South Jersey Assemblyman Resigns Following Reports Of Arrest

A New Jersey Assemblyman has resigned after reports surfaced that he was arrested for simple assault on Monday.

Assemblyman Arthur Barclay (D-5) resigned effective immediately on Monday, Camden County Democratic Committee Chairman James Beach announced. Beach cited “health reasons” in making the announcement.

“The county committee members of the Fifth Legislative District will convene in the next 8 to 10 days to fill the vacancy created by the resignation,” Beach said in a statement.

The person selected by the Camden County and Gloucester County democratic committees will serve until a special election for the seat can be held in November.

Barclay’s resignation was announced the same day it was reported that Barclay was arrested and charged with simple assault in a domestic dispute.

He was arrested on June 7 after police responded to the Fairview section of Camden for a report of “simple assault domestic violence,” according to the Camden County Police Department report provided to Patch. He was released on his own recognizance the same day, and is expected to appear in municipal court on June 28. No more details about the case are publicly available.

“It happened,” Barclay told the New Jersey Globe website. “I don’t want to talk about it. It is what it is. It happened. I just want to move forward.”

“I am appalled to learn of Assemblyman Barclay’s actions,” Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-19) said. “It is my understanding that he is doing the right thing and will resign from the General Assembly immediately.”

On Tuesday, Camden County Republicans asked, "what took so long?"

“While Mr. Barclay did the right thing by resigning the situation leaves some unanswered questions," Camden County Republican Chairman Rich Ambrosino said. “Why did it take 11 days from arrest to resignation?”

“11 days after being arrested on a domestic violence charge does seem like a long time, especially considering Mr. Barclay was a prime sponsor of a bill that addresses domestic violence,” Camden County GOP Political Director Tom Crone said. “It’s not like people didn’t know it happened. A Camden activist talked about it in a video on her Facebook page. Our campaign consultant knew about it. It’s as if someone was trying to hide this for nearly two weeks.”

“I was shocked to read that a spokesman for the county and the police department said they “were just made aware of the incident” to a reporter yesterday,” Camden County GOP political consultant Steve Kush said. “I know for a fact folks associated with Camden County government were asked about the incident all weekend. Plain and simple, that statement does not ring true.”

“The question becomes, if we knew of the incident, if people in Camden knew about the arrest, why did it take 11 days for it to become public," Ambrosino said. “Why was this kept quiet for so long?”

"While we hate to be cynics, one has to wonder if there was an attempt to keep this arrest quiet because of what will likely be an extremely close budget vote,” Kush said.

Barclay, a former Camden High School basketball star who is in the South Jersey Hall of Fame, served in the General Assembly from 2016 until Monday, when he resigned. He was the Deputy Majority Whip this year.

The attached image of Arthur Barclay was posted on the New Jersey State Legislature’s website