PORT AUTHORITY — “Governor to name Helmy, Kelley, Bollwage to Port Authority,” by The New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “Gov. Phil Murphy will nominate two of his top staffers, George Helmy and Joe Kelley, and Elizabeth Mayor Christian Bollwage, to serve as commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the New Jersey Globe has learned. Helmy is Murphy’s chief of staff and Kelly is his deputy chief of staff for economic growth issues. Both will remain in the governor’s office. Kevin O’Toole, a former Republican state senator who was named to the Port Authority by Gov. Chris Christie in 2017, will remain as chairman. Helmy and Kelly have developed a strong relationship with O’Toole and will support him for the chairmanship, the New Jersey Globe has confirmed.”
MURPHY COMMENTS ON PENDING LEGISLATION — Murphy announces support for 3 bills that would increase colleges' financial accountability, by POLITICO’s Carly Sitrin: Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday threw his support behind a three-bill package aimed at heightening fiscal accountability measures for New Jersey's colleges and universities. “The last thing our students or our faculty need” is to have their decision to attend or teach at a particular college “turned on its head by their chosen institution's potential fiscal insolvency or some other disruption,” Murphy said at an event in Union Township. “Our public colleges and universities shouldn't just be held to the highest levels of accountability and transparency by their students and faculty,” Murphy said. “They must be held to these standards by us in government and they must be held to these standards by all residents who invest in these institutions through their tax dollars.” GOP HOT FOR GAS STOVES — “Gas stove culture war spreads to N.J. as top Republicans heat up the debate,” by NJ Advance Media’s Brent Johnson: “[A] pair of Republican state lawmakers say they will preemptively introduce a proposed law that would prevent any ban on gas stoves from being implemented in New Jersey. State Senate Minority Leader Steven Oroho, R-Sussex, and state Sen. Joe Pennachio, R-Morris, announced the impending bill Wednesday. Oroho, the top-ranking Republican in Trenton, said ‘we can’t let” Biden and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, both Democrats, ‘ban affordable energy sources while New Jersey families are struggling with soaring prices and inflation.’ ‘We certainly don’t need Democrats in our kitchens dictating how we cook our dinner,’ Oroho added.” MURPHY STILL ALIVE — “NJ riders with disabilities lament Access Link's delays, lost drivers. NJ Transit promises change,” by Gothamist’s Karen Yi: “NJ Transit has six months to start improving its Access Link public ride service for people with disabilities, after the U.S. attorney's office found a pattern of late trips and excessively long rides. Gothamist found a similar trend in a review of more than five years of ridership data provided by NJ Transit, and in interviews with longtime passengers. Gothamist additionally joined a rider with a brain injury for four trips last summer. One time, the driver arrived four hours after the appointment window. During another time, the driver got lost.” LAWSUIT — “Judge allows Blueprint bias case to proceed,” by NJ Biz’s Matthew Fazelpoor: ‘“I’ve had some very, very high profile, very important cases in my career,’ Michael Bowe, litigation chair and attorney at Brown Rudnick LLP, told NJBIZ. ‘This is as important as any.’ The case Bowe is referring to is the 2020 lawsuit filed by Blueprint, a Newark-based capital asset manager founded in 2015 by Jacob Walthour and Carrie Pickett. In that 363-paragraph complaint, Walthour alleged that Blueprint was exploited and discriminated against by an ‘old boy’s network’ of government officials and Wall Street firms. Blueprint claims its pension plan ideas were ‘usurped’ by the state’s Division of Investment (DOI) and steered instead to BlackRock and Owl Rock. “The lawsuit was filed against those entities as well as leaders and officials, including Gov. Phil Murphy, Chief of Staff George Helmy, Attorney General Matthew Platkin and others. On Dec. 23, 2022, U.S. District Judge Julien Xavier Neals in Newark issued a 102-page decision in response to the defendants’ request to dismiss the suit. While he did dismiss the individual claims against Murphy in addition to several against the state and individuals in their official capacities, he also allow several of the civil counts to proceed, including, most notably, the claim of racketeering against the DOI.” ‘23 RACES — “Latham Tiver enters race for 8th district Senate seat as the front runner,” by The New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “Latham Tiver, a labor leader and former Burlington County freeholder, has emerged as the favorite for the GOP nomination for an open State Senate in the 8th legislative district where freshman Republican Jean Stanfield is not seeking re-election. Tiver is a business representative for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825, one of the state’s most politically influential unions.” — “The DeCroce Comeback,” by InsiderNJ’s Fred Snowflack: “BettyLou DeCroce’s comeback has officially begun. The former state assemblywoman announced Thursday that she’s in the race for the Republican nomination for the LD-26 seat she held for nine years. This was not unexpected. In fact, many observers assumed DeCroce would run again soon after she lost a primary two years ago.” — NJ Globe: “Committee approves pair of bills requiring prepaid postage for mail-in ballots, applications” — NJ Globe: “Roger Chugh, former McGreevey administration official, dies at 68” — NJ Monitor: “Assembly panel advances bill making ‘sextortion’ a crime” — NJ Globe: “Zwicker says process to determine Jaffer’s successor is underway” — OP-ED: “New Jersey residents desperately need better access to health care. Here’s a solution.” — NJ Spotlight News:“NJ issues consumer alert over crisis pregnancy centers” — Insider NJ: “Making (more) Room for Cannabis Companies (that exploit us)” | 
