News: POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: The line wins!

Wednesday, June 9, 2021

POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: The line wins!

Jun 09, 2021

Presented by Pre-K Our Way

Good Wednesday morning!

So who was the big winner last night? The county line that bestows favorable ballot placement on county party-endorsed candidates.

Jack Ciattarelli, who had the line in all 21 counties, won the Republican nomination for governor. Gordon Johnson, who had the line in Bergen County's District 39, easily beat Valerie Vainieri Huttle. Atlantic Coutny GOP-backed Vince Polistina trampled Seth Grossman in South Jersey's 2nd District.

Serena DiMaso, booted from the line in Monmouth County, lost her primary to the party-anointed Vicky Flynn. BettyLou DeCroce appeared on track to lose after not getting the line in her home county of Morris, which dominates her district. And she'd likely be further behind if she didn't have the line in Essex and Passaic counties.

I won't be surprised if some off-the-line candidates in a few of the state's 565 municipalities pull off victories. But once again the line has proven to be a powerful force.

A few other takeaways: The two pro-Trump candidates got nearly half the vote in the Republican gubernaatorial primary, with Ciattarelli as of late last night not quite reaching the 50 percent mark. That's a similar result to Gov. Murphy's 2017 Democratic primary. The result is about what the Ciattarelli camp expected, based on my conversations with them before the vote was counted, and they don't think it's a big deal if he didn't quite get a majority. I'm inclined to agree. But had Ciattarelli been up against just one MAGA candidate, he might have had a problem.

By the time I left Ciattarelli's party at around 11 last night, neither Hirsh Singh nor Phil Rizzo had called him to concede.

Johnson beat Huttle by about 3-1, which is quite a landslide for what most of us considered a competitive race.

And most shockingly, making late-election appearances on a right-wing show on NJ 101.5 and did not propel Jamel Holley to victory in the Democratic primary against Joe Cryan.

WHERE'S MURPHY?: In Trenton for a 1 p.m. coronavirus press conference

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "He wasn't raised here, never went to school here, never worked here, never ran a business here. He's somebody else. I'm you. I mean, have you seen this guy eat pizza?" — Ciattarelli on Murphy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: State Sen. Declan O'Scanlon, Burlington County Commissioner Tom Pullion, Menendez staffer Frank Schultz, former Jersey City School Board Prez Suzanne Mack

A message from Pre-K Our Way:

Thanks, Governor and Legislature! Pre-k expansion funding's been in every recent state budget! Working families in 150+ school districts have pre-k expansion – but families in 110+ districts still wait. They're waiting in rural, suburban and suburban communities – from east to west, north to south. Continue substantial pre-k expansion THIS YEAR! Visit prekourway.org

WHAT TRENTON MADE

HOPELESS HICKS — Hicks resigns as corrections commissioner amid abuses at women's prison, by POLITICO's Daniel J. Han: Marcus Hicks, New Jersey's embattled corrections commissioner, announced Tuesday he will step down, one day after a blistering report detailed a pattern of abuse and misconduct at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women. Hicks will leave his post June 18. Victoria Kuhn, the current chief of staff for the Department of Corrections, will become the acting commissioner. "I'm proud of the work we've done and wish our staff and individuals under our care well as the Department continues its mission to ensure safety and promote rehabilitation," Hicks said in a statement that did not mention Monday's report. Hicks' announcement comes as he and his department have come under intense criticism, mainly for the treatment of inmates at Edna Mahan, the state's only women's prison.

MAKE REPUBLICANS ELECTABLE AGAIN — Trump backers lose big as Ciattarelli claims GOP nomination in New Jersey, by POLITICO's Matt Friedman: New Jersey Republicans looked past Donald Trump Tuesday, nominating a challenger to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy who once called the former president a "charlatan" and later acknowledged Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. Jack Ciattarelli, a three-term former member of the New Jersey General Assembly who was backed by the state's GOP establishment, defeated three other Republicans — two of whom centered their campaigns around loyalty to the former president — to win his party's gubernatorial nomination. The selection of Ciattarelli in heavily Democratic New Jersey bucks a national trend of Republicans supporting candidates linked to the former president. In his victory speech, delivered shortly after 10 p.m., Ciattarelli didn't mention Trump — instead name checking Abraham Lincoln. "The fact is, I'm an Abraham Lincoln Republican — one who believes in tolerance, mutual respect and the power and beauty of diversity," he said. Ciattarelli's victory is likely a relief to the more moderate members of New Jersey's GOP establishment who watched their already-minority party lose ground during Trump's presidency as some once-solid Republican areas, including Ciattarelli's home county of Somerset, in Central Jersey, shifted Democratic. It also gives New Jersey Republicans a standard-bearer who more closely resembles Republicans who have won statewide elections in the past.

