N.J. to Murphy: Don't run for prez

From: POLITICO New Jersey Playbook - Thursday Nov 10,2022 11:55 am

Nov 10, 2022

Presented by AARP New Jersey

Good Thursday morning!

Perhaps Gov. Phil Murphy is reveling in Democrats’ stronger-than-expected election night. But on Wednesday morning, FDU released a poll that’s not exactly great for him.

The governor’s approval rating is slightly underwater with New Jersey residents, within the margin of error, at 40 percent approve to 42 percent disapprove. Not great, certainly, but not terrible.

Fifty percent of Democrats do not want Murphy to run for president, compared to 30 percent who do. That should not come as a huge surprise, given what we’ve seen before. It’s easy to attribute former Gov. Chris Christie’s fall from superstar to most loathed governor in the history of New Jersey to the Bridgegate scandal, which played a role. But the huge amount of time he spent out of state to prepare for his failed 2016 gubernatorial run also soured voters on him. Including Republicans. A whopping 80 percent of Republicans don’t want Christie to run again in 2024, which he’s signaled, according to the poll.

Senators, it seem, get a pass. While the poll doesn’t include an approval rating for Sen. Cory Booker, he didn’t see any significant decline over his 2020 presidential run.

Murphy’s presidential prospects probably took a hit from the midterms. President Joe Biden had already been signaling he would run for reelection, and last night’s results didn’t dissuade him . And so Murphy might have to wait until 2028, at which point he’ll have been out of office for close to three years. That is, if he finishes his term. Is there anywhere else you could see him going?

Read the full poll here .

DAYS SINCE MURPHY REFUSED TO SAY WHETHER HIS WIFE’S NON-PROFIT SHOULD DISCLOSE DONORS: 277

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Joe Vitale, Josh Margolin, Terrance Bankston, Ellen Simon

WHERE’S MURPHY? — In Atlantic City at 10:30 a.m. to speak at the NJEA convention.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Almost every one of these Trump-endorsed candidates that you see in competitive states have lost, and it’s a huge loss for Trump … It shows that his political instincts are not about the party. They’re not about the country. They’re about him.” — Chris Christie on Donald Trump

A message from AARP New Jersey:

Caring for a parent, spouse or other older loved one can be financially and emotionally draining. Every day, family caregivers struggle to assist older loved ones often using money out of their own pockets. The average family caregiver spends about a quarter of their income on caregiving activities. That’s a huge burden. But NJ lawmakers can give family caregivers the relief they need by supporting the Caregiver’s Assistance Act (A1802/S2021). Tell lawmakers: support (A1802/S2021).

WHAT TRENTON MADE

DEMOCRATS FREED UP TO WORRY ABOUT MENENDEZ — After a traumatic 2021, New Jersey Democrats breathing easier after Tuesday's results , by POLITICO’s Matt Friedman: New Jersey Democrats entered Election Day 2022 with the trauma still fresh from 2021, when a Republican surge took out their state Senate president, substantially narrowed their legislative majorities and came within a few points of ousting Gov. Phil Murphy. But Tuesday's results turned out about as well as most in the party dared hope …

“Certainly the Dobbs decision took some of the wind out of our sails, as did the way some of our candidates handled that issue,” said former state Assemblymember Jack Ciattarelli, the 2021 GOP gubernatorial nominee who came within 3 points of unseating Murphy last year. Ciattarelli, who said in his concession speech last year that he intends to run for governor again in 2025, declined to say in an interview Wednesday morning which candidates he was talking about.

ENERGY — ” NJ’s energy storage plan hits resistance ,” by NJ Spotlight News’ Tom Johnson: “New Jersey is trying to kick-start its lagging efforts to develop energy storage, but a proposal to bar electric utilities from owning such projects is running into opposition. … [E]fforts to develop energy storage have failed to achieve legislative- established goals and endorsed by the Murphy administration. The state fell well short of developing 600 megawatts of storage by the end of 2021, a miss that makes a target of 2,000 MW by 2030 all the more difficult. New Jersey had over 500 MW of storage either installed or in the production pipeline as of last June.”

