News: POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: Christie doesn't see the humor in Cameo pranks

Friday, October 30, 2020

POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: Christie doesn't see the humor in Cameo pranks

Oct 30, 2020

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By Matt Friedman

Presented by Noom

Good Friday morning!

Former Gov. Chris Christie got tricked yesterday on Cameo — twice.

The campaigns of two Democrats — Montana gubernatorial candidate Mike Cooney and New Hampshire Rep. Chris Pappas — each paid $200 so Christie would unwittingly make short videos that had the effect of poking fun of their opponents.

The Cooney-commissioned video highlighted the fact that his Republican opponent, Greg Gianforte — or "Greg" as Christie knew him from the request — has a long history in New Jersey and family roots here.

"Listen: We can do this the easy way or the hard way. You can come back voluntarily. Or maybe they'll send me out to get you. I don't think that's what you want, Greg. So get yourself back to Jersey quick," Christie says in the video.

The Pappas video had Christie telling "Matty," in this case former Christie aide Matt Mowers who's now seeking a congressional seat in New Hampshire, about the importance of wearing masks. That video highlighted not just Mowers' alleged disregard of masks but his ties to Christie, who is barely mentioned on Mowers' campaign website despite Christie being the reason he moved to New Hampshire.

Christie told NJ Advance Media that the Cooney-commissioned Cameo and the Democratic Governors Association, which wrote a press release about it, exploited the charity his Cameo proceeds go to: The Center for Great Expectations. Clearly, Cooney exploited Christie. But if the money still goes to the charity, how is the prank doing anything to the charity but benefiting it?

They got you, gov.

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER: 1,477 newly-diagnosed cases for a total of 234,547. Eight more deaths for a total of 14,439 (and 1,793 probable deaths)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Frank Pallone, Dem operative Henry de Koninck, LD38 Assembly COS Matt Bonasia, VOA's Dan Sperrazza. Saturday for Assembly members Joann Downey, Nancy Pinkin and Ralph Caputo. Sunday for Assembly Dem spox Kevin McArdle.

WHERE'S MURPHY?: At Rutgers in Piscataway for an 11 a.m. announcement. Media: CNN at 8:40 a.m., Yahoo Finance at 9:20 a.m.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "It was quite humorous." — Gov. Phil Murphy on the Christie Cameo prank

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WHAT TRENTON MADE

IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE CASE COUNTS AND HOSPITALIZATIONS — Murphy: The second Covid wave is 'starting to crash on our shores', by POLITICO's Katherine Landergan : The second wave is here. That was the blunt message New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivered Thursday during his coronavirus briefing as the state rushes to finalize its stockpile of health care supplies. "The second wave of the coronavirus is no longer something off in the future. It is coming, and it is coming now," Murphy said. "We have been seeing the numbers of new cases grow exponentially across the past several weeks." New Jersey had clamped down on the number of coronavirus cases over the summer, but has seen a steady spike in recent weeks.

VAAD TO THE BONE — A tale of two states' battles against Covid spikes in Orthodox communities, by POLITICO's Sam Sutton : Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio are confronting political fallout from their haphazard crackdown to restrict gatherings in the city's Orthodox Jewish communities to stem a resurgence of Covid-19. Across the Hudson River, amid severe outbreaks in the Orthodox enclave of Lakewood, N.J., Gov. Phil Murphy's decision to limit the state's response to community outreach, testing and contact tracing allowed his administration to emerge from a politically thorny health crisis relatively unscathed. Only weeks after viral spread gripped Lakewood and New York's outer boroughs, posing a major threat to the region's recovery, case totals and spot positivity rates in both hot spots have begun to tail off. But the steps state and local officials in New York and New Jersey took to deliver those results could not have been any more different, or elicited such jarringly disparate responses.

