Murphy signs borrowing bill, GOP files suit – Politico
Good Friday morning!
There’s pretty much no way President Trump wins New Jersey. Which is interesting, because the top brass of his campaign certainly knows the state.
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Wednesday night’s elevation of Bill Stepien to campaign manager cements New Jersey’s place atop the campaign. The state’s influence in Trump world was already pronounced thanks to the president’s son-in-law (and my former boss at PolitickerNJ) Jared Kushner and Kellyanne Conway.
Alas, all this New Jersey knowledge amounts to a hill of beans when it comes to winning the state, which hasn’t voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1988 and, barring a virtually inconceivable turn of events, will not break the 32-year trend this year.
Speaking of beans, New Jersey-based Goya — one of whose heirs, Andy Unanue, made an abortive U.S. Senate run back in 2008 — now also has a prominent role in Trump World, recently being promoted by the president from the Oval Office and the first daughter after its CEO took fire from some Hispanic leaders for his unabashed support for the president.
It really is true that there’s always a Jersey angle.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: “You can’t talk about ‘Black lives matter’ and change names from freeholder to this and that and yet not stand up when it’s time to stand up for diversity and the power leverage that goes on in this state. … I cannot in good conscience lock the legislative doors to minorities and Republicans.” — State Sen. Nia Gill on the Commission on Emergency COVID-19 Borrowing, which has not yet been formally appointed but is expected to be made up of Assemblyman Speaker Craig Coughlin, Senate President Steve Sweeney, Assembly Budget Chair Eliana Pintor Marin (D-Essex) and Senate Budget Chair Paul Sarlo
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Essex County Clerk Chris Durkin, DEP’s Lloyd Naideck, Closter Councilmember Scott Devlin, Atlantic City Councilman Kaleem Shabazz. Saturday for Cooper’s Susan Bass Levin. Sunday for attorney Brian McGinnis, The Marcus Group’s Tom O’Neil
WHERE’S MURPHY? — In Trenton for a coronavirus press conference at 1 p.m.
CORONAVIRUS TRACKER — 254 newly-diagnosed cases for a total of 176,501. 32 more deaths for a total of 13,691 (not including 1,974 probable deaths)
PROGRAMMING NOTE — NJ Playbook will be on hiatus next week, but I’ll still be writing articles, so don’t hesitate to drop me a line. I’ll be back in your inbox on Monday, July 27.
BURROWING INTO DEBT BILL — Murphy signs $9.9B borrowing bill; Republicans promise legal challenge, by POLITICO’s Katherine Landergan: Gov. Phil Murphy late Thursday signed into law a bill that authorizes the state to borrow up to $9.9 billion as revenues continue to plunge in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Murphy’s signature — which came just hours after both houses of the state Legislature approved the measure — was not unexpected. The governor has lobbied hard for the ability to borrow to close what‘s likely to be a multibillion-dollar budget deficit. “The passage of this legislation is an important step in New Jersey’s recovery from the economic ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Murphy said in a statement. “While this is by no means a silver bullet, the ability to responsibly borrow is essential to meeting our fiscal needs in the coming year.” The bill, NJS2697, was debated for hours in both chambers of Legislature.
—@DSteinhardtEsq: “Today, at about 4 pm, the @NJGOP, represented by @senatortesta & his law firm, joined w/ Senate & Assembly Republican leadership & hard working #NJ families & sued @GovMurphy to stop his ill-advised & unconstitutional borrowing. We will take back our State. #NJGOP #LeadRight”
—“Here’s how experts assess N.J.‘s plan to borrow up to $10B”
—“Black lawmakers ask for oversight role as N.J. legislature sends $9.9B borrowing bill to Murphy”
—Mulshine: “With his call for $9.9 billion in borrowing, Murphy goes for broke”
THE INEQUALITY SUPERHIGHWAY — Murphy, DOE reveal plan to bridge ‘digital divide’ using donations, federal funds, by POLITICO’s Carly Sitrin: Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday unveiled his administration’s plan to leverage philanthropic donations and federal funding to get tens of thousands of New Jersey students connected to the internet before schools reopen in September. Schools are preparing to reopen with both in-person and online learning in less than two months. However, Murphy said Thursday that the state Department of Education estimates that roughly 230,000 of the state’s 1.4 million school children were “put at at a disadvantage” because of a lack of technology when classes first went remote on March 18 because of the coronavirus pandemic. According to the most recent estimates from the DOE, nearly 90,000 students are still languishing in that “digital divide,” and do not have consistent internet access or a device at home they could use for online learning in the fall.
