News: POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: Murky independent expenditures to the rescue

Friday, October 1, 2021

POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: Murky independent expenditures to the rescue

Oct 01, 2021

Presented by A Healthy Future, LLC

Good Friday morning!

One way you'll be able to tell if the governor's race is truly getting closer is if "independent expenditure" groups — and I put that in quotes because their actual independence is often questionable at best — actually start investing money in the state.

So far, there hasn't been all that much of that on either side, save for some modest involvement from the Democratic and Republican governors associations. And we can expect the New Jersey Education Association to get involved, too. We'll likely see millions of dollars invested in major legislative races too.

Yet, there is one group that caught the attention of a political activist in Hudson County. A group called Garden State Rescue, which as far as I can tell is not a affiliated with the ASPCA, was handing out pro-Ciattarelli/anti-Murphy flyers around Journal Square in Jersey City. So he showed me the flyers, which but for their disclaimer could have easily been mistaken for a Ciattarelli campaign piece.

But who is Garden State Rescue? All I've got to go on is a post office box in, of all places, liberal Lambertville. There are no filings available online at ELEC, the IRS, or even the state Treasury's website. If this group spends more than $1,900, they're legally required to file with ELEC. If you know, please let me know.

Read more about it here.

WHERE'S MURPHY? No public schedule

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I'll leave it up to your listeners to decide, but it sounds like the person who called in has a number of issues." — Jack Ciattarelli on a caller to the Brian Lehrer show who asked him for his definition of "white privilege" and then, when Ciattarelli said he didn't understand the question, accused him of exhibiting it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Saturday for RWJBarnabas' Michellene Davis, Bloomberg reporter Lisa Fleisher, attorney Paul Josephson. Sunday for Greenwald adviser Jennifer Lehman, former House candidate Josh Welle

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

PLAYING IN TRAFFIC — Murphy threatens 'nuclear option' on congestion pricing, by POLITICO's Ry Rivard and Daniel Han: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy threatened to hold up business at the bi-state agency overseeing the East Coast's largest port and the region's major airports unless New York officials back down from a plan to increase tolls on New Jersey commuters going into Manhattan … Asked about congestion pricing at a Thursday "meet the candidate" event hosted by the Morris County Chamber of Commerce, Murphy said, "we're not going to relent if New Jersey commuters are discriminated against, period." Congestion pricing would appear to align with Murphy's oft-stated ambition of reducing greenhouse gas emissions …

"Murphy, who is up for reelection this fall, went on to make a specific threat aimed at New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, using one of the few points of leverage a New Jersey governor has over a governor of New York: the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Murphy said he has "methods" to use against New York "that we will use if we have to — and I hope we don't have to — including vetoing the minutes of the Port Authority, which is kind of a nuclear option, but if we have to, we'll do it."

VFW: WTF? — "Murphy didn't respond to invitation to discuss veterans issues, VFW says," by New Jersey Globe's David Wildstein: "The Veterans of Foreign Wars will host a gubernatorial candidate town hall on Saturday evening with Republican Jack Ciattarelli in attendance, but the group says Gov. Phil Murphy never responded to their invitation. The VFW provided documentation that that their invitation was delivered to Murphy's campaign headquarters in Newark on September 16. The Murphy campaign declined to comment. Deaths related to the coronavirus pandemic in state-run veterans homes in Menlo Park and Paramus has been an issue in Murphy's re-election campaign against Ciattarelli. Over 200 residents died as a result of COVID-19, including 11 deaths at a state-run veterans home in Vineland.'"

0.000055 MASTRO BONUS — "'What am I going to do?': When a signing bonus can't help the jobless," by New Jersey Monitor's Sophie Nieto-Munoz: "Nicole Squitieri needs the $500 signing bonus New Jersey is using to lure the unemployed back to work. She said she has no choice but to turn it down. Squitieri is a mom with three kids — two of them have already had to stay home from school after coming into close contact with a positive COVID-19 case — and married to a man who works overnights. Her father-in-law just had a stroke, requiring her to provide extra caregiving … Gov. Phil Murphy announced the $500 bonus idea Monday, a bid to jumpstart the state's economy. The state will pay for the bonus checks and additional subsidies for small businesses … But there's a swath of people who stand no chance to benefit from the program: single parents, caregivers, and people who weren't returning to jobs because of health concerns."

IF HIGH COVID TEST COSTS ARE YOUR ISSUE, GO TO ANOTHER STATE — "Loopholes and 'profiteering' off the pandemic: Why NJ has nation-high COVID test costs," by The Record's Dustin Racioppi: "For educators and state workers who visited Dr. Bradley Connor in Manhattan, Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, Southern Ocean Medical Center in Stafford and St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston the past year, they received a complex test for COVID-19 that also checked for two dozen other respiratory diseases. The state picked up the cost, and New Jersey received nearly two dozen bills for more than $1,000 each … But that average of $302 a test in the state has also likely been driven up by providers who have taken advantage of the federal law established at the outset of the pandemic requiring insurers to cover COVID tests no matter the cost, according to health policy experts."