DROP THE BALL BOXES — "Placement of ballot drop boxes far from ideal in NJ. Some voters must travel miles to reach one," by NJ Spotlight's Colleen O'Dea: "Newark, New Jersey's most populous city, has only two boxes, both located at public buildings less than a half-mile from one another, while three of the city's five wards have none. Residents living along the borders of the North and South wards, each of which has about 56,000 residents, have to travel almost 3.5 miles to get to one of the boxes in the center of the city, an analysis by NJ Spotlight News found. But in six northwestern suburban Essex County communities with a combined population of just 41,000, there are six boxes, one per town, with no one living more than 2.8 miles from a box. Questions about ballot box placement have also arisen in Burlington and Salem counties. For some, this in turn has raised questions about access to voting, particularly for Blacks and Hispanics, in a presidential election for which Gov. Phil Murphy took the unprecedented step of ordering that a ballot be sent to every active registered voter due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic."

COPS — New Jersey bill to limit law enforcement at the polls pulled from legislative agenda, by POLITICO's Matt Friedman: A controversial bill that would limit law enforcement's presence at polling places was pulled from Thursday's Senate and Assembly voting sessions, killing its chance of becoming law before Tuesday's election. The bill, NJ S2923 (20R), was introduced in response to President Donald Trump's call for people to monitor the polls and the Republican National Committee's voter suppression campaign in New Jersey in 1981 that enlisted off-duty police officers who intimidated voters in heavily-minority districts. The measure was sponsored in both houses by Black lawmakers. It was opposed by police unions who took offense to the idea their members would work to suppress the vote and by elections officials who said some of the bill's provisions were unworkable.

THE BIG TAXLE — "Your NYC job is now your NJ home office job. Where should your taxes go?" by The Record's Stacey Barchenger: " Every year commuters including Rosa, of Manalapan, collectively pay billions of dollars in income tax to other states. But with the coronavirus pandemic closing offices and shifting many employees to work from their homes in the Garden State, a debate is brewing about which state those billions should benefit. A bipartisan group of New Jersey lawmakers say New York in particular is unfairly taxing Garden State residents who are now working from home and whose tax dollars should stay in the state. New Jersey may soon take an initial step to quantify how much it could gain if New York stopped taxing remote workers, wading into what could become a political war with its next-door neighbor."

133.3 MASTROS — Port Authority's $1.2B year-to-date revenue loss is worst in agency's history, by POLITICO's Samantha Maldonado : The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's year-to-date financial losses are the worst the agency has seen, reflecting a $1.2 billion drop in revenue during the first nine months of the year. "This revenue loss, representing one of the worst financial downturns in the Port Authority's recent history, is completely driven by the adverse impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on our facility activity volumes," Executive Director Rick Cotton said at the authority's board meeting Thursday, calling again for federal relief funds.

HIGHER EDUCATION — Murphy nominates United Negro College Fund executive as New Jersey higher ed secretary, by POLITICO's Carly Sitrin: Brian Bridges, the vice president of research and member engagement at the United Negro College Fund, is Gov. Phil Murphy's nominee for New Jersey's next secretary of higher education, POLITICO first reported. Bridges has a lengthy resume, featuring experience in equity and access, including several positions dealing directly with historically Black colleges and universities as well as other minority-serving institutions. If confirmed by the state Senate, the 52-year-old Bridges will lead an office with limited enforcement power but much symbolic responsibility for the 81 higher education institutions operating in New Jersey. Bridges will replace former Secretary of Higher Education Zakiya Smith Ellis, who stepped down July 3 to join the front office.

HIGH DEMAND — "NJ marijuana legalization: Cops desperate for training to nab stoned drivers," by The Asbury Park Press' Jerry Carino : "With marijuana use expected to rise if the ballot initiative passes, chiefs are anticipating more impaired drivers on the road — those who are stoned on weed or high on mixed weed and alcohol use. Because there is no equivalent of the Breathalyzer (now the Alcotest) to measure marijuana impairment, convictions for stoned driving rely on the observations of thoroughly trained drug recognition experts (DREs). 'The demand for DREs always exceeded the amount of training that was being offered,' Hazlet police chief Ted Wittke said. 'For several years we've tried getting more and more officers trained, but they can only run a certain amount of courses per year statewide. It's not enough to meet the demand in my opinion. That's the consensus of all the chiefs. They'd all like to see that expanded. But State Police are giving the course free of charge and they're bound by manpower (limitations).'"

