
In May, a former donor to Hayden's campaign filed a complaint with the New Jersey State Police, alleging the Republican violated the state's Stolen Valor Act , which makes it illegal to benefit financially from false claims of a military record.
'Outright lies': Dueling letters by Sussex GOP continue war of words over food pantry
Separately, U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat whose district includes most of Sussex County, and fellow Congressman Bill Pascrell, D-Paterson, sent a joint letter to the state Attorney General's Office in April asking for an investigation of whether Hayden violated New Jersey tax laws by claiming a veteran's exemption. The AG's Office has declined to comment.
The county Republican committee has also said that their own investigation found no evidence that Hayden had enlisted for or been drafted into military service.
Why Hayden was censured
The county board's censure came at it's Feb. 14 meeting and listed four causes for the action. Under state law, a censure is a formal statement of reasons but carries no penalties.
The board cited Hayden's absences from meetings and an inappropriate management-employee relationship with a county employee. They also said Hayden had improperly discussed "privileged" information from private executive sessions "in violation of his oath of office" and that he disseminated "false and misleading information" about the county's food pantry program . Hayden has publicly complained of corruption in that program, without providing evidence.
In response, Hayden filed his notice of intent so sue several people, including fellow commissioners, over what he called "lies" and defamation of his character. That action has not gone to trial.
Although the calls for Hayden to resign have quieted somewhat, some citizens still regularly speak during the board's public comment periods to demand Hayden step down.
The commissioners' next meeting is Wednesday.
Email: bscruton@njherald.com Twitter/X: @brucescrutonNJH
This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Sussex GOP abandons recall effort against commissioner accused of faking military record
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