THIS WILL BE THE EXTENT OF MURPHY'S TAX PLEDGE — "New Jersey gas tax reduction takes effect Friday," by NJ 101.5's Michael Symons: "If you need gas for your car but want to save a buck or two, you might want to wait for Friday — when New Jersey's gas tax goes down by 8.3 cents a gallon. State officials adjust the gas tax each year on Oct. 1 under a 2016 law that sets an annual revenue goal of around $2 billion. Depending on collections over the past year and expectations for the year ahead, the tax can increase, stay level or decrease. This is the first cut since the law went into effect. State treasury officials credited the faster-than-expected recovery from the pandemic in reversing most of the 9.3-cent per gallon hike imposed a year ago."

BRAMNICK-BERGEN BRAWL — Bramnick criticizes Bergen for 'happy captives' comment, by POLITICO's Matt Friedman : New Jersey's outgoing Assembly minority leader is calling out a member who hopes to succeed him for saying Republicans are "happy captives" in the lower house. "I don't mind if he wants to criticize my leadership. That's his right. But to criticize the entire caucus, where there's been many representatives who have fought really hard for their ideals, I think that's definitely off base," Jon Bramnick, who has held the post since 2012, said in a phone interview Thursday. "I think to say the entire caucus is like a bunch of hostages and captives is to insult all the Republican members of the Assembly." Brian Bergen, a first-term Assemblymember from Morris County, used the term while announcing his intention to run to succeed Bramnick during a fundraiser last week where he called for taking "a more aggressive approach" with Democrats, who outnumber Republicans 52-28 in the Assembly.

— "Mask, vaccine politics intensify as election nears"

— " In candidates' fight over abortion, issue gets muddled"

— Mulshine: "In debate, Phil Murphy looks like he's running for president — of New Jersey"

— " Bill to enshrine a woman's right to an abortion in N.J. could be law by end of year, Murphy tells Samantha Bee"

— "Port Authority, NJ Transit step up mask wearing enforcement as complaints increase"

MEDIA MOVES: @RodrigoTorrejon: "Some personal news: today was my last day @starledger/@njdotcom and covering New Jersey, the state I was born and raised in. I'm beyond grateful to residents who trusted me with their stories and to my colleagues who work every day to help their communities.

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

HOMEBUYERS URGED TO CONSIDER HOUSES ON DRY LAND — "Buying an NJ home in a flood zone? Your flood insurance rates are about to climb," by The Asbury Park Press' Michael L. Diamond: "Homebuyers in flood zones at the Jersey Shore likely will begin paying higher premiums for flood insurance beginning Friday, despite a last-minute plea by elected officials for FEMA to delay the rate changes. The National Flood Insurance Program's Risk Rating 2.0, managed by FEMA, could lead to rate hikes of 5% to 18% a year — or 25% a year for vacation homes — until the cost is in line with the risk. Lawmakers said the hikes could leave homeowners priced out of the insurance market."

— " Will Congress end the cap on state and local tax deduction? Deadline looms"

— "Thousands of Haitians are being allowed into the U.S. but what comes next?"

— " N.J. gets help to pay for Ida damage in bill keeping federal government open"

LOCAL

GUSCOENAS — "NJ AG subpoenas Gusciora administration over abandoned properties," by The Trentonian's Isaac Avilucea: "The New Jersey Attorney General's Office has subpoenaed Mayor Reed Gusciora's administration over the city's 'abandoned property abatement program,' city spokesman Will Skaggs confirmed. The news comes weeks after former housing and economic director Ben Delisle alleged in an explosive lawsuit that he was forced out of his position because he refused to fast-track illegal demolition projects that the mayor wanted completed ahead of next year's election … Gusciora, a lawyer, has previously bitten back against allegations of corruption by claiming he'd never do anything to jeopardize his law license … His spokesman issued a statement saying the city plans to 'fully cooperate' with the AG's office."

IT'S NOT AN OUTBREAK. IT'S A FLOURISHING OF VIRAL LIFE — Toms River schools chief ties COVID illnesses, quarantines to activities pre-reopening, by The Asbury Park Press' Joe Strupp: "The interim superintendent of the public school district, where hundreds of students and scores of staff have been sickened or forced into quarantine by COVID, says in a letter Thursday there was no outbreak of the virus 'in our district.' 'I felt it necessary to reach out and assure our school community that, contrary to what you may have heard, there is no COVID-19 'outbreak' in our district,' wrote interim Toms River Regional School District Superintendent Stephen Genco. Genco told the Asbury Park Press the district's masks-optional reopening Sept. 8 wasn't to blame for the circumstances either; rather, Genco said, the affected students, prior to the schools' reopening, were infected with COVID or had been near someone who had. It could not immediately be learned whether Genco's contention — that the students had been sickened elsewhere or had "close contact" with an infected person elsewhere — had been backed up by contact tracing."