TO BE FAIR, THE GOP RECENTLY INCREASED ITS NUMBER OF LAWMAKERS FROM MINORITY BACKGROUNDS BY 100% (FROM 0 TO 1) — Republican lawmakers push back against bills requiring diversity, implicit bias education, by Carly: The state Assembly on Thursday passed two measures that would require New Jersey schools to incorporate lessons on diversity, racial discrimination and unconscious and implicit bias into the state's learning standards. While both bills passed overwhelmingly, some Republican members rose in opposition. The state Department of Education, they said, has too much on its plate to handle a new curriculum and the requirements would not be necessary this year — even as the U.S. is witnessing a nationwide outcry over police brutality and structural racism in the wake of several high-profile police killings of Black people.

—"Once GOP stalwarts, Muslim voters turn left in politics over 20-year shift in NJ. Here's why"

—"Gov. Phil Murphy says he's 'back on the field' after quarantine"

—Murphy staffer tests negative for Covid one week after announcing positive test

—"More than 3 million people have already voted in N.J., Murphy says"

—' 'It is here and we are ready': NJ has stockpiled PPE in preparation for COVID second wave"

—"Commuting has gotten worse since Christie killed ARC 10 years ago. Will Gateway move forward?"

—" The Gateway Tunnel is on the ballot | opinion"

—Edelstein: "The NJ MVC and you: Very imperfect together"

—" 3 charts tell a worrisome story about current state of the coronavirus in N.J."

—Backers of marijuana legalization in New Jersey outspending opponents 99-1

SUBSCRIBE TO TRANSITION PLAYBOOK: We're excited to launch a newsletter written for insiders that will track the appointments, the people, and the power centers of the next administration. Both Team Biden and Team Trump have been working behind the scenes for months vetting potential nominees and drafting policy agendas. Transition Playbook takes you inside those preparations, personnel decisions, and policy deliberations. Don't miss out, subscribe today.

TRUMP ERA

VAN DREW ADIEU? — Van Drew's defection to GOP haunts him in tight race, by POLITICO's Melanie Zanona: It was supposed to be an audacious act of political survival. Fearing Democrats' impeachment push would end his career in a southern New Jersey district won by President Donald Trump, Rep. Jeff Van Drew dropped the "D" next to his name and joined the GOP. But nearly one year and a global pandemic later, Van Drew's pledge to give his 'undying support' to Trump could end up sinking the freshman lawmaker. Van Drew, like many of his Republican colleagues, now finds himself having to answer for an unpopular president, whose shaky handling of the coronavirus and inflammatory rhetoric has damaged the GOP's standing nationwide, especially in the suburbs.

ARE THEY ALL FROM SPARTA? — "Voting twice for president in NJ and Florida is possible for 300 double-registered voters," by The Record's Terrence T. McDonald and Keith Schubert: "More than 300 voters registered in New Jersey and Florida could potentially vote twice in the presidential election this year, a review of voting data from both states by the USA TODAY Network New Jersey found. Twenty-three of those 327 voters have already returned New Jersey ballots as of Oct. 21, voting records from New Jersey show. Florida election records do not reveal whether someone voted until after Election Day. There is no legal prohibition on being registered to vote in more than one state, but it leaves open the possibility of someone casting two ballots in one election, which is illegal. Voting rights advocates say this type of voter fraud is nearly nonexistent. 'It's very, very rare,' said Myrna Pérez, director of the Brennan Center for Justice's voting rights and elections program."

