Good Tuesday morning! Ed Donnelly, president of the NJ FMBA, has filed a letter of intent to seek the Democratic nomination for state Senate in the 21st District and he's currently screening with municipal Democratic committees. This puts New Jersey Democrats in a bind. Donnelly is facing a lawsuit that alleges he fired a union employee because she complained about harassment and intimidation from another employee. Donnelly denies any wrongdoing, and the lawsuit hasn't had its day in court. But with Trenton engaged in a #MeToo reckoning over decades of misogyny, are New Jersey Democrats really prepared to run a candidate for state Senate in a competitive district with this kind of lawsuit hanging over him? It seems that a lot of Democrats have their doubts. But they're also wary of angering a powerful leader of a major public sector union. Read more about it here. WHERE'S MURPHY? At the Matheny Medical and Educational Center Vaccination Clinic in Peapack Gladstone for an 11 a.m. event, followed by a virtual roundtable on "Vaccine safety and access in our Black communities" at 4 p.m., streaming on the governor's Facebook page. CORONAVIRUS TRACKER : 2,218 newly-reported positive PCR tests for a total of 647,194. 25 more deaths for a total of 22,011 (and 2,187 presumed deaths). 2,814 hospitalized, 540 in intensive care. 236,665 fully vaccinated, about 2.7 percent of the population. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Assemblymember James Kennedy, Sierra Club's Jeff Tittel, McKinsey's John Baldino, Allamuchy's Charles Fineran Jr QUOTE OF THE DAY: "He said he smelled weed, that it's probable cause. I told him no, the constitutional amendment went into effect on Jan. 1st that legalized marijuana, so it's not probable cause. Smell it all you want. It's not a crime." — Ed "NJ Weedman" Forchion on his Friday arrest in Wanaque. More on that below. |
CHA-CHING CHA-CHING THAT'S THE SOUND OF THE POLICE — "How the police bank millions through their union contracts," by The Asbury Park Press' Andrew Ford and ProPublica's Agnes Chang, Jeff Kao and Agnel Philip: "One town's police contract guaranteed a retiring lieutenant $121,000 for unused sick time. Another's promises officers six months pay with no work required as a parting retirement benefit. In another contract, cops get paid $109 an hour for side gigs like monitoring traffic at construction sites. Despite attempts to rein in police union contracts in New Jersey, costly provisions remain common, an unprecedented analysis by the Asbury Park Press and ProPublica found. The news outlets identified contract clauses throughout the state that protect officer payouts that cost the public hundreds of millions of dollars. In 2010, state lawmakers passed a law to stop huge retirement payouts for unused sick days, but taxpayers are still funding the largesse. North Bergen approved generous payments to four retiring officers in 2019, including a sergeant who got $75,330.32 for unused sick time. Some retirement payouts can be even higher. In 2017, a chief in Jersey City collected more than half a million dollars. The debt for unused sick time and vacation time, which is largely dictated by the contracts, totaled at least $492.9 million for municipal police alone in 2019, according to a review of town budget records. The liability is primarily due to officers who were hired before the 2010 law passed."
