New Jersey

U.S. Magistrate Judge Maureen P. Kelly held Attorney General Todd Blanche, Homeland Security chief Markwayne Mullin, and an acting ICE field office director in civil contempt after Nain Vasquez Gonzalez, a Salvadoran man she had ordered released following 38 months of detention, was rearrested by ICE agents in New Jersey hours later. Kelly said officials gave "inconsistent stories" and failed to produce body camera footage, with one agent's camera reportedly uncharged. She criticized ICE's use of masks to conceal agents' identities, calling it "unamerican," and imposed sanctions covering attorney's fees. Immigration attorneys called the contempt finding unusual but an even-handed application of court authority.

Paterson's Board of Education election features three seats and seven candidates following a contentious year marked by the elimination of four choice elementary schools, an 8% tax hike paired with layoffs and job cuts, a plan to split the district's top-ranked gifted and talented program across two buildings, and a last-minute vote to extend Superintendent Laurie Newell's contract scheduled for the night before the election.

Incumbents Joel Ramirez and Mohammed Rashid, backed by Mayor Andre Sayegh and other local officials, have supported the superintendent's decisions, while incumbent Kenneth Simmons and challengers Chris Small and Banita Herndon have opposed them, citing a lack of transparency and academic concerns. Other candidates include Madelen Lemoine and Sumaidah Ramadan.

A decades-old dispute over a 31,000-square-foot strip of protected parkland in Leonia, New Jersey, has stalled a land sale that Kulite Industries, the borough's largest employer, needs to build an employee parking lot. The state Department of Environmental Protection won't grant permanent access through Overpeck County Park until Leonia resolves a separate issue: its public works buildings, built in 1974, encroach on land classified under the state's Green Acres program.

Fixing the encroachment would require either demolishing the DPW facility or providing five acres of replacement land per acre affected, both costly for taxpayers. Mayor Bill Ziegler has pressed the county, DEP, and Governor Mikie Sherrill's office for relief, while Kulite, which employs nearly 900 people and is being courted by other states, says the parking shortage threatens its ability to stay in New Jersey.

Since 2001, Lakewood Township has transferred 220 acres of public land near the Jersey Shore BlueClaws stadium at no cost to a development arm of Beth Medrash Govoha (BMG), a large Orthodox Jewish yeshiva. The entity, Cedarbridge Development, has resold the land to builders for nearly $70 million, while developers have saved over $8.6 million through local tax breaks (PILOTs) since 2018. A 2010 lawsuit challenging the deal as unconstitutional was dismissed. Constitutional experts say the arrangement may violate the state constitution's "gift clause" barring giveaways of public property without clear public benefit.

The New Jersey State Commission of Investigation is now examining similar municipal land deals involving PILOT tax breaks statewide, without confirming whether Lakewood is a specific target. The scrutiny comes as Lakewood faces a budget shortfall, a hiring freeze, and warnings of 2027 layoffs.

Early voting began this weekend in New York City and New Jersey, running through Nov. 1 ahead of Election Day. Voters can find designated early voting sites, which may differ from their usual Election Day polling place, through each state's Board of Elections tools. Mail-in ballots remain an option, with New York requiring applications by Saturday; voters who request a mail ballot cannot use a machine on Election Day but may cast an affidavit ballot in person.

Top races include New York's governor contest between Gov. Kathy Hochul and challenger Bruce Blakeman, plus attorney general and comptroller races and five city ballot proposals. New Jersey voters will decide a U.S. Senate race and a House seat.

Robert Shea II, 42, a Berkeley Township resident and attorney for the Jackson Township planning board, was arrested Oct. 22 on two counts of distributing child sexual abuse material. The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Shea allegedly used a Snapchat account to send and receive the images. The case began with a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, routed through the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children task force. Investigators traced IP addresses to Shea's Berkeley home and a Toms River office before executing a search warrant that uncovered the Snapchat account on his devices. He is held at Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing. Jackson Mayor Jennifer Kuhn has called for his removal from the planning board and ended the township's relationship with his law firm.

New Jersey holds its general election on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, with voter registration closed as of October 13 and mail-in ballot requests due by October 27. Polls are open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. statewide. Top races include the U.S. Senate contest, where Democratic incumbent Cory Booker faces Republican Justin Murphy and several third-party and write-in candidates. All 12 of New Jersey's House seats are also on the ballot, with the 2nd Congressional District drawing particular attention as Republican incumbent Jeff Van Drew, who switched parties in 2019, defends his seat against Democratic challenger Zack Mullock, mayor of Cape May, and independent Ramon Mora Jr.

A Pemberton Township, N.J. council meeting descended into chaos Wednesday when Mayor Matthew Bianchini charged into the public seating area and shouted at resident Michael Sawka, a vocal critic, according to video of the incident and reporting from the Pine Barrens Tribune. Councilmember Perry Doyle and others physically restrained the mayor before he was escorted back to the chambers. Sawka said he intended to press charges for assault; police responded, but no arrests have been made. Bianchini has said Sawka has harassed him and his family. The dispute reportedly stems from the firing of former city administrator Ken Gerber, who was seeking reinstatement.