THINGS WENT HORIZONTAL — Memo: Horizon failed to meet financial promises for public workers' health insurance program , by POLITICO’s Daniel Han: Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey failed to meet promised financial guarantees for the state-run public workers' health insurance programs in 2020, according to a memo from the state’s consultants obtained by POLITICO. The June 2021 memo from the consulting firm Aon led to Horizon, which administers the state-run health insurance programs for government workers, paying a $24 million penalty to the state. It is unclear what costs the state faced for Horizon not meeting its financial promises.

VACCINES — “ Fired state worker who was denied religious exemption for COVID vaccine sues N.J. ,” by NJ Advance Media’s Susan K. Livio: “A man who worked with disabled men for 15 years at a state facility in South Jersey is suing the Murphy Administration for abruptly deciding it would no longer honor the worker’s request to refuse the COVID-19 vaccine on religious grounds, a not-for-profit law firm representing him said on Wednesday.”

—“ Cash toll collection will end at Lincoln Tunnel next month ”

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BIDEN TIME

TOM KEAN: THE NAME YOU KNOW — Malinowski concedes to Republican Tom Kean Jr. in New Jersey's 7th District , by POLITICO’s Matt Friedman : Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski conceded to Republican challenger Tom Kean Jr. late Wednesday morning in New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, becoming the only incumbent member of the state's House delegation to lose re-election this year. Kean Jr.'s victory had been anticipated. Malinowski was considered the underdog from the start after Democrats prevailed in the redistricting process last year, redrawing the 7th District to lean more Republican in order to shore up the districts of other potentially vulnerable Democratic incumbents. The Kean-Malinowski race was considered the most competitive in the state.”

BATTLE OF THE BILLIES — “ New Jersey’s Republican wave didn’t arrive. why did we think it would? ” by New Jersey Globe’s Joey Fox: “[E]lections are unpredictable, and they’re often unpredictable in unpredictable ways. For example, even with Democrats doing pretty well across the state, Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson) is on track to win by his smallest margin in decades in a race virtually no one was following closely. Republican Billy Prempeh, who ran an energetic but underfunded campaign, is currently down just 54%-44%, a better result than Republicans got in the 3rd or 11th districts. If you had a time machine and told Democrats two days ago Pascrell would win by such a small margin, they’d have thrown in the towel and prepared for heavy losses. Instead, that result coexists with basically good Democratic performances elsewhere.”

CLARK REPUBLICANS SEEK SAME WOMAN AS POTENTIAL CANDIDATE FOR OFFICE — “ Middle Township police seek woman in apparent Election Day bias crime ,” by The Press of Atlantic City’s Eric Conklin: “Authorities are looking for a woman caught on surveillance video hanging three stuffed dolls from nooses near a political sign for Democratic 2nd Congressional District candidate Tim Alexander. Police Chief Christopher Leusner said Tuesday his officers visited a site in Rio Grande after a photo of the dolls hanging from trees near the sign was provided to the department. Leusner said his department was entering into a bias crime investigation with the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office. Alexander, who is Black, lost the race for the seat to incumbent Republican Jeff Van Drew.”

