The SCI on the SDA – Politico
Good Thursday morning!
Gov. Phil Murphy got less than 24 hours to enjoy the millionaires tax afterglow before the stench of Trenton again splashed on his administration.
The State Commission of Investigation released a scathing report finding that top Murphy administration staffers knew more than they let on about a patronage hiring spree by former Schools Development Authority chief Lizette Delgado-Polanco.
Read more from Carly Sitrin.
But here’s some news: There will soon be more allegations of malfeasance about top Murphy administration staffers. This time, it’s coming in the form of an amended lawsuit from Blueprint Capital Advisors, a Black-owned firm overseeing $175 million in state investments, that’s suing the state for racial discrimination, retaliation and theft. It has now hired two attorneys linked to Donald Trump: Jay Sekulow of the conservative Constitutional Litigation and Advocacy Group, who you may remember as the president’s lead defense counsel during impeachment, and Michael J. Bowe of Brown Rudnick.
“In my view, it is not just the Division of Investment that has a problem. Broader Trenton has a problem,” Jacob Walthour, Blueprint’s managing principal, said in a phone interview.
The new legal team plans to file an amended complaint within the next couple weeks that will include claims that top Murphy staffers — thus far unnamed — directed retaliatory efforts against the company, as well as other escalations in the case like “double dealing.” It will also likely include defamation claims. This lawsuit’s allegations go back to the Christie administration, but they don’t stop in January 2018.
And before you ask, yes, I see the irony of two lawyers who represented Trump, who during Tuesday’s debate would not condemn white supremacists, now working on a racial discrimination case.
In a statement, Walthour said he hired the new lawyers “because they both understand that both racial and economic justice for all Americans is at stake in our case and have the track record to ensure justice is served in this case.”
WHERE’S MURPHY? — No public schedule. Media: Bloomberg TV at 8 a.m.
CORONAVIRUS TRACKER — 722 newly diagnosed cases for a total of 205,275. Nine more deaths for a total of 14,335 (and 1,787 probable deaths)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Missed yesterday: Rep. Frank Pallone
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I’ve got no comment on the SDA. The report, I haven’t read it. I saw one of my colleagues just raised it as a headline.” — Gov. Phil Murphy
SWOUGHLIN — “Sweeney and Coughlin secure support to clinch re-election,” by New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “Steve Sweeney appears to have the votes locked in to remain as Senate President through 2023 after securing key endorsements from Democratic senators in Middlesex County, the New Jersey Globe has learned. South Jersey Democrats will support Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin for re-election, keeping the two legislative leaders in office for another three years. Four Democratic senators from Middlesex — Linda Greenstein (D-Plainsboro), Robert Smith (D-Piscataway), Patrick Diegnan (D-South Plainfield) and Joseph Vitale (D-Woodbridge) — along with Joseph Cryan (D-Union), committed tonight to back Sweeney’s re-election. Twelve Democratic Assembly members from South Jersey will back Coughlin, joining the six-member Bergen County delegation that endorsed the speaker earlier today.”
NOTHING EVER REALLY CHANGES IN TRENTON — “Phil Murphy goes from progressive to Trenton deal-maker. Just look at his budget,” by The Record’s Charles Stile: “For all his self-congratulation over restoring the millionaires tax to 10.75% — a top rate in effect briefly during the stormy reign of Jon S. Corzine, New Jersey’s first Goldman Sachs governor — the budget Murphy signed is, in many ways, a replay of the tax-and-spend-and-borrow pattern that has managed New Jersey’s fiscal affairs over the past three decades … the new budget could also serve as a diploma certifying Murphy’s graduation into the political academy of Trenton. He met all the course requirements. He cut deals — he agreed to rebates in exchange for votes on the millionaires tax. He strategically doled out the pork— Middlesex and Essex counties are critical for any Democratic candidate for in 2021. And he placated as many constituencies as possible by going on a spending spree. It’s a far cry from Murphy’s first two years, when Coughlin and Senate President Stephen Sweeney mobilized to teach him a lesson in the transactional norms of the Statehouse.”
THE THIRD-YOUNGEST SENATOR FROM BERGEN COUNTY — “Weinberg says she’ll decide by year’s end whether to seek reelection” by POLITICO’s Matt Friedman: “State Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, one of New Jersey’s most prominent progressive leaders, said she will decide by the end of the year whether to seek reelection in 2021. ‘As soon as I do [decide], I’ll call my family, my two [Assembly] colleagues, and then I’ll call you,’ the 85-year-old Weinberg (D-Bergen) said in a phone interview Wednesday morning. ‘Certainly, by the end of the year.’ At this point in her last term, Weinberg had already committed to seeking reelection. There’s been heavy speculation in Bergen County as to whether Weinberg, who’s been in the Legislature for 26 years, will seek reelection.”
