News : POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: Menendez statement touches off Hudson County fight

Monday, December 7, 2020

POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: Menendez statement touches off Hudson County fight

Dec 07, 2020

Presented by AARP New Jersey

Good Monday morning!

In Hudson County, political alliances shift quickly. But in my time reporting on New Jersey politics, I can't remember a time when local elected officials would openly criticize Sen. Bob Menendez, for years arguably a de facto boss in the county — even if he lives in Bergen now.

But after Menendez, along with Sen. Cory Booker, issued statements that said local governments shouldn't contract with ICE the week after the Hudson County freeholders chose to renew its contract, Freeholder Anthony Vainieri called both senators out in a statement, saying "where have they been" and saying it's "infuriating" for them to "parachute in and try to tell Hudson County government how it should operate." Hudon County Executive Tom DeGise came out with a lighter critical response to Menendez. And that's just what surfaced in public. There was plenty of blowback that wasn't put out in public statements.

Menendez shot back again, saying Vainieri was "deeply misinformed" and noting that the Hudson County Democratically-controlled government had promised to end its ICE contract before but then chose to "ignore the fierce objections of county residents and suddenly reverse course."

It's important to keep in mind that amid this political fighting there are hundreds of ICE inmates in facilities located in four New Jersey counties. In Bergen County, some are on hunger strike. There are totally legitimate arguments on whether to keep these contracts, and whether giving them up would not only deprive New Jersey counties of revenue but also lead to inmates being housed further from their families. But there's no question that New Jersey Democrats, until last week, were far more hesitant to address ICE-related issues in their own backyards than in places thousands of miles away.

Still, you can't separate policy from politics. I'm not speaking to anyone's motivations, but keep in mind that this is all happening while Menendez's son, Robert Menendez Jr., appears to be positioning himself to challenge Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop next year. Fulop was outspoken against the contract in 2018, when he was fighting with DeGise, saying "I don't think you should be giving up on your morals and values just based on revenue." His first recent comments about it came Thursday, according to The Jersey Journal, when he said "I wish that Hudson County wasn't in this business" and that "hopefully, over time it gets phased out."

WHERE'S MURPHY? In Trenton for a 1 p.m. coronavirus press conference. Media: CNN at 7:50 a.m., 1010 WINS at 8:33 a.m., MSNBC Live at 9:05 a.m.

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER: 6,046 newly-reported cases for a total of 368,016. 16 more deaths for a total of 15,485 (and 1,836 presumed deaths). 3,241 in the hospital, 622 in intensive care.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "That guy in the middle — the tall, handsome fella in the gray suit — that is Rep. Matt Putz — sorry, Matt Gaetz." — Gov. Phil Murphy pretending to have a Freudian slip.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: POLITICO's Sam Sutton, Secretary of State Tahesha Way, Bordentown Committeeman Eugene Fuzy

A message from AARP New Jersey:

Too many Garden State residents are forced to choose between filling life-saving prescriptions and paying rent, buying food and meeting other critical needs. In 2017, nearly one in four New Jersey residents stopped taking prescription medication as prescribed due to cost. Tell NJ lawmakers to lower prescription drug costs now ! Drugs don't work if people can't afford them.

WHAT TRENTON MADE

YES WE CANNA — Murphy, legislative leaders reach deal on cannabis legalization bill, by POLITICO's Carly Sitrin: Gov. Phil Murphy and state legislative leaders reached a deal Friday on cannabis legalization, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations. The agreement would look much like the amended version of the legislation under discussion in November. The number of cultivation licenses would be capped at 37 for the first 24 months after retail sales begin. The sales tax revenue would be divided up with 70 percent going to social justice programs, and 100 percent of the social equity fund would be directed to social justice reforms in communities disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs. The remaining 30 percent of sales tax revenue would support the work of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission, and for law enforcement personnel training and equipment for Drug Recognition Experts.

GAETZ CRASHER — "Murphy lashes out at Gaetz for appearance at Young Republican gala," by POLITICO's Nick Niedzwiadek: Gov. Phil Murphy admonished Florida congressman Matt Gaetz on Friday for attending a large gala event in the state after it was forced out of its original location in New York City under pressure from local officials. "What a fool," the Democratic governor told reporters during a press briefing. "You are not welcome in New Jersey, and frankly I don't ever want you back in this state." Pictures of the event show dozens of attendees, including Gaetz, milling about in close proximity to one another and scarce mask wearing. Murphy said local law enforcement is investigating the matter, and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop has ordered the venue, located across the Hudson River from lower Manhattan in Liberty State Park, be temporarily shut down for violating rules on capacity limits and mask wearing. "What's disheartening to me is that they facilitated doing this for an organization that was too scared of doing it in New York City," Fulop told POLITICO, referring to the venue, Maritime Parc.