—Stile: “ These are the problems facing NJ Democrats and Republicans moving toward 2024 ”

—“ Friendly Fire Election Special: Behold, the pink splash ”

—Snowflack: “ CD-7 post mortem ”

—” Six names for the short list of potential Kean opponents in 2024 ”

—“ Healey congratulates Kim on NJ-3 victory ”

A message from AARP New Jersey:

LOCAL

BILL SPADEA TO SUMMON MIKE LINDELL — “ Election Day mess in Mercer County over ballots traced to coding issues; investigation continues ,” by NJ Advance Media’s Ted Sherman: “Mercer County officials signed a $2.8 million contract this past March with Dominion Voting Systems to make certain that the county would be able count all the votes on Tuesday. On Election Day, the entire system inexplicably crashed. Exactly what happened in Mercer County remains uncertain. And although all votes, which were recorded on paper ballots, were later tabulated, the failure attributed to an unexplained coding error on the ballots slowed counting throughout the night and left sone voters frustrated. Officials on Wednesday said they had launched an investigation … Dominion officials in a statement said the issue in Mercer County was a printing issue. ‘The Dominion tabulators functioned exactly as they should by rejecting incorrectly printed ballots,’ said a spokeswoman. ‘We are actively working with Royal Printing and Mercer County election officials on this issue.’”

PATERSON — “ This may be why Paterson's former top cop dropped his lawsuit against the city ,” by The Paterson Press’ Joe Malinconico: “Fired Police Chief Ibrahim Baycora has dropped his lawsuit against the city, possibly ending a vitriolic public dispute in which the mayor accused his hand-picked appointee of sleeping on the job as crime in Paterson soared. Baycora agreed to withdraw his lawsuit as part of “a resolution with the administration” over the chief’s retirement, said Adam Kleinfeldt, the former chief’s lawyer. The details of Baycora’s retirement deal have not yet been made public. During a Sept. 13 City Hall press conference, Mayor Andre Sayegh lambasted Baycora, saying the chief ‘dishonorably’ reneged on his severance payout agreement and was seeking an ‘exorbitant’ amount of additional money that he was not entitled to receive.”

CLARK VOTERS NOT TURNED OFF BY RACISM — “ Voters back Clark incumbents in GOP stronghold, despite racism scandal ,” by NJ Advance Media’s Riley Yates: “Despite a racism scandal, voters in Clark backed township council by re-electing four Republican incumbents over a slate of challengers on Tuesday. Frank Mazzarella, Patrick O’Connor, Steven Hund and Brian Toal easily cruised to new four-year terms on the suburban township’s governing board by wide margins over their Democratic opponents, according to unofficial results.

"Clark is a deep-red Union County community that has long been dominated by the GOP. Democrats had made the race a referendum on longtime Mayor Sal Bonaccorso, a Republican who was caught on secret recordings using racial slurs that included the n-word. All four incumbents have steadfastly backed Bonaccorso, and voted in 2020 to approve a legal settlement of more than $400,000 that sought to keep those tapes secret from the public.”

DON’T MISS POLITICO’S 2nd ANNUAL DEFENSE SUMMIT ON 11/16: The United States is facing a defining moment in the future of its defense, national security and democratic ideals. The current conflicts and developments around the world are pushing Washington to reshape its defense strategy and how it cooperates with allies. Join POLITICO for our second annual defense summit, “At a Crossroads: America’s Defense Strategy” on November 16 in person at the Schuyler DC or join online to hear keynote interviews and panels discussing the road ahead for America’s national security. REGISTER HERE .

REED NOT BROKEN — “ Gusciora leads big in Trenton; many council seats up in the air ,” by New Jersey Globe’s Joey Fox: “Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora has a huge lead in his bid for a second term, putting him in a dominant position against two of his longtime foes, Council President Kathy McBride and Councilwoman Robin Vaughn, in the city’s nonpartisan election. According to numbers from the Mercer County Clerk’s office, Gusciora currently has more than 70% of the vote. Because of a voting machine glitch, vote tabulation in Mercer County has been significantly delayed and many more votes remain to be counted, but Gusciora seems unlikely to relinquish such a large lead.”

