News: POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: O'Toole's Port Authority

Friday, May 14, 2021

POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: O'Toole's Port Authority

May 14, 2021

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Good Friday morning!

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is a multi-billion dollar agency with a bigger budget than some states.

But even though the agency was home to the biggest scandal in recent New Jersey history, senators on the judiciary committee had few questions for its three new nominees yesterday, unanimously approving each of them — including Robert Menendez, Jr., son of the senator — in just minutes.

Port Authority Chair Kevin O'Toole also briefly testified. And while the hearing officially had nothing to do with his leadership, one of the few questions the nominees faced was whether they would support him remaining as chair. Senate President Steve Sweeney also made clear that he expects O'Toole, who as a Republican state senator had deep relationships with members of both parties and was one of former Gov. Chris Christie's closest allies, at the helm.

Sweeney said he's happy that New York and New Jersey's appointees at the commission haven't been feuding like they were in the lead up to Bridgegate. But that makes me wonder: If tensions hadn't been so high between the New York and New Jersey appointees back in 2013, would we have ever gotten to the bottom of Bridgegate? After all, it was then-executive director Patrick Foye, a New Yorker despised by the New Jerseyans, who helped blow the lid off the scandal.

That's just more evidence for the idea that government tends to be more transparent when the people inside it are fighting.

WHERE'S MURPHY?: Where we all find ourselves occasionally: An East Orange supermarket parking lot with Whoopi Goldberg. 12:15 p.m.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Maybe he's not the right candidate … This is America. He put his name out there and nobody else did." — Bergen County GOP Chair Jack Zisa on District 37 Republican Assembly candidate Ed Durfee, a member of the Oath Keepers who was outside the Capitol on Jan. 6

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Assemblymember Britnee Timberlake, Fairview's John Graham, Michael Aron. Saturday for Assembly candidate Karlito Almeda, former Atlantic County Sheriff Frank X. Balles, Novartis' Sarah Kan, gubernatorial candidate Brian Levine, Perkins Partnership's Rebecca Perkins. Sunday for state Sen. Brian Stack , InsiderNJ's Jay Lassiter, CWA Local 1036's Michele Liebtag, former Assembly candidate Mark Natale

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER: 820 newly-reported positive PCR tests for a total of 881,991. 26 more deaths for a total of 25,906 confirmed or probable deaths. 3,739,408 fully-vaccinated, or about 40.2 percent of the population.

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WHAT TRENTON MADE

UNMASKED — CDC: Vaccinated people can now remove masks in most group settings, by POLITICO's Erin Banco and David Lim: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday fully vaccinated Americans can now gather with other individuals without masks indoors and outdoors, even if some in their group are unvaccinated. The announcement marks the first time the Biden administration has said it is safe for vaccinated people to remove masks in any kind of group gathering — big or small, indoors or outdoors, no matter who is present — a major step toward moving the country back to normal by the July Fourth holiday.

BRENT SPINER NEEDS TO WEIGH IN — "Governor Murphy and the New Jersey Department of Health are reviewing the new CDC guidance on masking requirements. We continue to move forward in our efforts to vaccinate all willing and eligible individuals who live, work, or study in New Jersey" — Murphy spokesperson Alexandra Altman

MAKING IT THROUGH THE LATORTURE CHAMBER — LaTourette moves toward confirmation as DEP commissioner, by POLITICO's Matt Friedman: Acting Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette may soon be able to drop the "acting" from his title. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted, 11-1, on Thursday to confirm LaTourette, setting him up for a confirmation vote in the full Senate. LaTourette took over as acting head of the DEP in January after former Commissioner Catherine McCabe, under whom he had served since 2018 as the department's chief counsel, chief of staff and deputy commissioner, retired. "These resources belong to the people. And to every New Jersey resident, you have my word that I will take good care of them for you," LaTourette, who is the first LGBTQ person to lead the department, told lawmakers.

SONG OF SOLOMON — State Supreme Court Justice Lee Solomon nears tenure, by Matt: State Supreme Court Justice Lee Solomon is on his way to tenure, which will allow him to serve until he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 in 2024. The Senate Judiciary Committee took just a few minutes Thursday to unanimously approve the 66-year-old Solomon, a Republican first nominated by former Gov. Chris Christie in 2014, for tenure to New Jersey's highest court. "I always considered myself to be sort of a blue collar lawyer and a blue collar public servant. My experiences in life taught me to be humble," Solomon said during his opening statement. "You have to learn from those experiences and move on, and treat everyone well on the way up because you will see them on the way down." Solomon said that as an attorney he "always represented the little guy against the big guy."

—"Pandemic revealed N.J. does not know who owns for-profit nursing homes. New law would change that"

—" N.J. is getting $10.2B from the feds. Who will follow how the money is spent?"