NURSING HOMES — “Trump administration loosened rules for indoor nursing home visits, but NJ’s remain stricter,” by The Record’s Dustin Racioppi: “New Jersey could soon allow more people to visit inside nursing homes again, but operators and family members are growing impatient that the state hasn’t loosened its guidelines even after getting approval from the federal government. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued guidelines on Sept. 17 for long-term care facilities to follow for reopening. They include: No new onset of COVID-19 for 14 days, no reported outbreaks at facilities and a limit on the number of visitors. And if the conditions are met, nursing homes ’must facilitate in-person visitation consistent with the regulations,’ the memo said. ‘Failure to facilitate visitation, without adequate reason related to clinical necessity or resident safety, would constitute a potential violation of’ federal regulations, it said … Over a week after the new federal guidance, advocates are left confused about why the state hasn’t given nursing homes the OK to open if they meet the new standards”
TWO-THIRDS OF A MASTRO — “Murphy doubles funds for lawyers for ICE detainees,” by WNYC’s Matt Katz: “Immigrants held while awaiting deportation or immigration court proceedings do not have a right to attorneys, like criminal defendants do. While almost all immigrants arrested by ICE in New York get attorneys through a program funded by the city and state, that wasn’t the case in New Jersey until Murphy allocated $3.1 million last year. Now, he’s doubled that. While that money still covers fewer than half of the hundreds of New Jerseyans detained by ICE, statistics show that immigrants with lawyers are more likely to avoid deportation, so immigrant advocates said the money will keep families together and save the lives of asylum seekers.”
PANCADEMIA — New Jersey reports 11 Covid outbreaks linked to in-school transmission, by POLITICO’s Sam Sutton: New Jersey has documented Covid-19 outbreaks linked to in-person instruction at 11 schools, representing a little more than 40 cases, state officials said Wednesday. “Eleven outbreaks with a total of 43 cases three weeks in? Probably as good as we would’ve hoped,” Gov. Phil Murphy said during his regular briefing in Trenton. Neither the schools nor the districts were identified.
THIS TIME THEY’LL BE MORE CAREFUL NOT TO ACCIDENTALLY SEND CHECKS TO SUPER PACS THAT DISCLOSE DONORS — PSEG will again ask BPU for $300 million annual nuclear subsidy, by POLITICO’s Samantha Maldonado: PSEG on Thursday will apply for nearly $1 billion in nuclear subsidies over three years in the second round of awards from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. The applications for zero-emissions certificates, or ZECs, will be for the second, three-year eligibility period. The state utility regulator last year awarded PSEG’s three nuclear power plants in Salem County $300 million in annual subsidies for the first three-year period. The board’s vote went against the recommendation of BPU staff, who found there was no need for the subsidies, and caused considerable controversy among elected officials and other stakeholders who spoke out against the initial subsidies.
PENSIONS — “N.J. public worker pension earnings fell short of goals during the fiscal year,” by NJ Advance Media’s Samantha Marcus: “New Jersey’s pension fund for government workers on Wednesday reported a return of 1.2% in the fiscal year that ended June 30, trailing its policy benchmark and other large public public pension funds … The state assumes the fund will return 7.5 percent on its investments over the long term … Between July 1, 2019 and June 30, the fund returned 1.2%. In the first six months of the calendar year its investments were down 3.54%.”
EDUCATION — Why New Jersey’s progressive school funding formula still isn’t working for some children, by POLITICO’s Carly Sitrin: New Jersey’s school funding formula is among the most progressive in the nation, but a new report shows the state’s failure to fully fund it has left a significant equity gap between white and Latinx students — and the coronavirus is threatening to widen it. Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday signed into law a $32.7 billion, nine-month spending plan that holds school funding flat and sets the state back in its seven-year commitment to fully fund the formula and achieve equity in spending for all children. That means another year Latinx students will have to make do with less funding than the state says they need, compounded by difficulties wrought by the pandemic, including access to technology and a disproportionate toll the virus has been taking on their families and communities. It will also send the state scrambling for more money next year when New Jersey — which already has one of the worst credit ratings among the states — will be facing an increasingly uncertain fiscal picture.
— “These restaurants reopened. That doesn’t mean they’ll survive”
— NJ Transit board members demand more say in agency’s budget next year
— “Bergen Democrats will back Coughlin for another term as Assembly Speaker”
— “Bramnick continues campaign against MVC delays”
QUIZNOS IS GONNA HAVE TO CHANGE ITS LOGO SOON — “A member of Congress is facing death threats after QAnon went after him,” by Buzzfeed’s Sarah Mimms: ”Last month, the House Republican campaign committee falsely accused Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski of lobbying to ‘protect sexual predators.’ On Tuesday, followers of QAnon — a collective delusion that alleges President Donald Trump is fighting a Satanist cabal of elites who abuse children — targeted him, leading to death threats. Malinowski had coauthored a bipartisan resolution last month that would have the House formally condemn QAnon and on Tuesday he was the subject of a ‘Q drop’ — conspiracy-filled, false messages posted to message boards from the self-proclaimed US government insider to their followers … Malinowski received multiple death threats on Tuesday after the Q post went up, he and his office told BuzzFeed News.”
