News: POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: Poll: Gov race in the single digits

Thursday, September 30, 2021

POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: Poll: Gov race in the single digits — barely

Sep 30, 2021

Presented by A Healthy Future, LLC

Good Thursday morning!

For a couple weeks now, Jack Ciattarelli's people have been telling anyone who will listen that this is a single-digit race.

And now we see evidence that it is, albeit at the extreme end of it. A Stockton poll released Wednesday showed Gov. Phil Murphy leading Ciattarelli by 9 points, 50 percent to 41 percent.

We can't say there's been movement in the race because we don't have any comparable data. And this poll uses a likely voter screen, unlike the Monmouth poll released last week that showed Murphy up by 13 among registered voters. (That poll did show a 9-point spread among those who have voted in each of the last four general elections).

While this is the best public poll Ciattarelli has seen so far, it's nothing like the two insider polling memos his allies have been touting to no avail. Hopefully, we'll see a decent amount of public polling in this race over the next month.

Read the full poll here.

WHERE'S MURPHY? In Berkeley Heights for a 10:30 a.m. "jobs announcement," presumably about a company that just got a $109 million tax break.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "If the mayor and the administration wants to battle pickleball, we want (it known) that we intend to be a huge factor in May of 2022 and there will be consequences." — Ocean City resident and pickleball advocate Greg Balin

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Dem activist Nina Catrambone

TIPS? FEEDBACK? HATE MAIL? Email me at mfriedman@politico.com

A message from A Healthy Future, LLC:

Some members of Congress want to fund a partisan $3.5 trillion spending plan on the backs of Medicare patients. Their plan would repeal a safeguard in Medicare protecting seniors and those with disabilities, cutting off access to life-saving medicines. Tell Congressman Andy Kim: Oppose cutting Medicare to pay for the $3.5 trillion spending plan. Stop the government from pulling needed prescription drugs from the market. Sign the petition.

WHAT TRENTON MADE

12.1 MASTROS — "NJ approves $109M tax break to attract fintech Fiserv," by NJBiz's Daniel J. Munoz: "New Jersey is granting a $109 million corporate tax break for financial technology firm Fiserv, making it among the largest state subsidies awarded under the Murphy administration. Under the agreement approved by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority's board of directors on Sept. 29, Fiserv would keep or create a combined 3,000 new jobs at a Berkeley Heights office and spend $105 million to 'improve and relocate to a mostly vacant office building in the Union County suburb. The new campus at 100 Connell Drive would include 428,000 square feet of office space in a single, four-story building, Fiserv said. ... The company would create 1,927 new jobs, and said that 1,063 jobs would have left the state had it gone elsewhere. Fiserv would generate a 313% economic impact over the seven years – three times the award amount – Gov. Phil Murphy's office said."

THE INFAMOUS 'RAIN TAX' — "Tool to ease floods goes unused," by NJ Spotlight News' Tom Johnson: "Two years ago, a new law gave local governments a tool to manage stormwater runoff, then and now considered the biggest source of pollution in streams, rivers and bays, not to mention a major cause of flooding. Touted by advocates as a sensible approach to deal with what authorities say is a $16 billion problem in New Jersey, the law allows municipalities and other entities to set up stormwater utilities to impose fees on parking lot and other impervious surfaces … 'We don't have any takers yet,' acknowledged Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette, when asked about the lack of any such utilities in the state last week. He blamed the non-response on a variety of factors, including the difficulty in getting people to focus on problems that do not directly impact them … It took a decade to push the utility bill through the Legislature over opposition from business lobbyists and many Republican lawmakers who dubbed the bill a 'rain tax.' … 'Two weeks ago, we got hit with a hell of a rain tax,' LaTourette said, alluding to the costs of widespread flooding across the state from Ida."

DEFINITION OF 'TAXES' TO CHANGE IN 2022 — " Murphy doubles down on pledge against new taxes," by the New Jersey Globe's Joey Fox: "Gov. Phil Murphy pledged at last night's gubernatorial debate not to raise or add any taxes if he's re-elected — but he's not saying how such a pledge might fit into his ambitious second-term agenda. 'I pledge to not raise taxes,' Murphy said in response to moderator Sade Baderinwa's question on the potential for new taxes. 'We're done, 100%.' At his twice-a-week Covid briefing today, Murphy went even further, saying that he would work to lower taxes — though his primary tool for doing so, removing the SALT deduction cap, is out of his hands."

HOW HAS NO NJ BREWERY NAMED A BEER 'TRIPEL DIPPING'? — "Happy trails: NJ to step up promotion of its craft breweries," by NJ 101.5's Michael Symons: "New Jersey is going to step up its promotion of the growing craft beer industry in the state under a new law that requires its tourism division to create a brewery trail program. The law, enacted Friday, directs the Division of Travel and Tourism to create at least three trails that consist of a series of microbreweries linked geographically or thematically by surrounding arts, cultural, historical, entertainment or other tourism destinations."

