News: POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: Is a MTG endorsement inevitable?

Monday, February 14, 2022

POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: Is a MTG endorsement inevitable?

Feb 14, 2022

So how long will it be until Marjorie Taylor Greene issues an endorsement in a New Jersey congressional primary?

I'm only sort of kidding. The Daily Beast reports that an endorsement by the far-right Georgia congresswoman who just confused the Gestapo with gazpacho is the second most sought after endorsement on the right, after only Donald Trump himself.

If I'm wrong about Greene not endorsing here yet, let me know. But other far-right figures have been sought after. I've seen at least two Republican congressional candidates burnish endorsements from Michael Flynn, the pardoned QAnon-promoting retired general who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. And operative Roger Stone, his prison sentence for lying to Congresscommuted by the former president, was in Monmouth County Saturday, for the Monmouth GOP convention to assist Republican podcast host Mike Crispi in his effort to oust longtime incumbent Chris Smith (R-4th Dist.). (Smith won the convention 2-1).

In Republican base politics right now , it seems that nothing can make you toxic as long as it's been in service to the former president and the lies he spreads about the 2020 election.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Without question, we have one of the largest ports in the country and knocking on wood with our folks have managed it brilliantly in the context of this pandemic, but that trucker reality is a threat without question.' — Gov. Phil Murphy on the Canadian trucker protests

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Political consultant Dennis Culnan Sr, former Norcross aide Rich Locklear, Burlco GOP operative Jim Logue

WHERE'S MURPHY? At Camden County College for a 10 a.m. Donald Norcross campaign kickoff, then in Willingboro at 2:15 pm for an announcement.

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

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WHAT TRENTON MADE

ME, SENATE PRESIDENT? — "The guy who helped legalize N.J. weed is suddenly Senate President. And yeah, he's still surprised," by NJ Advance Media's Brent Johnson: "In 2004, Nicholas Scutari, then a newly elected 35-year-old state senator, was having dinner with friends when he made an apparently radical declaration. 'I go to these guys, 'I'm gonna legalize marijuana in New Jersey someday,' Scutari recalled. Their reaction was harsh. 'They laughed at me,' he said. He even remembered a top senator predicating at the time it would lead to Scutari getting booted from Trenton. 'He's like, 'That's the stupidest idea I ever heard. You're gonna have a short career, young man,'' Scutari said. 'And I'm like, 'Am I? Did I do something wrong here? I think it's the right thing.'' After years of pushing the change, weed is now legal in the Garden State. And, Scutari, now 53, is still in office. In fact, after Jersey politics took a mighty strange turn on Election Day, the Union County Democrat is now the one in charge of the state Legislature's upper house. Scutari was sworn in last month as the 115th president of the New Jersey Senate, making him the second most powerful politician in state government, trailing only the governor. That's the part that truly surprises him. 'I don't know if I ever envisioned it or looked for it,' Scutari said during a wide-ranging interview with NJ Advance Media earlier this month at the two-story brick building in Linden that serves as both his law and legislative offices. 'I think that's one of the reasons I got it.'"

HEY COLLIGAN MAN! — State appellate court dismisses PBA challenge to Murphy vaccine mandate, by POLITICO's Daniel Han : "State appellate court has dismissed a legal challenge to Gov. Phil Murphy's vaccine and booster mandate for corrections officers. In a unanimous 34-page published opinion Friday, the three-judge panel ruled Murphy was well within his authority to adopt the mandate, which had drawn sharp outcry from the state Policemen's Benevolent Association, the state's largest police union representing corrections officers. "[T]here are times when individual self-interests like those asserted by appellants must take a backseat to the responsibilities we all have toward each other, a point President Kennedy far more eloquently expressed in his 1961 inaugural address," Judge Clarkson Fisher Jr. wrote for the three-member panel in a scathing opinion. State PBA President Pat Colligan said in a brief interview that the union is considering its next steps, including a possible appeal to the state Supreme Court. "It's a three-nothing decision, so it's a very, very difficult hurdle to climb," he said.

— PBA appeals vaccine mandate to state Supreme Court

AN ELECTION IN WHICH ALL WOMEN AND MOST NON-WHITES COULDN'T VOTE IS A MODEL FOR ENFRANCHISEMENT — " New Jersey needs a uniform voting system that supports ballot access," by Jack Ciattarelli for Gannett: "With no vote-by-mail, no early voting, and no provisional ballots, some of our country's highest voter turnouts took place in the earliest days of the Republic. In the presidential election of 1860, won by Abraham Lincoln, the turnout was 81%. Americans in the 1800s held sacred their constitutional right to vote. Today, despite there being more flexibility than ever in everyday life, it's not the voters but politicians who are exerting themselves, with all kinds of changes to how we vote. The result is a confusing, unmanageable, expensive and, in some ways, dubious voting and election reporting system that has disenfranchised many voters."

—@RebovichInst: @Jack4NJ is incorrect. About 150,000 Union soldiers were able to vote by mail for the first time in 1864. Also, Lincoln never carried New Jersey or won any of our electoral votes, so it's a doubly ironic argument for a New Jersey leader to make.