—Snowflack: "Untangling the meaning of a 2021 Frelinghuysen endorsement"

—Edelstein: " New Jersey will never escape COVID restrictions with Phil Murphy as governor"

—"Whoopi Goldberg to be in East Orange on Friday for vaccine event"

—" Chiaravalloti bill to stiffen penalties for harassing current or former judges clears Assembly panel"

—Murphy signs bill requiring BPU to digitize dockets

— Bill to give monthly stipends to board, commission members advances, but barely

—Committee releases bill to bring retired teachers back to work in New Jersey schools

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BIDEN TIME

—Trump super PAC to hold first fundraiser at Bedminster

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LOCAL

CROWNED VIC — "Carstarphen takes reins as Camden mayor, finishing Moran's term," by The Courier-Post's Phaedra Trethan: "Not long after being sworn in as Camden's mayor — at least until November's election — Vic Carstarphen was in Ablett Village Wednesday morning, talking to residents about their concerns, about how the city could begin to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and how vaccines play a role in that recovery. Carstarphen was chosen Tuesday by his City Council colleagues to finish the term vacated by Frank Moran last month. Moran stepped down in March, during the final year of his first term, and City Council President Curtis Jenkins took over on a temporary basis until the city Democratic Committee, and subsequently City Council, chose a new mayor to finish the term."

OLD BOYS CLUB BRIDGE — "Old Bridge official tells colleague, a hate crime victim, 'You only care about blacks sometimes'" by NJ 101.5's Erin Vogt: "The issue of cultural competency training was initially met with silence at the latest township council meeting after a man was charged with a hate crime for sending a racist email to the township's only Black council member. But after some discussion, a white colleague told Councilwoman Edina Brown, 'I feel that you only care about Blacks sometimes.' Attending the meeting remotely on Tuesday night, Brown thanked the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office and Old Bridge police for attentiveness and help in finding the suspect who police said had sent a racist and vulgar email to Brown on March 7. Adam Valvo, 52, of Old Bridge, was charged in late April with two counts of fourth-degree bias intimidation and one count of harassment. Attorney General Gurbir Grewal called Valvo's email 'vile, racist and threatening.' Brown said not one of her eight council colleagues reached out to her personally after the investigation. 'Their words and actions towards me have seemed to become more angry and more dismissive,' Brown said."

WHAT CDC GUIDANCE? — "Fight over returning to school in June could lead to legal battle between N.J. district, union ," by NJ Advance Media's Rob Jennings: "The dispute in Paterson over requiring teachers to return to classrooms on June 1, one week before a limited number of students would arrive, is not letting up. School district officials in the state's third-largest city say sufficient coronavirus safety protocols will be in place. The teachers' union is citing purported shortfalls observed by educators on building walk-throughs last month in arguing for keeping the buildings closed for the remainder of the school year. Both sides are awaiting a ruling on an unfair labor complaint filed by the teachers' union with the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission … The Paterson school board approved a limited reopening plan May 5 in which self-contained special education students in grades pre-K through 12, and students in English Language Learners newcomers programs at Public School No. 15 and the New Roberto Clemente School, will return on June 8. That's just two weeks before the last day of school.Under that plan, which involves only around 9 percent of Paterson's 24,588 students, teachers at all grade levels would return June 1 to their classrooms."

— Nothing should stand in the way' of full school reopening this fall, top teacher union leader says

THE POLICE FORCE THAT ARRESTS JOURNALISTS AND QUESITONS THEM ABOUT ANTIFA? — "Asbury Park backs police oversight board, encouraging local students to become cops," by The Asbury Park Press' Susanne Cervenka: "The city's Equity Committee called on Asbury Park City Council to create a civilian complaint review board, answering a longstanding demand from community leaders who say the police department needs independent oversight. The Equity Committee presented the recommendations it developed after six months of researching Asbury Park Police Department policies and talking with residents about their concerns."

WEED OPPONENTS SUFFERING FROM PARANOIA — " South Amboy looks to ban legal weed businesses, cites 'uncertainties'," by MyCentralJersey's Susan Loyer: "Citing 'uncertainties' about the potential community impact, the City Council has introduced an ordinance prohibiting marijuana businesses to operate here. A public hearing and vote on the ordinance are expected at the June 2 virtual meeting. The ordinance would prohibit all cannabis establishments, distributors and delivery services from operating anywhere in the city, except for the delivery of cannabis and related supplies by a delivery service."