—How GOP gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli wants to govern New Jersey

—New poll shows Murphy with commanding lead over Ciattarelli, by Matt: Gov. Phil Murphy holds a commanding 2-1 lead over his most likely Republican gubernatorial rival, Jack Ciattarelli, who's struggling with name recognition, according to a Rutgers-Eagleton poll released Tuesday. The survey — the first public poll of New Jersey's gubernatorial election — shows Murphy leading Ciattarelli, 52 percent to 26 percent, among registered voters. Murphy has the support of 83 percent of Democrats while Ciattarelli is backed by 67 percent of Republicans.

SO MANY MASTROS — Treasury revenue forecasts to exceed projections by more than $1B, sources say, by POLITICO's Sam Sutton and Katherine Landergan : Updated revenue forecasts from the state Treasury are expected to be more than $1 billion above what Gov. Phil Murphy's administration projected in February for FY 2022, two sources with knowledge of the figures told POLITICO. New Jersey's revenue forecasts, which Treasurer Elizabeth Muoio will deliver in writing to lawmakers on Wednesday, paint a much sunnier picture of the balance sheet than what both the Murphy administration and lawmakers had expected last year, when the pandemic forced almost a complete shutdown of the state's retail economy. But revenues have dramatically improved, signaling a bigger payout for the state in June.

—"N.J.'s revenue soars by an incredible $4 billion as key budget talks loom"

….The non-partisan Office of Legislative Services is also boosting its revenue projections in the same way. According to documents obtained by POLITICO (and also NJ Advance Media): revenue estimates are increasing by $3.3 billion for FY21, and $1.38 billion for FY22.

YOU'LL KNOW MURPHY WANTS TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT IF HE VETOES IT — "The cage age must come to an end in New Jersey," by Raj Mukherji and Vin Gopal for The Star-Ledger : "New Jerseyans believe strongly in the humane treatment of animals. For years, voters have told lawmakers that they want us to take a stand against a particularly cruel practice used by some pork and veal producers. We have heard their voice via polls, phone calls and letters in the opinion pages. This issue has hung over Trenton for long enough, and it is time to finally pass common sense reform into law. At the center of this storm are 'gestation crates,' metal cages used to confine mother pigs. Simply type the term into Google Images and you will understand why gestation crates raise such strong concern. Made of metal bars, these crates are so small the pigs cannot walk more than a step forward or backward, nor can they turn around. Similarly, 'veal crates are used to confine calves fated to become cutlets … That's why we've introduced Assembly bill A-5236 and Senate bill S-3401 to put an end to these terrible practices in New Jersey once and for all."

—"Support, enact Liberty State Park Protection Act | Opinion"

—"N.J. medical marijuana patient fired for using cannabis in his free time, lawsuit claims"

JOIN THURSDAY FOR A TALK ON RESETTING INTERNET PRIVACY: Calls for some type of national privacy law have gained traction in recent years. The U.S. has no overarching national law governing data collection and privacy. Instead, it has a patchwork of federal laws that protect specific data types, such as consumer health and financial information and the personal data generated by children. Join POLITICO for a conversation on tech, data and the future of user privacy, and the most viable path forward. REGISTER HERE.

BIDEN TIME

GOTTHEIMER: THIS PROBLEM DOESN'T NEED SOLVING — "House Democrat leading effort against key consumer protection," by The American Prospect's David Dayden: "The upper chamber advanced three 'resolutions of disapproval' under a statute called the Congressional Review Act (CRA), allowing Congress to nullify certain executive branch regulations. The three resolutions, respectively, would eliminate weak Trump-era standards regulating methane emissions, take down Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rules that put up barriers to credible worker discrimination claims, and roll back the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) 'true lender' rule, which allows predatory lenders to evade state interest-rate caps … Critically, according to six sources with knowledge of the situation, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), a bank-friendly member of the House Financial Services Committee, has been lobbying colleagues to vote against the true lender resolution, threatening passage and potentially subjecting thousands of consumers to usurious interest rates. With Gottheimer leading the opposition, and thin Democratic majorities in the House, just a handful of members, if no Republicans come aboard, could bring the resolution down."