TEST CASE? — Ed "NJ Weedman" Forchion, New Jersey's most famous weed activist, has been selling weed openly from his restaurant in Trenton. But on Friday, he said he was pulled over up in Wanaque while driving his "420 Interceptor " on his way to see friends in New York State. Forchion said he only had a couple grams of weed and two vape pens on him. But he says police arrested him and seized the $9,000 he had with him. He said he's facing two possession charges, but more importantly a serious charge of intent to distribute a Schedule 1 substance. "You could clearly see the bags were open and I was smoking out of them," Forchion said about the latter charge. This comes three months after 67 percent of New Jersey voters amended the Constitution to legalize weed, more than a month after the amendment's effective date, after the attorney general advised prosecutors not to prosecute low-level weed possession cases and as Gov. Murphy and lawmakers are still struggling with implementation and decriminalization legislation. So how does Forchion feel about this? In a way, he's happy. He has a federal lawsuit against Gov. Phil Murphy, and one of the points of contention, he said, is whether he has standing. "I think that the arrest enhanced my arguments. And that's what the lawyers think, too. There's no way you can have no standing now. You got arrested and they charged you and they confiscated $9,000 from you," he said. This is all Forchion's side of the story. I reached out to the Wanaque Police and the Passiac County Prosecutor's Office, but it was shortly after 5:00 yesterday afternoon so I didn't hear back. Hopefully I'll have more on this later. But wouldn't it be fitting for Forchion — whom New Jersey's more buttoned-down pro-pot activists kept out of their legalization effort — to be the test case for what happens to those who are arrested. EDNA MAHAN — "Broken bones, bloodied inmates: The inside story of a night of violence at N.J.'s women's prison," by NJ Advance Media's S.P. Sullivan, Joe Atmonavage and Blake Nelson: "The officers wore riot gear and carried shields and canisters of pepper spray, according to inmates and prosecutors. They moved from cell to cell in formations of five down the long hallway of a special housing unit at New Jersey's only women's prison. They were there for a series of 'cell extractions,' what normally are routine removals of unruly inmates as officers search for contraband. Prisoners called it a planned attack. 'They were armored up because they knew what they were coming to do,' said inmate Ajila Nelson, who said she was groped and assaulted … State prosecutors also now are calling it a coverup, saying officers lied on official reports after authorities charged three of them with official misconduct and other crimes." TRUMP'S APPEALS TO 'SUBURBAN HOUSEWIVES OF AMERICA' SOMEHOW DIDN'T WORK — "Can Republican women crack the glass ceilings at the New Jersey Statehouse?" by The Record's Charles Stile: "The New Jersey Republican Party, like much of the nation, has struggled to attract female voters, especially after former President Donald Trump sent droves of them — in disgust — to the Democrats. It's also a party that's done a lousy job of recruiting and retaining elected leaders, especially in the New Jersey Legislature. Yet with the likely departure of the two top legislative Republican leaders later this year, some party insiders and officials believe it's time to select women as their successors. Now, some say, the time has come for lawmakers to break the glass ceilings inside the Assembly and Senate Republican caucus rooms in the Statehouse. 'I think it just will ... open the Republican Party to be — and look to be — more diversified,'' said Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce, R-Morris, who intends to seek the role of Assembly minority leader — the top GOP post in the lower house — when Assemblyman Jon S. Bramnick, R-Westfield, is expected to vacate the post later this year. Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz, R-Westfield, who holds the position of conference leader — a top-tier post that oversees the internal caucus debate over legislation — also says she is 'definitely interested' in being Bramnick's successor." TWINKLE TWINKLE KENNETH STARR. HOW I WONDER WHERE YOU ARE. IT'S NOT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY, WHERE YOU RESIGNED IN DISGRACE — "Ex-Congressman Pappas mulls State Senate bid for Bateman seat," by New Jersey Globe's David Wildstein: "Former Rep. Michael J. Pappas is mulling a State Senate bid in the 16th district, setting up a potentially epic primary between two former congressmen in pursuit of a seat in the New Jersey Legislature. Pappas has been discussing a possible political comeback with Central Jersey GOP leaders since Republican State Sen. Christopher Bateman announced on January 27 that he would not seek re-election to an eighth term. 'I have been approached to consider it and I am considering it,' Pappas told the New Jersey Globe. The only announced GOP candidate for Bateman's Senate seat is former Rep. Dick Zimmer, a 76-year-old anti-Donald Trump moderate who last won an election in 1994 … His time in Congress ended abruptly in 1998 after he went on the House floor and sang 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Kenneth Starr' in support of a special prosecutor investigating Bill and Hillary Clinton. The stunt backfired on Pappas, who lost 50%-47% to a virtually unknown Democrat, Rush Holt." NJ DOES MUCH BETTER WITH RENEWABLE CANDIDATES — New Jersey incinerators won renewable energy subsidies despite violations, by POLITICO's Samantha Maldonado : New Jersey waste incinerators were allowed to collect millions of dollars in renewable energy credits even after racking up air permit violations that critics claim should have denied them the state subsidy. The state Department of Environmental Protection is investigating the allegations, POLITICO has learned. And environmental justice groups in New Jersey are using the regulatory failure to bolster their case that the program be shut down completely. They say incinerators, which tend to be located near lower-income communities, contribute to pollution and should not be considered sources of clean power. 