MAYOFLAKES — "Human resources director who sent Cinco de Mayo meme should face discipline, N.J. union says," by NJ Advance Media's Matt Gray: "A union representing Salem County workers is demanding an apology and diversity training after they say a county official circulated a culturally insensitive meme to employees. On May 5, Salem County Deputy Administrator Stacy Pennington sent a message via her county email account to all employees that contained a meme with the words 'Happy Cinco De Mayo' and a photo of a jar of mayonnaise in a sink, according to a grievance filed by Joe Hiles, executive vice president of Communication Workers of America Local 1085. Pennington's 'inappropriate email' violated the union's collective bargaining agreement with the county and personnel policies, including a policy against harassment, the grievance states."

—"Sussex commissioners hold in-person meeting, decry school state aid cuts"

—"For the second time, Hasbrouck Heights bans marijuana sales and cultivation"

—Snowflack: "The Morristown debate"

—"New documents show [Newark] police charged thousands of people for [etty COVID violations"

—"Montague school board fills vacancy amid High Point High School lawsuit controversy"

—"After nearly 4 hours, Bayonne council tables eminent domain plans for local hospital"

—"Veteran Morris patrolman claims he has been denied promotion due to hearing loss"

—"Englewood Cliffs council puts clerk on paid leave after targeting her performance"

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EVERYTHING ELSE

THERE'S THE RUB — One of those listicles based on arbitrary criteria is drawing outrage on social media, this one about the "top cities for BBQ in the United States." Among the top 10: Newark. Yes, Newark, the inclusion of which is drawing particular scorn. But hold on! While I think it's egregious that the list left off cities like Austin and Kansas City, Newark does have a barbecue scene. Not really American southern-style barbecue. But it has a ton of Portuguese and Brazilian barbecue, which shouldn't be discounted just because it's not what the average American is used to. So yeah, in addition to the best bagels and pizza, at least according to this list, New Jersey has the best barbecue in the northeast. So suck it, haters — the meat off the bone, that is.

THE SECOND MOST SUCCESSFUL POLITICSNJ ALUM, AFTER ME — "Steve Kornacki inks multimillion-dollar deal with NBCUniversal," by The Hill: "Political correspondent Steve Kornacki has signed a four-year, multimillion-dollar deal with NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC and MSNBC, the company announced Thursday. In addition to politics, Kornacki will bring his analytical skills to the 'entertainment, sports and streaming networks of NBCUniversal,' the company said in a statement announcing the deal. NBCUniversal's Television and Streaming Entertainment group is also developing a game show for Kornacki to host that will involve statistics, sports and politics, the company added."

BEACH PASSPORTS — "NJ beach badge revenue soared in 2020, even as COVID shook the Shore," by The Asbury Park Press' Jean Mikle and Mike Davis: "The start of the summer beach season at the Shore last year was shrouded in a COVID cloud of uncertainty. With social distancing restrictions required, many oceanfront officials expected big drops in beach badge revenue. Instead, crowds flocked to the Shore, and revenue from beach tags soared past 2019 figures in many towns. Some towns set all-time records for badge revenue. Oceanfront towns in Monmouth County brought in more than $24.5 million in beach badge revenue in 2020, up about 25% over the totals in the pre-pandemic summer of 2019. Ten of the 13 Monmouth County beach towns saw beach badge revenue rise. Both Belmar and Long Branch saw beach tag revenue jump by more than $1 million. It was also a banner beach season in most of Ocean County, where revenue from beach badges topped $11 million, a nearly 14% increase."

DIDN'T YOU SAY YOU'D BE AUTOMATED BY NOW BECAUSE OF THE WAGE HIKE? — "Higher wages and help wanted ads are plentiful, but workers aren't filling jobs in NJ," by The Record's Dustin Racioppi: "The imbalance threatens to dampen profits for business owners who had hoped to rebound this year after a brutal 2020 due to the widespread lockdown orders. It could also mean higher prices for something as simple as a hamburger, fewer available rooms at hotels and delays in manufacturing and construction, according to business owners. In the meantime, political arguments have come to define what's driving the labor shortage. Many conservatives blame unemployment benefits of an extra $300 a week, saying they have gone from being a lifeline during lockdown to a cushion incentivizing people to stay at home. Democrats like Gov. Phil Murphy argue that it is a temporary glitch that will work itself out as the economy recovers with the aid of eased restrictions and greater vaccinations. A confluence of factors has created 'a perfect storm right now,' as New Jersey Business and Industry Association president Michele Siekerka put it … There may be many anecdotes of people collecting unemployment instead of working, but economists dispute that is the cause of the shortage. The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said in a letter last year that people who collect unemployment benefits 'search more intensely than either the employed or those out of the labor force.'"

—"'It's beneficial to everybody': Preserving horseshoe crab population critical along Delaware Bay"

—"Report details surge in warehouse construction as residents fight sprawl"

—"For New Jersey's only public hospital to succeed, it needs sufficient funding | Opinion"

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