UNEMPLOYMENT — New Jersey’s unemployment rate rises to 16.6 percent; 38K new jobless claims filed, by POLITICO’s Katherine Landergan: New Jersey’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 16.6 percent in June, even though more residents were brought back to work as the state’s economy — which was virtually shut down in March because of the coronavirus pandemic — begins to reopen. The details: New Jersey added 130,900 jobs in June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. The state has now recovered about 219,800 jobs — or 26 percent of the job losses suffered in March and April
AT LEAST AFTER NOVEMBER REFERENDUM YOU’LL ALL BE FREE TO HOLD — “Ex-‘freeholders’ now in Legislature explain why they’re for or against ditching the name,” by The Record’s Charles Stile: “Among the freeholder alumni in the Legislature, the decision is greeted with a mixture of ambivalence, reluctance and acceptance. For many, the title was a mark of local political distinction, a stepping-stone post where they learned to govern and built the network of party officials and donors who financed their rise to the Legislature. Two recent New Jersey governors launched their political careers on freeholder boards: Christie Whitman in Somerset County, and Chris Christie in Morris County … he title hearkens back to the Colonial era, when the task of running the affairs of New Jersey’s 21 counties rested solely with wealthy white landowners. Among former freeholders, few knew about the title’s origins. It was just part of the fabric of Jersey life, like tollbooths and full-service gas stations. ‘I don’t think anyone who had the title of freeholder understood the historical definition,’’ said Assemblyman Ralph Caputo of Belleville, an Essex County freeholder from 2003 to 2011. ‘People just accepted the title for what it was.’”
—“Is freeholder really a racist and sexist term?” by The Asbury Park Press’ Erik Larsen: “The word was first used in 15th century England. A freeholder was a legal term for a landowner who had no debt owed on his or her property — one who had a ‘free hold’ on their estate. While women of the era were unequal under the law, unmarried women could own property and become freeholders even in Tudor England and later in colonial New Jersey. Furthermore, there was no legal prohibition against people of color owning land in New Jersey even as there is no dispute today over the state’s own myriad of sins where issues of race are concerned. When New Jersey was a British province, the term ‘chosen freeholder’ was adopted to distinguish those freeholders elected to or appointed from their towns to serve as representatives in their county legislatures. Additionally, New Jersey’s 1776 constitution did not exclude women nor people of color from the right to vote — a rarity in early America.”
—Bill to eliminate ‘freeholder’ title passes first test
REDISTRICTING — “Hugin hints willingness to fund GOP redistricting lawsuit,” by New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “Republicans are likely to launch a legal challenge to a proposed constitutional amendment that will preserve the 2011 legislative redistricting map for another two years if the Democratic-controlled legislature moves forward with their plan. Bob Hugin, who spent more than $36 million of his own money to win a U.S. Senate seat two years ago, has telegraphed a willingness to help fund what could be an expensive fight through the federal court system. ‘The Constitution requires everyone to be counted and redistricting to occur so that fair representation exists at all levels of government. Creating a system where voters could be disenfranchised for the sole purpose of incumbency protection would fly in the face of that principle,’ Hugin said … Republicans think they can win an argument in federal court that extending old maps to 2023 violates the U.S. Supreme Court’s one-man, one-vote decision and that a panel of judges might mandate a 2022 legislative election – or even impose a map drawn by Republicans.”
ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM — A coalition of liberal groups is asking Senate President Steve Sweeney to reverse course on in-person committee meetings and go back to holding them over Zoom. New Jersey Working Families, New Jersey Policy Perspective, New Jersey Citizen Action and Environment New Jersey — and maybe some others — plan to send a lengthy letter today saying: “Even with temperature checks and efforts at masking and social distancing, the move to resume in-person hearings is deeply irresponsible and pits participation in the democratic process against the best medical practices on public health. Masks do not, by themselves, guarantee no transmission of COVID-19, and adherence of mask wearing by legislators (many of whom are in high-risk categories) has been spotty at best.” And when it’s necessary to hold indoor, in-person hearings, “everyone in the State House should have to wear a mask at every moment, even when speaking into the microphone,” the letter says. Sweeney’s not a huge fan of most of those groups, so I’d be shocked if they persuade him.
—FDU poll: 67 percent of New Jerseyans approve of Murphy’s coronavirus response
—“Are women in politics still facing a toxic work environment?”
—“N.J. Pandemic Relief Fund wraps up phase 1, having raised $37M and provided $18M in immediate relief”
—“’As the rest of the country is on fire’ with surging COVID-19 cases, how does it affect NJ?”
—“NJ Transit is expanding its train fleet and rethinking its bus network”
—“How should N.J. reform police? Lawmakers eye host of changes amid protests over killings”
THE MEDIA IS DRIVING THE NARRATIVE BECAUSE THE CAMPAIGN CAR IS STUCK IN FORT LEE TRAFFIC — Trump’s campaign team tries to steady operation after messy shakeup, by POLITICO’s Alex Isenstadt: President Donald Trump’s outgoing campaign manager and his successor gathered staffers at the Trump campaign’s Arlington, Va. headquarters Thursday morning for a “pass the torch” ceremony, after Trump abruptly replaced Brad Parscale with Bill Stepien atop his reelection effort Wednesday night. Two attendees described the 20-minute meeting as emotional, with campaign leaders trying to push the idea that the change represented continuity for Trump’s reelection bid. Parscale thanked the 200 or so assembled staffers and praised Stepien for his political skills. Stepien urged aides to ignore what he described as a media-driven narrative that Trump was losing to Joe Biden, and he told them to ramp up its efforts for the final stretch of the campaign.
—“Bill Stepien Takes Helm of Trump Campaign as a Data-Obsessed Political Fighter,” by The New York TImes’ Nick Corasaniti and Stephanie Saul: “In firing Mr. Stepien, Mr. Christie cited a ‘tone and behavior and attitude of callous indifference’ in Mr. Stepien’s emails that ‘made me lose my confidence in Bill’s judgment.’ But the two have since reconciled. ‘Even during that period of time, when then-candidate Trump came to me and asked me in ’16 about whether or not he should hire Bill, I told him he absolutely should,’ said Mr. Christie, who said he now talked with Mr. Stepien multiple times a week. ‘There was not any falling out in terms of my trust in Bill’s skills during that period of time.’
CAMPAIGN FINANCE— South Jersey Democrats, NJEA engaged in super PAC proxy fight in 2nd District race, by POLITICO’s Matt Friedman: Despite cooling tensions between the South Jersey Democratic machine and the New Jersey Education Association, a political proxy battle played out between them in the 2nd Congressional District’s Democratic primary. The competing super PAC spending came even as the state Legislature passed a bill backed by Senate President Steve Sweeney and the NJEA that offers teachers cheaper health care plans, the result of a compromise between Sweeney and the union after years of fighting. According to newly-available campaign finance records, the NJEA was the primary funder of a super PAC that backed Amy Kennedy, the eventual primary winner. The union, through its own super PAC, Garden State Forward, donated $80,000 to America’s Future First”
IMMIGRATION — “Landlord wants to cut ties with NJ immigrant detention center,” by WNYC’s Karen Yi: “After mounting public pressure, the owner of the building that houses an immigrant detention center in Elizabeth, NJ, says it is cutting ties with the private contractor that operates the facility. In an email to immigrant rights advocates on Tuesday, Elberon Development Group wrote it was ending its relationship with CoreCivic, that manages the Elizabeth Detention Center. Elberon, a real estate developer, wrote that it supports educational, religious and social organizations ‘in the community’ and wants to see ‘its values mirrored’ in its work … It’s unclear when CoreCivic’s lease agreement with Elberon ends or whether the facility will close or relocate. CoreCivic manages several private detention centers across the country. The Elizabeth facility holds asylum seekers and other immigrant detainees facing deportation on behalf of U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).”