WILL ASSEMBLYMAN ZELLMAN STILL REPRESENT THE 41ST DISTRICT? —@Wildstein: "Weighed in with the NJ Legislative Apportionment Commission on perhaps the most peripheral issue of all: should the final map be renumbered so that, for example, District 30 isn't sitting in South Jersey?"

CORPORATIONS ARE PEOPLE. EXCEPT WHEN THEY COMMIT FRAUD AND JUST PAY A FINE — " Academy Bus to pay $20.5M after being accused of defrauding NJ Transit for years," by NJ Advance Media's Jeff Goldman: "Academy Bus will pay $20.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by New Jersey accusing the private company of underreporting missed bus trips and by over-billing New Jersey Transit for hours and miles driven in what authorities described as an 'extensive multi-year, multi-million-dollar fraud.' The Hoboken-based company also agreed to be overseen by an independent monitor, implement new policies and add more training for employees to ensure Academy accurately log trips it fails to complete and how many miles its drivers travel, the state Office of the Attorney General said Friday. The agreement announced Friday is the state's largest-ever non-health care False Claims Act settlement … The complaint also alleged that Academy's internal records tracked two sets of bus trip numbers – the 'real' number of missed bus trips (which Academy labeled "RN") and an adjusted set of numbers that was always significantly lower, and which Academy submitted to NJ Transit."

LAWMAKERS WHO HEMMED AND HAWED OVER LEGAL WEED, PREVIOUS GOVERNOR WHO OPPOSED IT, HAD NO PROBLEM DOING THIS — "The hidden addiction N.J. sports betting is raising millions in tax revenue. But it comes at a steep cost for some gamblers ," by NJ Advance Media's Keith Sargeant: "Sports gambling has become a $10 billion industry in New Jersey since it was legalized in June 2018, translating into $102.6 million in 2021 state tax revenue. But Jakubik, fellow recovering gamblers Joe and Frank — who requested pseudonyms in order to speak openly about their respective struggles — and advocates fear it's a perilous gateway for a new generation of sports bettors who are one smartphone app from ruin. 'The issue with gambling is it's a hidden addiction,' said Felicia Grondin, the executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey. 'People are not willing to declare that they have a problem because they're embarrassed. It's shameful. There's a lot of regret and remorse.' The council has recently witnessed an unprecedented spike in helpline sports gambling calls, according to Grondin. About 3% of its calls involved sports betting before the state legalized it. That number jumped to 11% in 2018, 15% in 2019, 18% in 2020 and 17% in 2021. At one point during the COVID-19 pandemic, 29% of its calls were related to sports betting. 'The pandemic definitely fueled the fire there,' Grondin said."

—" Grading the new legislative maps along Carchman's standards"

—"For New Jersey veterans, more is needed"

—Moran "As he sabotages charter schools, phony Murphy asks: 'What, me?'"

—"Omicron hit the Port Authority so hard that 100 employees a day were quarantining"

BIDEN TIME

BARAQUA — Harris visits Newark to promote quick action on lead pipes. Here's what she discussed, by POLITICO's Ry Rivard: During a Friday visit to promote money from the bipartisan infrastructure law, Vice President Kamala Harris held up the city's rush to replace thousands of lead pipelines as a national model for cities with the toxic metal in their water systems. Over the past three years, the city has replaced all 23,000 of the lead water service lines in the city — a remarkably quick solution to a long-standing problem. This is exactly what the Biden administration hopes other cities can do with the billions of dollars in the infrastructure package for lead line replacement, she said. "It's hurting our babies," Harris said … High levels of lead began showing up in the Newark's tap water in the mid-2010s, prompting obvious comparisons with the crisis in Flint. While local officials, including Baraka, initially dug in and denied the extent of the problems, they later chose to put money toward it. At a roundtable with Harris, Newark residents praised the speed and quality of the work, as well as the peace of mind they got from having unleaded pipes. "We're going to take this and promote this all over the country," [EPA Administrator Michael] Regan said.

MENENDEZ SR. REMAINS NEUTRAL IN THE RACE — " 8th District congressional challenger Rojas drops out: 'Success is not a logistical possibility'," by Hudson County View's John Heinis: "8th District congressional challenger Ricardo Rojas announced he was dropping out of the race [Friday] night, reflecting that "success is not a logistical possibility. 'After long and hard discussions, I am suspending this campaign. We worked extremely hard this past month, and I now see that the runway is too short; that success is not a logistical possibility,' Rojas said in a statement … With Rojas out of the race, Rob Menendez, the son of U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), has an even clearer path to victory."

'IT MAY HAVE BEEN ANTIFA. WE JUST DON'T KNOW' - CHRIS SMITH — "Two South Jersey men admit roles in Capitol riot," by The Courier-Post's Jim Walsh: "Two South Jersey men have pleaded guilty in connection to their roles in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Robert Lee Petrosh of Mays Landing and Lawrence Stackhouse of Gloucester Township are the first of at least 11 suspects from South Jersey to admit guilt to charges arising from the insurrection. Petrosh acknowledged he entered the Capitol and stole two microphones during the uprising by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, a court record says. The theft occurred after Petrosh had told U.S. Capitol Police officers engaged in a stand-off with rioters, 'Give us Nancy (Pelosi), and we will leave,' the record adds."