— " 5 telling moments between Murphy and Ciattarelli from Tuesday's N.J. gubernatorial debate"

— Stile: "5 takeaways from Tuesday's governor's debate between Murphy, Ciattarelli"

— " Barranco raised $75k [Tuesday] night, with minority leader candidates courting leadership vote"

— "NJ schools report nearly 40 COVID-19 outbreaks this week, up from 23 last week"

— " New early voting rules, poll worker shortage pose huge challenge for N.J. election officials"

— Murphy was on "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee" last night to talk about the Reproductive Freedom Act. I didn't watch it, but here's the show's website where hopefully you can find the clip. Let me know how it was.

HAPPENING TODAY - DON'T MISS THIS PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW WITH REP. GOTTHEIMER AS THE HOUSE PREPARES TO VOTE : President Biden's domestic agenda is on the line, with a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill slated for a House vote on Thursday. However, moderate and progressive Democrats remain at odds over a larger, multitrillion-dollar spending package — with the left even threatening to tank Thursday's vote. Join Playbook co-author Rachael Bade for a virtual conversation featuring Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), the leader of the centrists urging his colleagues to take the win Thursday and continue working on the second package in the coming days. REGISTER HERE.

BIDEN TIME

GOPTEMISM — Gottheimer sunny on infrastructure vote despite progressive threats, by POLITICO's Nick Niedzwiadek: Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer remains optimistic that the House will pass the Senate's trillion-dollar infrastructure agreement as Democrats face a critical juncture in President Joe Biden's first year in office navigating excruciatingly narrow majorities in both houses of Congress. "It's gonna happen tomorrow," the New Jersey congressman said during a POLITICO Playbook live interview. Gottheimer has emerged as the public face of the band of moderate House Democrats who have insisted on a September vote on the bipartisan infrastructure deal that passed the Senate earlier this summer. That legislation has languished in the House as Democrats suss out the more-expansive reconciliation package. "I think there's a pretty deep recognition wherever you sit in the Democratic side that we need to get these bills done for the president, for his agenda, but also more importantly for the country," he said.

— Schumer, Pelosi toil to ease cross-Capitol rifts over Biden agenda

— " Assemblyman [Peterson] will consider Malinowski challenge after '21 election is over"

LOCAL

COVID'S RIVER — "N.J. district puts 900 staff, students on COVID quarantine after starting year mask-optional," by NJ Advance Media's Jeff Goldman: "About 900 staff and students in the Toms River school district, which began the year with an optional mask policy, were listed as under quarantine early Wednesday due to possible COVID-19 exposure following 250 confirmed cases. The 15,500 student district — the sixth-largest in the state — cited excessive heat as the reason for starting the year not requiring masks in non-air conditioned areas, but face coverings have been required since Sept. 20. In all, the district used excessive heat exemption in for eight school days … So far, 218 students and 33 employees have tested positive, though not all those cases are currently active, according to district data. Currently, 864 students and 26 staff members are at home because they were in close contact with someone who tested positive or have recently tested positive. Those totals represent nearly 6% of students and 1.2% of staff."

— Flashback: "Ciattarelli urges Toms River school board to not mask students"

CLIPPED ART — " Hackensack trustees receive threatening letters showing their faces in crosshairs of a gun," by The Record's Katie Sobko: "Two Board of Education trustees say they received mailed death threats over the weekend that included photos of their faces in the crosshairs of a gun. Michael Oates and Scott James-Vickery are neighbors and when the latter checked his mail on Saturday and found a threatening message, his first step was to check and see if his school board colleague did, too. The letter included a photo of their faces in the crosshairs of a gun with apparent bullet wounds on their foreheads. Text on the image read, 'You will be taken out by vote or by force' and 'public enemies.' 'This is just a coward behind a computer,' Oates said. 'It's going to take a lot more than a couple of copy pastes to scare us.' … Capt. Darrin DeWitt said Hackensack police are investigating the incidents, which were the only two such threats reported in the city."

ATLANTIC CITY'S EXCHANGE PLACE — "South Jersey AIDS Alliance, residents file lawsuit to stop Atlantic City needle exchange closure," by The Press of Atlantic City's Molly Shelly: "The South Jersey AIDS Alliance and three residents have filed a lawsuit asking a judge to stop the city from shutting down its syringe access program next month. The program, which is operated by the AIDS Alliance out of the Oasis Drop-In Center on Tennessee Avenue, is slated to close Oct. 12 after an ordinance passed by City Council in July banned it from operating. 'It is our responsibility to do everything we can to protect the people who entrust their health and well being to South Jersey AIDS Alliance,' Carol Harney, CEO of the AIDS Alliance, said in a statement Wednesday. 'We're hopeful that justice will prevail and that people living with a substance use disorder and people living with, or at risk of, HIV will continue to have access to essential syringe services.'"

IT AIN'T OVER TIL IT'S OVER — "Clifton claims victory over Montclair State University in 16-year legal battle," by The Record's Matt Fagan: "Sixteen years after Montclair State University neighbor Ed Pasino first became aware of the university's plan to turn Yogi Berra Drive into a two-way road and went to war against it, the New Jersey Supreme Court on Monday denied MSU's petition. Pasino's protests led to a long legal battle. MSU contended it needed this exit route to accommodate the campus's growth, while the city of Clifton and Passaic County argued that the roadway, as designed, would be too dangerous. For Pasino and others, the denial feels like the final nail in a two-decades-long legal battle that's cost all involved hundreds of thousands of dollars."