LEI CITY — “ A taxpayer-funded trip to Hawaii? Why? ” by The Star-Ledger Editorial Board’s Julie O’Connor: “Over eight months this year, district staffers traveled to conferences in Las Vegas, New Orleans, Orlando, Atlanta, Palm Springs, Puerto Rico and Honolulu. The district is also sending at least 10 people to both San Diego and Miami — including Newark Superintendent Roger León, his chief of staff and most of the school board members, who are scheduled to travel to Florida this winter. Yet when we shared what we learned with them, they wouldn’t answer questions. They immediately went on the defensive. ‘You are suggesting that something was inappropriate about the travel when you know we don’t determine conference locations,” wrote the spokesperson for both the superintendent and the board, Nancy Deering. On the contrary: This was a simple search for the facts. Now that we have them, we are asking: Why do we need these trips?”

WAIT’LL THEY LEARN WHAT WENT ON IN THEIR TOWN’S NAMESAKE — “ Sparta parental choice slate secures clean sweep in 17-way school board race ,” by The New Jersey Herald’s Kyle Morel: “A team of Sparta candidates running under a ‘Students First’ banner prevailed in a crowded field of 17 candidates for the township Board of Education, in a race that typified the hotly contested school elections that swept New Jersey this year. According to preliminary results from the Sussex County Clerk's Office, Lauren Collier (3,441 votes), Kurt Morris (3,432 votes) and Leigh McMichael (2,949 votes) secured a trio of three-year board terms in the largest of four contested board races in the county. Walter Knapp (3,817), LeeAnne Pitzer (3,771) and Christina Longo-Keiling (3,763) earned three one-year, unexpired terms on the board, which has nine seats in total. All six presumed winners ran together on a platform that highlighted parental choice and transparency in curriculum, along with promoting shared services to improve the value of property taxes.”

—“ Palisades Park makes history after new mayor chosen between two Korean American candidates ”

—“ Marcia Karrow elected Flemington mayor, unseats incumbent Betsy Driver ”

—“ Montclair voters overwhelmingly approve $188 million school bond ”

—“ 2022 General Election: The biggest winners and losers in Hudson County ”

—“ ‘Leadership that Listens’ pulls off clean sweep in hotly contested Hoboken BOE race’

—“ Berdnik wins fifth term as Passaic County Sheriff, holding off Republican Maher ”

—“ Democrats sweep Passaic County races, as GOP is hit and miss in municipal elections ”

—“ Perth Amboy council race will go to runoff ”

—“ Teaneck school board incumbents win in crowded race ”

EVERYTHING ELSE

IF BLACKBERRIES EXISTED WHEN YOUR CAR WAS MANUFACTURED YOU CAN GET ‘HISTORIC’ PLATES — “ NJ Transit spends $142M to buy the last replacements for buses that predated the iPhone ,” by NJ Advance Media’s Larry Higgs: “A massive bus purchase that began seven years ago to replace all of NJ Transits aging cruiser buses is in its final chapter, allowing the retirement of buses that were built before Apple produced its first iPhone. NJ Transit’s board of directors took the last step in the systematic replacement of almost 1,400 buses Wednesday when it approved a $142.99 million contract with Motor Coach Industries to build the last 172 cruiser buses, that will replace smaller, 20-year-old buses that date back to the early 2000′s. The price also includes spare parts.”

—“ 86-year-old N.J. pilot returns from flying around world for a 4th time ”

A message from AARP New Jersey:

Caring for a parent, spouse or other older loved one can be financially and emotionally draining. Every day, family caregivers struggle to assist loved ones often using money out of their own pockets. The average family caregiver spends about a quarter of their income on caregiving activities. Many take on debt or tap into savings to make sure their loved ones get the care they need. That’s a huge burden. And their sacrifices save the state and taxpayers money by keeping their loved ones out of costly nursing home facilities. New Jersey family caregivers provide more than $13 billion a year in unpaid care. It’s past time to give them some financial relief. NJ lawmakers can take action by supporting the Caregiver’s Assistance Act (A1802/S2021). This bill would provide a modest tax credit for family caregivers who pay for expensive care out of their own pockets. Tell lawmakers: support (A1802/S2021).

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