—"Gottheimer rakes in cash from rent-a-bank practitioners he supports"

—"U.S. Senate confirms Bergen administrator Julien Neals to be federal judge"

R.I.P. — "Marine from N.J. dies during recruit training. 'Dalton was a kid everyone liked,' former coach says"

A message from Pre-K Our Way:

LOCAL

SMALL VICTORY — "Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small declares victory in the Democratic primary," by The Press of Atlantic City's Molly Shelly: "A long and brutal primary election battle ended Tuesday with Democratic incumbent Marty Small Sr. declaring victory over challenger Tom Foley and blowing a goodbye kiss to a bitter rival and Foley supporter, Craig Callaway. 'We know the games they play, all the dirty stuff, but I think it's safe to say there's a new lead organization in town — Team Small!' a jubilant Small said. 'And to the Callaway organization: It's over!' Small said, as he kissed his hand and threw it in the air to a cheering crowd of supporters at his campaign headquarters on Atlantic Avenue. Small's slate of at-large council candidates — Stephanie Marshall, George Tibbitt and Bruce E. Weekes — were also leading vote-getters over the Foley ticket as of 9:40 p.m. With 18 of 21 districts in the city reporting, Small had won more than 80% of the votes at the polls — 1,520 to Foley's 361."

CROWNED VIC — "Vic Carstarphen claims victory in Democratic primary for Camden mayor," by The Courier-Post's George Woolston: "Interim Mayor Vic Carstarphen has claimed victory in the city's Democratic primary for mayor. Carstarphen was the apparent top vote getter early Tuesday night, holding off challengers Councilwoman Felicia Reyes-Morton, Camden School Board member Elton Custis and Spanish teacher Louis Quinones. As of 9:45 p.m. with 27 out of 40 precincts reporting and mail-in ballots tallied, Carstarphen had received 66% of the vote, according to unofficial results posted by the Camden County Clerk's Office. 'To say I am humbled and overcome with emotion would be an understatement,' Carstarphen said in statement posted to Facebook Tuesday night."

YOUR DAILY HITLER NEWS — "Tenafly parents voice support for student, principal, teacher after Hitler school report," by The Record's Stephanie Noda: "Parents came out to support the teacher, principal and fifth-grade student involved with a controversial assignment about Adolf Hitler during the school board's Monday night meeting. The assignment, which the public became aware of over Memorial Day weekend, involved an 11-year-old student at Maugham Elementary School, who wrote an essay from the perspective of Hitler and later dressed as Hitler during her presentation … The teacher and the principal have been put on paid administrative leave during the investigation … Parents in the fifth-grade class jointly announced their support for the teacher and student. In the statement, read by multiple parents, the student told her classmates that she spoke as Hitler to show how he was a 'horrible man' and spoke in his point of view, not her own. Before the student gave her presentation, the teacher, who is Jewish, had been hesitant about the report, but decided to let the student go through with it after getting input and advice from her rabbi, said the statement."

MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION TO RATE ZOOM COUNCIL MEETINGS — "Image of sex toy appears during N.J. council's Zoom meeting ," by NJ Advance Media's Kevin Shea: "The person who went live with an image of a sex toy during a Hamilton council meeting late last month was later identified, and the township is handling the manner internally, township Mayor Jeff Martin said Tuesday. The incident occurred toward the end of the May 20 meeting, one of four budget workshop meetings, while Fire Chief Rich Kraemer spoke about fire vehicles. The sex toy was affixed to a fire truck, and appeared to be a Zoom background someone created. It appeared for about 13 seconds, and a person's head briefly appears in the bottom of the frame. The person was signed in as 'mike's iPhone.'"

EMERGENCY RESPONSE IS WISHY WASHY — "Councilman Muschal, wife fume over 911 response following near-death experience at Wishy Washy," by The Trentonian's Isaac Avilucea: "Teflon councilman George Muschal and wife Theresa are on their way out of Trenton but they almost didn't make it past the weekend. They said in interviews Monday that they're thankful to be alive after an out-of-control driver slammed into their business Saturday, trapping the couple inside their attached home and causing an estimated $25,000 in damages to the iconic Wishie Washie laundromat. Muschal told a reporter he would have been 'going to a funeral' had he remained on the porch a minute longer after emptying out the cat litter … Making matters worse, the ex-cop and longtime councilman told The Trentonian that he had a tough time reaching emergency dispatchers while he and his wife feared their home would become engulfed in flames because the smoking car was leaking fuel and could've ignited … Taking shots at allegedly absent and 'clueless' police director Sheilah Coley, Muschal claimed that Mayor Reed Gusciora apologized to him over the slow response — something the city leader disputed in a phone interview Monday. 'We've been trying to address this for months,' Muschal said, alluding to longstanding issues inside Trenton Police's radio room."