A THREE-HOUR TURD — "NY Waterway dumped sewage into Hudson River and surrounding waters for years, lawsuit says ," by The Record's Scott Fallon: "New York Waterway, the ferry company that shuttles up to 30,000 people each day between New Jersey and New York, for years illegally dumped raw sewage, oil, fuel and other pollutants in an area from the Hudson River down to Raritan Bay, according to a lawsuit unsealed in Newark District Court on Friday. The company dismissed concerns about the practice raised by two former employees to cut costs, raise profits and remain on schedule, the suit said. And when the Environmental Protection Agency inspected the boats in 2018 for violations of the Clean Water Act, the bathrooms had been locked up or had their toilets removed, the lawsuit said. The ferry company fired one of the whistleblowers who filed the lawsuit in retaliation for complaining about the practice, while the other said he was 'compelled' to quit over it, the suit said."

IS THIS A 'STRONGER AND FAIRER' NJ? — "Few N.J. retail workers getting hazard pay as COVID-19 spikes during holiday shopping season, report shows," by NJ Advance Media's Karin Price Mueller: "They restock store shelves, prepare food, work cash registers and make sure New Jerseyans are able to buy what they need. Many retail employees are working this holiday season without hazard pay as the coronavirus spikes again and as some of their employers are seeing substantial growth, recent report shows. Amazon, for example, which will have 40,000 employees in New Jersey by the end of the year, ended a $2 per hour pay bonus in June … Big retail companies are earning windfall profits while worker pay has barely budged, said Molly Kinder, a fellow at the Brookings Institute who released a report on how retail companies are compensating workers during the pandemic."

NJ 101.5 CONTINUES LONG TRADITION OF CRAPPY 'PERSONALITIES' — "Viral video of Murphy heckler is a reminder that elected officials may be in danger," by The Record's Charles Stile: "The Red Bank incident, with a bewildered and silent Murphy scooping up his mashed potatoes and then reaching for his phone, served as a stark reminder of this perilous moment, a pandemic whose power to inflict carnage only seems to grow, killing more than 270,000 Americans and robbing millions of their jobs and personal freedoms. Fanning the anxiety is lame-duck President Donald Trump, spinning warped and reckless theories about a stolen election. It's the era of QAnon, the strange cult that tacitly believes Trump was enlisted to break up a ring of pedophiles controlling the federal government … But to the New Jersey anti-lockdown crowd, which has overlapped with the #stopthesteal activists rallying behind Trump's desperate push to overturn the Nov. 3 election, Murphy remains a nanny-state despot whose lockdowns are doing more damage than the virus, which has killed almost 17,000 Garden State residents. Several dozen protesters vented that sentiment at a protest near Murphy's home in Middletown last weekend. Bill Spadea, a popular shock-jock host on New Jersey 101.5 FM, a Trenton-area radio station, has led the charge with a stream of tweets urging 'no justice, no peace' for Murphy. Some of his language borders on incitement."

LTCS — "Coronavirus is again ravaging N.J. nursing homes. Here's where it's hitting the hardest," by NJ Advance Media's Riley Yates: "In September, 659 residents and staff tested positive for the virus across New Jersey's long-term care facilities, the review found. In October, the number of new positive tests climbed to 1,137, an increase of 73%. It rose even more dramatically in November, when 3,264 residents and staff tested positive — nearly five times the number from just two months before. Deaths, meanwhile, more than doubled. There were 45 deaths recorded at long-term care facilities in September, 65 in October and 111 in November. Among those were three facilities that logged more than 10 deaths, according to the data — including Shady Lane, which said it had taken steps to protect its residents by sanitizing, using proper protective equipment and following social distancing rules."