BING DINGS BOGG — "Bing hits Boggiano over donation to pro-Trump U.S. Senate candidate, Boggiano says he's family," by Hudson County View's John Heinis: "Jersey City Ward C council candidate Kevin Bing is going on offense against Councilman Rich Boggiano over a $500 donation to a Republican pro-Trump U.S. Senate candidate, who the incumbent defended and said is his cousin. Bing took aim at Boggiano for a $500 contribution to James DeMartino, who lost in the Delaware GOP U.S. Senate primary by a margin of about 57-43 … Between this and Boggiano abstaining on a city council resolution denouncing the resurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, Bing said he would've asked his opponent if he regretted being sympathetic towards Trump and his supporters at last night's debate … In response, Boggiano said over the phone today that DeMartino is his cousin and that he would never turn his back on family."

TEACHINGS FROM ASBURY PARK — "Atlantic City looks to Asbury Park for redevelopment tips," by The Press of Atlantic City's Bill Barlow: "The CRDA recently received proposals for redevelopment of that building, which the authority bought in 2014. The CRDA spent $9.1 million on the property and helping the recovery center relocate. A former mayor of Belmar, [CRDA Executive Director Matt] Doherty has told officials and stakeholders about Asbury Park for years, holding the Monmouth County resort up as a model for redevelopment. On Tuesday, about 60 people from Atlantic City had the chance to see for themselves. Business owners, community activists, elected officials and representatives of multiple civic organizations boarded two busses at the Atlantic City Convention Center for a daylong tour of Asbury Park, starting at the Asbury Hotel … Doherty sees lessons for Atlantic City in Asbury Park, which had fallen on hard times decades ago."

NEWARK — "End federal monitoring of Newark police, mayor says," by NJ Spotlight News' Ian T. Shearn: "After over five years of court-ordered oversight of the Newark Police Department by the U.S. Department of Justice, Mayor Ras Baraka believes great strides have been made, and the once abusive and scandal-ridden force is on a path to redemption. But it's time, Baraka said, to terminate the arrangement. 'We've met the requirements,' Baraka told NJ Spotlight News. 'We've done as much as we can do … we've paid an enormous amount of money … This can't go on forever.' Peter Harvey, the court-appointed federal monitor, doesn't agree."

R.I.P. — " John Cipriano, longtime Trenton city councilman, dies at 92"

— "Court records detail alleged relationship between Pompton Lakes cop and teen"

— " Parents getting refunds for busing costs after [Millburn] cuts back on who can get a ride"

— "Secaucus suing NJSEA in effort to force payment of fees under Transportation Planning District Act"

BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we've got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don't miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now.

EVERYTHING ELSE

A CHANGE IN THE POLITICAL CLIMATE — "Fossil-fuel projects may face greater scrutiny after PennEast scraps pipeline," by NJ Spotlight News' John Hurdle: "Fossil-fuel projects may now have a tougher time being approved in New Jersey after the PennEast Pipeline Co. formally ended its long campaign to build a natural-gas pipeline from northeast Pennsylvania to Mercer County, saying it has not received New Jersey state permits, and so will cease "all further development." The company's statement early Monday was greeted with jubilation by environmentalists and landowners who have fought the project since it was announced in 2014. The announcement is being viewed as a sign that regulators will now take a harder look at pipelines and other fossil-fuel proposals amid rising public demand for urgent action to curb climate change."

ONE-QUARTER OF THE FOOTBALL COACH'S SALARY — Rutgers salary adjustments shortchange faculty by $1M, union claims, by POLITICO's Carly Sitrin: Rutgers University this week took its first steps to adjust faculty salaries after years of pay equity complaints, but union leaders say the payouts are still shortchanging university workers by close to $1 million. As promised by Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway last Friday, the state's flagship university this week sent out initial decisions to more than 100 faculty and staff members who applied for a salary adjustment in cases where they claimed pay discrimination based on race, gender and other categories, as well as pay inequities across Rutgers' three campuses — Camden, Newark and New Brunswick. In total, Rutgers spokesperson Dory Devlin told POLITICO in an email, the university distributed pay equity letters to 105 faculty members with the total recommended adjustments coming to $1.2 million. Union leaders allege, however, that the $1.2 million total is "at least $750,000 and probably close to $1 million" short of what should be owed to faculty.

A message from A Healthy Future, LLC:

If Congressman Andy Kim and Congress cut Medicare to pay for the $3.5 trillion spending plan, the government could refuse to cover life-saving medicines and prevent breakthrough therapies for diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's, or diabetes. What about a vaccine for the next pandemic? This is a prescription for disaster. We can't let the government play doctor. We can't give government bureaucrats the authority to deny access to needed prescription medicines and ration care as a way of "saving money" to fund their multi-trillion-dollar wish list. Sign the petition and make sure Congressman Kim hears your voice today.