—" Joshi wins big in Edison"

—"Edison mayor files for re-election as an independent"

—"Mapp wins in Plainfield"

—"North Bergen judge who admitted to groping woman now facing judicial committee complaint"

—"14 arrested after protesters block ICE from leaving [Bergen County] jail"

—"[Leonia] school worker accidentally leaked Social Security numbers of staff to public"

—"Camden Democrats win back 16 county committee seats in Collingswood"

—" 33 voting machines, mostly for black districts in Newark, didn't arrive until after polls opened"

—"Mercer voter list snafu allowed some voters to vote twice"

—" Paterson mayor tells employees paychecks may come late"

—"Holtec subsidiary CDI says 92 layoffs coming at defunct Oyster Creek nuclear plant"

—" Lawsuit claims ex-Madison High School dean sexually assaulted student in the '80s"

—"Democrats pick Jiampetti for Atlantic clerk"

—" HRH, BMC Hospital issue dueling Bayonne Medical Center proposals ahead of state hearing"

DON'T MISS THE MILKEN INSTITUTE FUTURE OF HEALTH SUMMIT: POLITICO will feature a special edition of our Future Pulse newsletter at the 2021 Milken Institute Future of Health Summit. The newsletter takes readers inside one of the most influential gatherings of global health industry leaders and innovators who are turning lessons learned from the past year into a healthier, more resilient and more equitable future. Covid-19 threatened our health and well-being, while simultaneously leading to extraordinary coordination to improve pandemic preparedness, disease prevention, diversity in clinical trials, mental health resources, food access and more. SUBSCRIBE TODAY to receive exclusive coverage from June 22-23.

EVERYTHING ELSE

NEW DEAN WILL TRANSFORM MSU INTO A TOP TIER PARTY SCHOOL — Arizona State dean named new president of Montclair State University, by POLITICO's Carly Sitrin : Jonathan Koppell, a dean and vice provost at Arizona State University for the past 10 years, was named Tuesday as the next president of Montclair State University. Koppell, who has served for a decade as dean of Arizona State's Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions and vice provost for public service and social impact, will succeed Susan Cole, who is retiring after 23 years at Montclair State. "I don't just want to be president of a university, I want to be president of this university," Koppell said at his announcement in Montclair on Tuesday.

PIRATE SCHOOLS SUFFERING FROM SCURVY — "We analyzed financial data for NJ private colleges and rated them. Many are struggling," by The Record's Jean Rimbach: "Many of the state's 14 traditional independent four-year colleges and universities — which serve more than 70,000 full- and part-time students annually, employ more than 20,000 and have provided a pathway to professional success for generations of Americans — were financially strained well before the pandemic arrived, an analysis of their financial data by The Record and NorthJersey.com found … Then came COVID-19, which brought millions of dollars in unexpected losses and new costs to even the most sure-footed institutions — and further taxed the budgets of smaller schools, many of which had already taken significant steps to improve their bottom lines."

—"N.J. students now eligible for $3K scholarships as state revises 529 college saving plan rules"

COLD CASE — "Ted Bundy visited the Jersey Shore. A haunting question remains: Did he kill here?" by The Asbury Park Press' Alex N. Gecan: "On Memorial Day 1969, a pair of 19-year-old junior college friends left a vacation home in Ocean City around 5 a.m., stopped for an early breakfast at the Somers Point Diner and then disappeared. Their bodies were found three days later, 200 feet off the Garden State Parkway at mile marker 31.9 in Egg Harbor. The slayings of Susan Davis, of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, and Elizabeth Perry, of Excelsior, Minnesota, have never been solved … Bundy would have been finishing his lone semester at Temple at the time Davis and Perry would have taken their last vacation … Richard Larsen, author of the Bundy biography The Deliberate Stranger, said Bundy once claimed credit for over 100 killings, and that Perry's and Davis' killings bore the hallmarks of Bundy's style. The trail remained cold after Bundy's death, despite purportedly incriminating statements by the charismatic Bundy. And he wasn't the only killer who claimed he killed the women."

HE BRINGS ENERGY — "NJ Chamber of Commerce taps JCP&L head as board chair," by NJBIZ's Daniel J. Munoz: "The president of utility provider Jersey Central Power & Light, James Fakult, was elected chair of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce's board of directors, the nonprofit announced on June 8. His term began June 3 and will last two years, the state chamber said. He'll succeed outgoing PNC Bank New Jersey Regional President Linda Bowden."

—"Wild turkeys menace Amazon driver in Montville, NJ"

A message from Pre-K Our Way:

Thanks to the Governor and Legislature, there's been pre-k expansion funding in every recent state budget! That's enabled NJ to expand pre-k for working families into 150+ school districts.

However, families in 110+ eligible districts still wait in rural, suburban and urban communities, and from east to west – and north to south.

The proposed FY2022 budget would continue to recognize pre-k expansion as a priority for now, and for our future. We agree with former Governor Tom Kean, "There are a few priority reforms we need to make to improve education in our state. One of our highest priorities should be the availability of quality pre-k programs for all of our children. These programs offer our best hope for future success in school and life."

Let's maintain pre-k expansion as a statewide priority. Continue substantial pre-k expansion in the coming year for New Jersey, and especially for its working families.

Visit prekourway.org