— "West Milford students make up 25% of NJ's school COVID outbreaks, official says," by The Record's David M. Zimmer: "Nearly three weeks after a COVID-19 outbreak started at a varsity high school football game, state officials have acknowledged the school district in question is West Milford, a municipal official with knowledge of the situation said Thursday. The cluster, the sole state-confirmed school outbreak in Passaic County, is responsible for 25% of student COVID-19 cases associated with school outbreaks in New Jersey, Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said Wednesday."

EXCHANGE PLACE — " Atlantic City barred from shutting down syringe exchange program until November court date," by The Press of Atlantic City's Molly Shelly: "The resort's syringe exchange program has been spared for another month. Hours after the South Jersey AIDS Alliance and three residents filed a lawsuit against the city to stop the program from shutting down, Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Julio Mendez delayed the closure, setting a preliminary hearing on the matter for Nov. 12. The program was originally slated to shut down Oct. 12. In the same order issued Wednesday, Mendez restricted the city from enforcing an ordinance that would repeal the program, allowing the AIDS Alliance to continue operating its syringe exchange out of the Oasis Drop-In Center on Tennessee Avenue."

TEANECK — "Uncovering Joan Davis: Teaneck council watchdog killed in 2010 cared deeply, lived alone," by The Record's Liam Quinn: "Joan Davis did not have many friends in Teaneck. But she was well-known. For years, Davis would attend any public meeting she could. Township council, planning board, school board, you name it, Davis would be there. She would speak her mind, especially when she disagreed with something done by Teaneck's government. She was a gadfly in the purest sense.When she was seen outside, Teaneck's enigmatic gadfly was usually in one of two places: inside Teaneck's council chambers, or in her garden tending to her irises outside of her Tudor-style home on Alpine Drive where she lived on her own. … The mystery that was Joan Davis was exacerbated when she was killed on Aug. 17, 2010. It's a case that remains unsolved, in a cruel bit of irony."

JUST MERGE IT WITH ENGLEWOOD — "Judge rules Englewood Cliffs GOP can pick council member's replacement," by The Record's Marsha A. Stoltz: "In the latest round of borough musical chairs, a Superior Court judge has ruled its Republican County Committee can appoint a replacement for former Council President William Woo. Judge Robert Wilson issued the ruling after a brief audio conference Thursday. 'I think the decision is wrong,' said Democratic County Committee Attorney Joseph Marinello after the hearing. 'We may appeal.' The GOP's 4-2 dominance on the council was threatened when the borough's Democratic County Committee filed a lawsuit on Sept. 8 challenging the official date of Woo's resignation."

— "Fort Lee hires former school chief who sued Englewood district over altered grades scandal"

— "10 former students have now come forward claiming sexual abuse at West Essex school"

— "'Our village has risen': Pleasantville schools celebrate removal of fiscal monitor"

R.I.P. — "Janet Sobkowicz, former Washington Township mayor and longtime council member, dies"

— "Wenonah voters approve $2.9 million school bond"

— "Tax board frustrated by Solomeno's attacks against Monmouth County system"

— "Camden officials announce plan to address one of city's most-pressing issues: its streets"

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

HOSPITAL DE-CANONIZES BARNABAS — "Leon Cooperman Foundation Donates $100 Million to N.J. Hospital," by Bloomberg's Stacie Sherman: "Billionaire investor Leon Cooperman donated $100 million to Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey, the largest gift to a hospital in the state. The donation was made through the Leon and Toby Cooperman Family Foundation, Saint Barnabas said in a statement Thursday. The hospital will be renamed Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center … The Coopermans raised their family in Essex County, New Jersey, and have donated more than 100 times to Saint Barnabas, according to the hospital … He's among the billionaires who have agreed to give the majority of their wealth to philanthropy under the Giving Pledge, a program started by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates."

BECAUSE OF A $100 MILLION SHORTFALL — "This N.J. hospital fired 4 top execs this month. RWJBarnabas' CEO reveals why," by NJ Advance Media's Spencer Kent: "RWJBarnabas Health fired four executives at Saint Barnabas Medical Center earlier this month because the facility has been underperforming, the head of the hospital network told NJ Advance Media. The Livingston facility's CEO and three other top administrators were terminated Sept. 7. For weeks, it had been somewhat of a mystery why they were dismissed from the highly rated hospital. NJ Advance Media first reported the departures after obtaining an internal memo announcing the changes to staff."

— " N.J. child protective caseworker busted at airport with child pornography, federal prosecutors say"

— "Governor Kean: 'Democracy is in trouble'"

— " NJ squashed thousands of spotted lanternflies. Still, it's 'impossible to wipe them out'"

— "Christie brother says his entire family tested positive for Covid after B'nai Mitzvah"

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.