—New poll shows strong New Jersey support for Biden, Booker and weed

—Snowflack: " Hard numbers, not animated events, driving early Dem returns"

—PIzarro: "Battleground bar notes: Going under the late-game hood with CD2 sources"

—" NJ group is making plans for post-election chaos it hopes it won't need"

—"'I think I am going to die.' Inside a coronavirus outbreak at a N.J. federal prison"

—" It's just gross. [Middlesex] county asks voters 'don't lick the envelopes' when sending in mail-in ballots"

LOCAL

OCEAN COUNTY — "Ocean County reaches 1,000 COVID-19 deaths. Here's how we got here," by The Asbury Park Press' Erik Laren and Andrew J. Goudsward: "On Wednesday, Ocean County passed a grim milestone, with 1,002 residents succumbing to COVID-19 … In Ocean County, every other person who died from COVID-19 was a resident in a long-term care facility. Of the 1,002 people who have died in Ocean County, more than half — 527 or 53% — were like Flora and Lewis, senior citizens who died after contracting COVID-19 while in a nursing home or assisted living facility. To put that figure in some context, about 19% of all county residents who have tested positive for the virus since March were residents at 54 long-term-care facilities in Ocean County, according to data from the county health department. It underscores just how lethal the disease was to long-term care facility residents: one in five county residents who tested positive for coronavirus lived in nursing homes or assisted living facilities, but they accounted for one out of every two deaths countywide."

PAULSBORO — "New Jersey refinery becomes latest casualty of collapse in fuel demand," by Bloomberg's Barbara J. Powell: "PBF Energy Inc.'s Paulsboro refinery in New Jersey has become the latest oil processing facility to fall victim to a Covid-driven collapse in fuel demand, announcing plans to idle operations for the foreseeable future. The company plans to lay off 250 employees at the 160,000-barrel-a-day plant and halt fuel production as a result of low demand, according to a letter to employees seen by Bloomberg. Paulsboro will continue its lubricant and asphalt operations, the letter said."

—" Jersey City Business Administrator Platt leaving for similar post in Kansas City, Missouri"

—"Long Branch school chief Michael Salvatore leaving for university job"

—" Ex-Hudson County roads inspector pleads guilty to taking cash bribes, authorities say"

DONT MISS - NEW EPISODES OF POLITICO'S GLOBAL TRANSLATIONS PODCAST: The world has long been beset by big problems that defy political boundaries, but many of those issues exploded over the past year. Are world leaders and political actors up to the task of solving them? Is the private sector? Our Global Translations podcast, presented by Citi, unpacks the roadblocks to smart policy decisions and examines the long-term costs of the short-term thinking that drives many political and business decisions. Subscribe for Season Two, available now.

EVERYTHING ELSE

NJ COULD SOON BE THE KINDERGARTEN STATE — "Graying NJ: Will pandemic-inspired real estate bump slow state's exodus of young people?" by The Asbury Park Press' Amanda Oglseby: "Thousands of New Jersey residents are ... choosing to spend their retirement years in the Garden State. At the same time, younger Shore residents have been leaving the state in droves to work elsewhere. The net loss in the 12 months ending in July 2019: nearly 49,000, according to government statistics. The state's population has grown increasingly older as well, according to the data, which demographers say portends problems down the road. This pandemic year — or years — could well upset the trend if enough young professionals pull up stakes from crowded New York and other cities and make their way to these less-congested suburbs, the experts said. But New Jersey policymakers won't likely be able to count on that — a pandemic buying spree by younger professionals — to reverse the state's slippery hold on the younger set, the experts said. 'They (elected officials) are going to have to do everything they possibly can to keep young people… in the state,' said Arthur Guarino, an associate professor of finance and economics at Rutgers Business School."

—" Fee for getting a taxi, Uber or Lyft at the airport postponed — for now"

—"Cannabis, no longer so divisive, draws more conservative support"

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