0.001 MASTROS — NJ property taxes climbed again in 2020. Average bill more than $9,000, by NJ Spotlight's John Reitmeyer : "The average New Jersey property bill rose above $9,000 for the first time ever last year, although the rate of growth slowed slightly compared to the previous year. Adding to the financial pressure for many New Jersey homeowners was a decision by Gov. Phil Murphy and lawmakers to not provide state-funded Homestead relief benefits last year amid budget problems triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. And while the state allows for up to $15,000 in annual property taxes to be deducted from New Jersey income taxes, the cap on the federal deduction for state and local taxes, known as SALT, remains at $10,000." —"Murphy says April, May elections will have in-person voting" — New Jersey surpasses 1M vaccines administered —" N.J. could lift more COVID restrictions soon, Murphy says. Numbers 'point in the right direction'" —"Looking for that second vaccine shot? Here's how the rollout is going in New Jersey" —" Does Monmouth GOP risk DiMaso joining lawsuit to end organization lines?" |
LET HIM FINISH — How Chris Christie's education reforms are still playing out in Camden schools, by POLITICO's Carly Sitrin: Chris Christie banked one of his biggest policy proposals as governor of New Jersey on one idea: that a new type of charter school with the ability and mandate to construct better facilities would transform the Camden City School District from one of the worst-performing, most corrupt systems in the state to one that successfully educates kids in one of the poorest cities in America. Nearly a decade after Christie won approval for that idea, the district is under state control and improving its test scores. It's also facing a $40 million deficit, crumbling school buildings, a toothless school board, a community that can't afford the tax raises necessary to support their city and a well-funded charter sector hungry to recruit new students. And as schools across the nation are preparing to reopen for in-person learning in the fall, desperate to start anew after nearly a year of learning lost to the pandemic, four public schools in Camden may be shuttered for good. The proposed closures are tearing at the fabric of the community, pitting the leader of the local teachers union against the district's homegrown superintendent, parents against neighbors and residents against the state."
HOUSE OF CARDS — "Online betting may have helped Atlantic City, but COVID-19 is still crushing casinos," by The Record's Dustin Racioppi: "Atlantic City's casinos were on a path toward stability before COVID-19 reached New Jersey and put the famed resort town into yet another downward financial spiral. Three months of forced closures. A 10 p.m. curfew at odds with the late-night DNA of the casinos. Upscale dinners consigned to room service-only. And there are still capacity limits crushing core elements of their business model, like hosting conventions and live performances. The casinos, though, have benefited from nearly $1 billion in online bets in December alone. In fact, online gaming and sports betting pulled in over $6 billion in 2020, a reliable revenue stream even in a pandemic that propped up the sagging bottom lines of casinos. 'Without online gaming, it would be a total disaster,' said Jim Kennedy, a former executive director of the state Casino Reinvestment and Development Authority." CUMBERLAND COUNTY — "Inmates at Cumberland County jail are suing over coronavirus outbreaks," by The Philadelphia Inquirer's Allison Steele : "Inmates at a South Jersey jail are suing county officials over the jail's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, saying the facility didn't provide adequate face masks, failed to implement regular disinfecting and testing, and did not quarantine those infected with the virus. Local leaders, inmates, and correctional officers have been sounding alarms for months about conditions at the Cumberland County jail in Bridgeton. County officials have denied accusations that the virus spread unchecked through the facility and said they are following proper health guidelines." —"North Brunswick Council person Cortes nominated for Middlesex County surrogate" —"Montclair schools are in a nasty tug-of-war with the NJEA. So why is the mayor standing with teachers? | Opinion" —"Avalon's legendary Beach Patrol Captain Murray Wolf retires after 65 years" —"Nabisco plant in Fair Lawn to close permanently in late summer" —"Deal mayor: $1M oceanfront sale to private owners won't hurt beach access" —"Are kids Googling self-harm on school laptops? N.J. districts using software to monitor" —"Jersey City may study whether Sixth Street Embankment and adjacent land needs redevelopment after Conrail reportedly walks away from settlement" —"'Major' beach erosion in six South Jersey towns after last week's nor'easter" — "Lawsuit: She fined school bus companies over safety, and they accused her of taking bribes" |
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