Caldwell resigns, leaving New Jersey’s No. 2 office vacant

The departure is not in dispute. Sherrill demanded Caldwell’s resignation on September 24, gave him until the next day, and said he submitted it that afternoon. He had been sworn in on January 20, leaving after about eight months in office. His resignation now creates two separate tasks for the administration: keep the Department of State running ahead of an election and fill New Jersey’s second-highest elected office.⁠8⁠7⁠127

Governor’s Office chief ethics officer Christina Fullum initiated the inquiry. Former state attorney general Christopher S. Porrino and Shontae D. Gray of Lowenstein Sandler conducted it. Caldwell received formal notice on May 22 and submitted a written response on May 28. Sherrill described the conclusions as serious, repeated policy violations and ethical lapses that persisted despite warnings and training. Those are findings of a workplace and ethics investigation, not a criminal conviction or a ruling by a court; the public material establishes no criminal charge or referral.⁠6⁠8

The harassment finding turns on an April conversation after an official event. Investigators found that Caldwell made a romantic advance toward a female staffer’s younger friend and, after it was rebuffed, told the staffer in a state-police vehicle, “you young women are looking for young sperm.” Caldwell denies saying it. Investigators found the staffer credible and his denial not credible, concluding that the sex-based, demeaning remark violated workplace harassment policy. A photograph’s metadata supported the encounter’s date, time and location, but could not establish the words spoken; a trooper present said he did not hear them. Investigators could not establish a separate rumored inappropriate text and did not substantiate that allegation. The finding should neither be dismissed as a rumor nor stretched to cover an allegation the investigators excluded.⁠6

The first ethics finding concerns Caldwell’s personal guests at ticketed events. The report identifies seven dated events from February 19 through May 23, plus another whose date could not be fixed, where guests including relatives, friends and a romantic interest were admitted without the required advance clearance, payment or reimbursement. Cited ticket prices ranged from $65 to $300. A June 12 receipt documents a $175 reimbursement for one guest at a May 2 Morven Museum & Garden event. It does not demonstrate that all the admissions were repaid.⁠6

The second ethics finding is that Caldwell repeatedly advocated for a promotion for a state employee with whom he had a romantic relationship without disclosing that relationship. The report includes an approach using state email on May 26, after he had been notified of the investigation. It found no promotion, raise or other benefit for the employee. That limits the outcome established by the evidence; it does not erase the investigators’ finding about undisclosed advocacy.⁠6

Caldwell says the report is inaccurate and its findings unsubstantiated. He has said he left so the controversy would not distract from Sherrill’s administration, not because he accepts the investigation. In his May 28 response, he denied asking anyone out, hitting on anyone or pursuing anyone romantically while performing official duties, denied knowingly breaking ethics rules and raised concern about scrutiny of his relationships as a single Black man. He acknowledged recommending a female friend for a job. His attorney, Thomas R. Calcagni, has criticized the inquiry as one-sided and insufficiently attentive to Caldwell’s witnesses and response. They say they are exploring legal remedies; no filed remedy or reversal has been established.⁠1⁠6⁠66⁠15

That objection belongs beside, not in place of, the report. Sherrill called its substantiated harassment finding “extremely troubling” and said the conduct failed the responsibilities of office. Her decision to demand a resignation is settled. Whether Caldwell can successfully challenge the findings is not. For employees weighing whether to report a superior, the standard the administration sets will depend on more than this one departure: complaints must be heard, findings must be carefully bounded, and consequences must not be reserved for people without powerful titles.⁠8⁠5

Caldwell also served as secretary of state. Sherrill named acting state comptroller Shirley U. Emehelu acting secretary of state, a distinct appointment that does not make her acting lieutenant governor. The state’s Division of Elections sits within the Department of State, and Sherrill said at her September 25 announcement that the November 3 midterm election was 39 days away. The portfolio has an acting chief; the lieutenant-governor seat remains vacant.⁠7⁠16⁠63

As of September 26, Sherrill had not named a successor and said she did not plan to appoint an acting lieutenant governor in the meantime. New Jersey’s constitution requires the governor to appoint a replacement to serve the unexpired term within 45 days of the vacancy. If September 26 is counted as day one after Caldwell’s September 25 resignation, day 45 falls on November 9; that is a calendar calculation, not a separately established legal deadline determination. Sherrill says she will choose “swiftly and thoughtfully.” If she is absent while the office is vacant, Senate President Nicholas Scutari is next to act as governor. The immediate handover covers election administration, but not the empty office or the unresolved contest over the report that led Sherrill to demand Caldwell’s resignation.⁠104⁠7⁠59