State Sen. Declan O’Scanlon (R-Little Silver) is calling for an expanded investigation into whether Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s campaign was warned about allegations involving then-Centenary University President Dale Caldwell while he was campaigning for lieutenant governor.
O’Scanlon referenced a New Jersey Globe report that a potential whistleblower contacted Leslie Bockol, who was working on the Sherrill campaign, with concerns about Caldwell, but after the campaign initially appeared receptive, it later stopped responding and allegedly disclosed her identity despite a request for confidentiality.
“The Caldwell situation is, and must, run its course,” O’Scanlon said. “But this new, under-reported, revelation appears to be a separate potential scandal and raises troubling questions: What did Governor Sherrill, Lt. Governor Caldwell, and their staff know, when did they know it, what did they do about it?”
Bockol, a children’s book author and progressive activist, is now employed by the Department of State as Caldwell’s speechwriter.
O’Scanlon questioned whether Bockol discussed the whistleblower’s concerns with anyone before contact ended, whether the whistleblower faced retaliation, and whether Bockol’s current position was connected to how she handled the matter.
“This is a scandal within the scandal,” O’Scanlon said. “If concerns about Caldwell’s conduct were brought to the Sherrill campaign before voters had the opportunity to judge him, and those concerns were ignored,...
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