—“Bill Stepien was ousted over Bridgegate. Now he’s in charge of Trump’s reelection campaign”
—Snowflack: “Stepien’s challenge: Morris County native in the spotlight as Trump’s campaign manager”
—“Food banks brace for new surge in demand if federal jobless money ends”
—“Pa., N.J. claim Delaware will steal their cargo business if Congress approves shipping bill”
—Edelstein: “Chris Christie vs. Phil Murphy in 2024: A New Jersey fantasy”
A BLOW TO PAUL FIREMAN, THE CIVIL RIGHTS HERO OF OUR TIMES — “Jersey City Council passes resolution urging legislature to pass Liberty State Park Protection Act,” by Hudson County View’s Corey McDonald: “The Jersey City Council passed a resolution urging the state legislature to enact the Liberty State Park Protection Act, which would prohibit any private development in what the measure refers to as ‘The People’s Park.’ While mostly symbolic, the local legislation reaffirms the city’s stance against the park’s privatization during a controversial time when Liberty National Golf Club owner Paul Fireman, the billionaire Rebook co-founder, to further expand his course by three holes onto a migratory birds haven in the park.”
A LITERAL DUMPSTER FIRE — “Park closed for 2 weeks after county says it was trashed by out-of-state visitors,” by NJ Advance Media’s Steve Strunsky: “A 420-acre park in Morris County will be closed for two weeks, after officials say it had been trashed on recent weekends largely by users thought to be from out of state, who left litter, built illegal fires, clogged a brook to make swimming holes, and otherwise defiled the wooded retreat. Hedden County Park, located in the Town of Dover and townships of Mine Hill and Randolph, will be closed through July 28, the Morris County Park Commission announced, after a spike in abuses starting over the July 4 holiday weekend, which also included alcohol consumption without permits, fouled restrooms, and a dumpster fire caused by discarded but still-smoldering charcoal.”
—“Kushner quitting lower Broadway in Long Branch? Mayor hints at another developer”
—“Teaneck elects Michael Pagan, its first Latino councilman”
—“Sussex Dems call for Freeholder Hertzberg to step down”
—“Ewing councilman to challenge Mironov for county chair”
—“Union County prosecutor will review police performance by body cam footage”
—“Camden County prepares to offer $20M business-relief fund”
BUNNIES BUG — “Deluge of rabbits in Ocean City area is endearing to some, annoying to many,” by The Press of Atlantic City’s Bill Barlow: “The city is overrun with rabbits this year, and they are breeding like, well, like it’s their job. The Ocean City Humane Society gets at least a call a day about the animals, animal control officer Jennifer Knipe said. ‘They want us to remove the rabbits,’ she said. ‘They’re destroying gardens. They’re defecating all over properties.’ But there is little the Humane Society or anyone else can do about the rabbits. State law prevents the city from trapping and relocating wildlife under most circumstances. Besides, relocating or exterminating rabbits in a yard is unlikely to help much.”
R.I.P. — “‘Magic School Bus’ author Joanna Cole dead at 75”
—“Not a movie: Viral video shows water gushing into Lincoln Tunnel”
—“Wawa to open its first drive-thru at new South Jersey location”
CORRECTION: Assemblyman Jamel Holley is on the health committee, but not vice-chair, as I wrote yesterday.