TELLING IT LIKE IT WASN’T — Republicans plead with Trump to hit white supremacists harder, by POLITICO’s Nick Niedzwiadek, Marianne LeVine and Burgess Everett: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, downplayed the alarm many had to the president’s remarks, saying on ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ that he “heard it differently.” Pressed … on the president’s ‘stand by’ directive, Christie reiterated that he “didn’t read it that way, but if you want to read it that way that’s your prerogative.
$2 MILLION — That’s the sum Rep. Andy Kim raised from July through September, according to his campaign.
— “Christie helped Trump prep for first presidential debate, but said result was ‘hotter’ than expected”
— “House Dems want answers on USPS resource removals, staffing levels”
IT’S ALMOST AS IF NOT SOCIAL DISTANCING HELPS SPREAD THE VIRUS — ‘All considerations on the table’ to address exploding Covid cases in one New Jersey town, by POLITIC’s Sam Sutton: Covid-19 outbreaks in Lakewood have begun to spiral out of control. New Jersey Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli on Wednesday reported that the positivity rate on new tests taken in the Ocean County township had climbed to 27 percent as of Sept. 26, nine times the statewide spot positivity rate. In addition, she said, 134 of the 722 new cases reported statewide on Wednesday originated in Lakewood, a community of 104,000 whose growth has been fueled by a large Orthodox Jewish community. “Ocean County is our main focus right now,” Gov. Phil Murphy said during his regular briefing in Trenton. While local community leaders, including elected officials, rabbis and other religious leaders have cooperated with the health department, that hasn’t always translated “in the trenches.” “Is it a canary in the coal mine? I don’t know,” he later added. “I hope it isn’t. I hope it is not.”
— “Murphy to visit Ocean County Friday amid scramble to contain Lakewood outbreak“
THE BASKIN ROBBINS OF ALLEGEDLY CORRUPT OFFICIALS — “Ex-assemblyman faces mounting charges in alleged kickback scheme,” by NJ Advance Media’s Chris Sheldon: “A former state Assemblyman from Essex County who has been indicted for defrauding the city of Orange while he was its acting business administrator was charged with more crimes Tuesday in a superseding indictment. Former East Orange resident Willis Edwards III, 49, is now facing 31 crimes, which include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and taking kickbacks in connection with the business of Orange, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said in a release.”
PATERSON FAILS — “Despite funding the purchase of body cameras, Paterson is NJ’s only major city without them,” by The Paterson Press’ Joe Malinconico: “Paterson remains the only major New Jersey city where police officers are not equipped with body cameras, according to a recent survey by the state Attorney General’s Office. Newark police have 1,123 body cameras, Camden is next with 412, then Elizabeth with 342, Jersey City with 276 and Trenton with 200, as found in a recent survey conducted by the office of Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. The Paterson City Council approved the purchase of 150 body cameras in January, but the Police Department didn’t start training its officers on the devices until September, law enforcement officers said. Paterson won’t begin wearing the cameras while on duty until after the Municipal Law Department and Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office approve policies for their use, officials said.”
BARRED MIZPAH — “County criminal investigation closes Mizpah fire co., emergency township meeting,” by The Daily Journal’s Joseph P. Smith: “Atlantic County and township officials remain mum on the reason behind a decision disclosed early Tuesday to ‘administratively close’ the Mizpah Volunteer Fire Department due to an ongoing criminal investigation by the county Prosecutor’s Office.”
— Snowflack: “In Perth Amboy, Mayor Diaz Leads from the streets”
— “Appellate court: Hoboken developers shouldn’t have been able to bypass 10% affordable housing“
PAPA GANJA — “Popular pizzeria owner and his wife produced marijuana edibles in their N.J. home to sell, police say,” by NJ Advance Media’s Jessica Remo: “The chef and co-owner of a popular Sayreville pizzeria and his wife have been charged with having more than 25 pounds of marijuana and running an edible production facility out of the home they live in with their two young children, according to authorities. Michael Colandrea, 35, chef and co-owner of Nunzio’s Kitchen, also in Sayreville, and his wife Angela Colandrea, 34, were charged.”
— “Monmouth University COVID-19 cases spike; stricter rules in place, no hospitalizations”
— “Does Port Monmouth hold the answer to saving the Shore from sea level rise?”
— “Battleship NJ ‘recommissioned’ for weekend tours in Camden”