OFF THE RAILS — "NJ Transit: Corbett and Gutierrez-Scaccetti must go. New Leadership is needed," by Robert Hale, Leonard Resto and Ryan Felmet for The Record: "We, along with New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers are petitioning Gov. Phil Murphy and the Legislature to make the following changes to NJ Transit in the next 60 days: Remove Kevin Corbett as president and CEO Remove state Transportation Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti from the NJ Transit Board of Directors … There is no question that when Murphy took office in 2017, former Gov. Chris Christie left him an ungodly transit mess. However, the team that he installed — Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti as transportation commissioner and Kevin Corbett as president and CEO and of NJ Transit — has yet to generate improvement after three years."

WOMEN IN POLITICS — "In national politics, women are rising. In New Jersey, they're treading water," by Jean Sizdak for The Star-Ledger: "First, some good news. Ten New Jersey counties have county commissions that are 40% or more women. In three counties, women have achieved parity in commissionerships: Union (56%), Bergen (57%), and Somerset (60%). Across the state, women gained 68 council seats and eight mayoralties since the 2019 report card. Then there's the bad news. Sixteen counties saw the number of commissioners remain flat, and the five that saw changes, both losses and gains, led to a net increase of just one woman county commissioner in the state. Two counties, Salem and Warren, have zero women commissioners. No county has reached parity in women holding mayoral offices. Union comes closest, with women holding 48% of the county's mayoral seats; in the next-highest county, Mercer, women comprise just 25% of mayors. Cumberland has zero women among its 14 mayoralties."

—New Jersey prepares to receive first vaccine shipment of 76K doses

—" After accusations of $15M NJ Transit debacle, it's time for better oversight, legislators say"

—"'It's not boo-boos and Band-Aids': COVID-19 thrust school nurses onto the front line"

TRACK THE TRANSITION & NEW ADMINISTRATION HEADING INTO 2021: President-elect Biden is pushing full steam ahead on putting together his Cabinet and White House staff. These appointments and staffing decisions send clear-cut signals about Biden's priorities. What do these signals foretell? Transition Playbook is the definitive guide to one of the most consequential transfers of power in American history. Written for political insiders, it tracks the appointments, people, and the emerging power centers of the new administration. Track the transition and the first 100 days of the incoming Biden administration. Subscribe today.

TRUMP ERA

GILMORE — Barring a pardon from the president, former Ocean County GOP boss George Gilmore is almost certainly headed to prison for his tax-related convicitons. The U.S. Attorney's Office announced late Friday that Gilmore's conviction was upheld in appeals court. He had argued, among other things, that his hand-picked expert witness who said he had a hoarding disorder was improperly excluded from trial. The Third Circuit disagreed . Gilmore's attorney, Kevin Marino, told me last month that Gilmore is not seeking a presidential pardon. But that was before the appeal had been decided. With Trump talking about pardoning a lot of people, and with Gilmore having stuck by Bill Stepien after former Gov. Chris Christie disavowed him, I wouldn't count that prospect out. Gilmore was sentenced to a year in prison in early 2020 but had been out pending appeal.

WE NEED THE PRESIDENT TO TWEET MORE, STAT! — States become worker safety watchdogs as pandemic worsens, by POLITICO's Katherine Landergan and Katy Murphy : States are increasingly bypassing the federal government and imposing their own rules to protect workers from the coronavirus, creating a patchwork of regulations that could serve as a blueprint for new national standards promised by President-elect Joe Biden. Oregon last month began requiring employers to supply masks, develop infection control plans and notify staff of ill coworkers. California rushed out 21 pages of business mandates covering everything from proper ventilation and social distancing to testing, reporting and quarantine procedures. In New Jersey, more than 1,000 complaints of alleged workplace health and safety violations have poured in from workers in the four weeks since the state enacted its own new safety program. In all, 14 states have instituted their own comprehensive restrictions as the federal worker safety watchdog, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, has come under fire for its lax enforcement during a pandemic that has turned America's most mundane jobs into dangerous, frontline deployments.

