Morris Freeholder Fined $8,100 for 2011 Campaign Violations

As if the Republican Primary Election in 2011 wasn’t contentious enough, a recent ruling fined a current Morris County Freeholder for violations committed nearly four years ago.

William “Hank” Lyon, of Montville, was reprimanded by New Jersey’s Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) and fined $8,100 for filing contribution and expenditure information late during the campaign season, according to nj.com.

In that election, Lyon ousted incumbent freeholder Margaret Nordstrom of Washington Township.

The ruling by ELEC says Lyon committed four violations when a $16,000 contribution from his father, Robert, showed up in the campaign account on May 31 of that year, just a week before the election. Because the contribution exceeded $1,200, it should have been reported within 48 hours; the Lyon camp made no mention of it until July 8, the report said. 

Lyon has already paid the fine, and could have been hit with as much as $6,800 per violation, the report said. The youngest freeholder, who is also chair of the budget committee, is running unopposed in the 2014 Republican Primary.