—"Kean wins Hunterdon GOP convention"

—Florio: "Supreme Court hearings may serve as a national reality check on gun violence"

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

LOCAL

CHARLEAUTAN — "Neptune police video: SUV drove onto church grass, then official called to fight ticket," by The Asbury Park Press' Susanne Cervenka: "Traffic on Route 33 slowed to a near stop behind a dark green Ford SUV as it jumped the curb and drove across the lawn of Holy Innocents Catholic Church and into the parking lot about 8:15 a.m. on July 15. Two cars behind, Neptune police Officer Brooke Tartis saw the turn and followed to initiate a traffic stop, according to public records obtained by the Asbury Park Press. The offense? The SUV driver, Tristan Charleau, drove across private property instead of finding a legal detour for West Bangs Avenue, which was closed that day at Route 33. Tartis issued two tickets for what Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office later deemed to be 'clear' traffic violations. That traffic stop, however, led to murky waters for Charleau's mother-in-law, Committeewoman Tassie York, whose conduct after the stop — along with that of the township's municipal prosecutor — has been sent to a state ethics panel for review. Audio of what York said that led to the ethics review as well as video of her son-in-law's traffic stop was released this week after a public records request by the Press. While the Prosecutor's Office found 'no misconduct whatsoever by any of the officers involved,' they did question if York was using her elected position to benefit her son-in-law and if Municipal Prosecutor James N. Butler Jr. should have recused himself from the case."

— "A self-driving car system: If Trenton makes it, will the world take it?" by The Star-Ledger's Pual Mulshine: "Gusciora has a reputation for thinking outside the box. This plan is a box on wheels. Each would hold up to eight passengers – but no driver. Gusciora said the plan will be a model for cities across the nation. So far there have been a number of demonstration projects in which autonomous vehicles – AVs for short – have navigated some small areas, 'but this will be the first entire city to be covered,' the mayor said. There will be 60 kiosks at locations around the city where people can get on the 100 AV's that make up the fleet, he said. They can then type in their destinations and the AV will drop each passenger off in a sequence determined by the computers. The obvious question is: Are these things safe? 'The first two years we are going to have drivers as a fail-safe measure,' Gusciora said. But the hope is that the technology will make an AV safer than a car driven by a human."

—"Mayor Reed Gusciora vetoes 'power-grab' redevelopment ordinance"

—"Bridgeton agrees to $100K settlement of waitress' suit against ex-cop"

—"Amid nationwide gun violence surge, NJ shootings up 6% in 2021 while Paterson saw decrease"

—"Holiday City home assessments double, and Toms River can't order do-over, attorney says"

—"Atlantic City residents seek to preserve its jazz history "

—"Jersey City Public Safety Director Shea grilled by council over dysfunction of parking authority"

EVERYTHING ELSE

MASKS — "Parents, educators say some children with speech issues may have been hurt by masks," by The Record's Mary Ann Koruth: "Sabrina Chacon was relieved when schools opened for full-time, in-person learning in September 2021, a year and a half after the pandemic hit. Her son Matthew, a Ho-Ho-Kus School District third-grader, needed to be back in the classroom after a year of disruptions. He had missed out on his speech therapy, which he had been receiving since preschool … To her dismay, Chacon learned that come September, her son would resume the much-needed speech therapy class, but he and his therapist would be wearing masks. 'It just never occurred to me that they were doing masked speech therapy,' she said … The losses suffered from masked speech therapy for children with speech and language-related disabilities have not been accurately measured or studied, at least partly because school mask mandates are still in place in many states. Families and a small community of pediatricians and speech pathologists are left to bring attention to the situation, from what they see and from their deep knowledge about their children's specific needs."

—"Murphy says decision to drop school mask mandate was based on science. Do experts agree? "

NEWTONIAN TELESCOPE — "Newton High School graduate part of team behind Webb Telescope," by The New Jersey Herald's Bruce A. Scruton: "The principal scientist for the team behind the Webb telescope, now a million miles from Earth, is John Mather, who grew up in Sussex County making telescopes from lenses and mirrors in cardboard tubes and wooden boxes. His father was a Rutgers professor who conducted agricultural research at the university-owned Lusscroft Farm when Mather was a child. As he grew older, he knew agriculture wasn't going to be for him, because 'cows were too big and scary.' There was, however, a trip to the Museum of Natural History in New York, especially the planetarium and the large meteor in the museum's collection, which sparked an interest … Since, Mather has been awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics in 2006 for his work on the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), a 1970s project which launch a satellite in 1989. The images and readings from that satellite became a landmark in modern cosmology by measuring the spectrum of the cosmic microwave background radiation."

—"When employee said colleague used the n-word, N.J. company was too slow to act, state says"

—"Carol Neulander's family 'saddened and dismayed' by new musical 'A Wicked Soul in Cherry Hill'"

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