—"NJ lawmakers demand answers on Fort Dix coronavirus outbreak"

—"Friendly Fire: Julie & Mike ponder another at-bat for Tom Kean Jr. and Trump"

—"Gottheimer: Congress must pass COVID-19 pandemic stimulus — now"

—"Congressman Kim: Will you take the COVID-19 vaccine? I will"

LOCAL

EXECUTIVE ORDER UNCLEAR ON WHAT'S AN ORDER — "Newark mayor signs coronavirus order with curfews, gathering limits," by NJ Advance Media's Rebecca Panico: "Mayor Ras Baraka signed a local executive order that was released Friday amid the coronavirus pandemic which outlined curfews and limitations on gatherings, although specifics of what was mandatory and recommended remained unclear. The executive order comes on the heels of the mayor's 10-day lockdown recommendation, which took place from Nov. 25 to Dec. 4. There were 1,058 new coronavirus cases and 10 new deaths during that time period, which was down from 1,662 new cases and 19 deaths between Nov. 15 to 25, according to data from the county … the order appears to be consistent with statewide mandates. The mayor's 10-day lockdown was a recommendation and not an executive order, so it was permissible under statewide mandates. Still, some regulations outlined in the mayor's order remained hazy. A section on curfews used the words 'mandatory,' 'should' and 'recommended.' City and police department spokespersons and corporation counsel did not respond to requests seeking clarity."

WEST DEATHFORD — "New chemicals polluting South Jersey water, soil are toxic, documents show," by NJ Advance Media's Michael Sol Warren: "New chemicals polluting the water and soil in South Jersey are known to be toxic in lab animals and humans, and the company using the substances has been aware of potential health risks since at least 1998, according to new documents made public last week by The Intercept and Consumer Reports. Solvay, a Belgian chemical company, uses the compounds at its West Deptford plant, where it makes specialty polymers for industrial uses. The company previously disclosed their health effects to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Environmental Protection."

NOT A SUPERMARKET — "Proposed e-commerce development eyed for Camden site," by The Courier-Post's Phaedra Trethan: "A planned e-commerce warehouse could bring as many as 400 jobs to Camden, a developer told city officials on a virtual meeting Thursday evening. If it receives approval, Matrix Development, a Middlesex County-based commercial and residential developer, would construct a 145,390-square foot distribution facility on 30 acres off the westbound side of the Admiral Wilson Boulevard (Route 30) in East Camden … The site, which contains privately- and publicly-owned lots, has been dormant for more than 20 years, Moran noted. Hopes for a supermarket on the site fell through in 2015 amid accusations of political maneuvering that favored one supermarket operator over another."

BOSS TWEEDLE — "Outgoing Pleasantville Mayor Tweedle looks back on his years of service," by The Press of Atlantic City's Vincent Jackson: "Jesse L. Tweedle Sr., the outgoing Pleasantville mayor, gives credit for his political career to a 16-year-old boy, the son of his next-door neighbor. In 1988, Tweedle lived in the city and worked in another county as a manager for Verizon. He had a for-sale sign in front of his house that he found on the ground every morning when he was leaving for work. When Tweedle discovered the teen was at fault, he confronted him, and the boy said, 'Every time someone does well, they move.' After that incident, Tweedle committed to staying in the city. He served on the Planning Board, the Zoning Board, as an Urban Enterprise Zone trustee, had a five-year tenure as a city councilman, and for the past 12 years, he was mayor."

—"Paterson's Mendez revising his campaign finance reports in 'do over' election"

—"As vaccines await FDA approval, South Jersey health officials prepare"

—"Former Morris Prosecutor Fredric Knapp joins firm in Sparta, two months after retiring"

—"ICE detainee escapes from Essex County jail, officials say"

JOIN TUESDAY TO POWER FORWARD WITH WOMEN RULE: Americans have endured multiple crises in 2020, from the pandemic to the economic recession, racial injustices, and a highly contentious presidential election. Women have often led the way in helping the country navigate these crises and will continue to in the new year. Join us for the conclusion of "Powering Forward," a series of virtual conversations that has brought the Women Rule community together during a year that changed how women live, work, and lead. REGISTER HERE.

EVERYTHING ELSE

—"Rutgers hires its 1st ever VP of Equity, asks her to make university more inclusive"

— Environmental groups urge federal interstate agency to reject proposed Gibbstown LNG terminal

—"PSEG buys stake in NJ's first off-shore wind farm"

A message from AARP New Jersey:

In New Jersey, a large majority of registered voters are impacted by high prescription drug prices, with 79% reporting they or someone in their household have taken prescription drugs in the past two years. Three in five report they are concerned about the price of their medications, according an AARP study . And now, New Jerseyans are facing the one-two punch of skyrocketing drug prices and the pandemic. Our elected officials can no longer stand by as prescription drug prices continue to rise. People of all ages depend on their prescriptions, and outrageous prices are putting their medicines out of reach. Tell NJ lawmakers to lower prescription drug costs now! Drugs don't work if people can't afford them.