News: POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: The Democratic, I mean, 'Moderate Party'

Friday, October 14, 2022

POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: The Democratic, I mean, 'Moderate Party'

Oct 14, 2022

The so-called Moderate Party that's aimed at helping Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski defeat a challenge by Republican Tom Kean Jr. in November gave up on this year's effort to try to get Malinowski on the ballot twice by instituting "fusion voting."

But will the party try to exert influence in the more traditional New Jersey way, with lots of money?

In August, an independent expenditure group quietly formed called the "Moderate Party Independent Fund." It just filed its first financial report. And it's a true grassroots swell of bipartisan energy!

Just kidding. The group is funded by a single $500,000 donation by House Majority PAC — House Democrats' super PAC. (This was first noticed by Rob Pyers, who tracks these kinds of things).

Look, while the face of the Moderate Party is a Republican committeeman from Malinowski's hometown, I and my fellow New Jersey reporters have long made clear that it's in large part pushed by the left, if not the New Jersey Democratic establishment. So the fact that it's funded by Democrats shouldn't be a surprise.

Perhaps it's a little more surprising how much money they put into it. As of the end of September, the PAC has spent $48,000 on "research" with Global Strategy Group. Over the next month, will the Moderate Party be more profligate in its spending?

DAYS SINCE MURPHY REFUSED TO SAY WHETHER HIS WIFE'S NON-PROFIT SHOULD DISCLOSE DONORS: 250

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

WHERE'S MURPHY? No public schedule

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I think we're going to be playing the Nancy Pelosi drinking game. Whoever had Nancy Pelosi is going to be really hammered by the end of this." — U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski during yesterday's debate with Tom Kean Jr. after Kean repeatedly brought up the House speaker

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Department of Human Services Commissioner Sarah Adelman, campaign staffer Michael Zhadanovsky. Sunday for Jandoli Institute's Rich Lee. Saturday for Republican operative Eric Arpert, former Rep. Rush Holt, Atlantic City's Durwood Pinkett, Riker Danzig's Mary Kay Roberts. Sunday for Regional Planning Associations' Zoe Baldwin, LD38 Assembly COS Matt Bonasia, Publicitics' Henry de Koninck, Merchantville Councilman Dan Sperrazza

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.

WHAT TRENTON MADE

APTER HOURS — Wainer Apter faces tough questions, but she and Fasciale clear Supreme Court nomination hearing, by POLITICO's Matt Friedman: Two New Jersey Supreme Court nominees are one step away from confirmation after clearing the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. They took very different paths to get there. Longtime Superior Court Judge Doug Fasciale, a 61-year-old registered Republican from Westfield who was nominated to the state's highest court a month ago, easily won the committee's approval with a unanimous vote and more praise than questions from the senators during an hour-long hearing.

But nominee Rachel Wainer Apter — a 42-year-old registered Democrat from Englewood who leads New Jersey's Division of Civil Rights and was nominated 18 months ago — faced tough questioning and was cleared in an 8-3 vote, mostly along partisan lines, after two hours. One Republican, state Sen. Jon Bramnick, voted in favor of her nomination … Sen. Michael Doherty (R-Warren) cited a 2007 protest Wainer Apter attended during her final year at Harvard Law School. During the protest, which was led by a professor, students carried a coffin representing Roe v. Wade and, according to a Harvard Crimson article, attempted to burn a copy of a Supreme Court decision upholding a ban on "partial-birth abortion."

"You're saying you're going to follow precedent of the U.S. Supreme Court and here you apparently burned the decision," Doherty said, noting that Wainer Apter was quoted in the article saying that "having a spectacle funeral as our last class was appropriate." Wainer Apter told Doherty the class "was not my favorite class in law school" and that she did not take part in burning the decision.

DO IN AC — "This New Jersey agency prioritizes tourism over housing, pushing vulnerable residents out of their homes," by The Press of Atlantic City's Alison Burdo for ProPublica: "For the better part of the past decade, 108 Albion Place, about a block from Atlantic City's legendary boardwalk, was a refuge for a dozen elderly and low-income residents … But in the spring of 2021, they said, they found a notice posted on their door: Tenants must vacate by June 30. The date was just six weeks away. The owner was selling the building, along with two other neighboring rooming houses …

"The buyer was a state agency known as the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, an entity established by New Jersey nearly four decades ago to use casino tax revenue to revitalize Atlantic City. And the transactions were all part of a program to reduce the number of rooming houses in the city — an undertaking that officials variously said would reduce blight, improve the city's housing stock and expand affordable housing. But since launching the rooming house initiative more than two years ago, CRDA has fallen well short of those goals, while displacing dozens of low-income residents in the process, an investigation by The Press of Atlantic City and ProPublica has found. In fact, in some cases, it has made neighborhood conditions worse …

"In the case of the three properties that included 108 Albion Place , CRDA spent $1.1 million and flipped them to a hotel developer, who expects to command as much as $500 a night during peak tourism season. Now, in response to our findings, one of the authors of the original legislation establishing CRDA is pointing to the rooming house outcomes and questioning how the agency is using its power. 'This kind of activity raises some serious red flags as to how CRDA is operating and should be a wake-up call to legislators in Trenton,' said David Sciarra."

WELL ACTUARILY — Lawmakers 'unaware' of reports showing increased health care costs ahead of premium increases, by POLITICO's Carly Sitrin: New Jersey state lawmakers said Thursday they were "unaware" of actuarial reports Gov. Phil Murphy's administration had showing increases in health care utilization ahead of double-digit premium increases that were approved for state and local government workers. Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee Chair Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen) said "no member of this committee … at any point in time during the budget hearing process and up through the budget deliberations were aware or made aware of the potential increase in health care costs" listed in the February reports from Aon, the state's actuary, showing medical claims running well above what was initially forecast.

SHOOTARI — New Jersey poised to enact 'nation's strongest' gun law after Supreme Court ruling, by POLITICO's Daniel Han: New Jersey's top lawmakers unveiled sweeping gun legislation Thursday that would significantly restrict when and where guns can be carried outside of the home, a bill they touted as "the nation's strongest measure concerning concealed carry." The bill would, among other things, require people wanting to carry guns in public to purchase liability insurance — the first statewide mandate of its kind in the nation should the bill become law — and banning guns from being carried in 25 broad categories, including but not limited to government buildings, health care facilities, airports, casinos and private properties where the owners have not given express permission to have guns. Violations would be deemed a third-degree crime. "My personal belief is that our way of life is being threatened, essentially, by certain things that have gone on in the federal government," state Senate President Nick Scutari said during a Statehouse press conference"

HEALTH CARE — "Inside N.J.'s in-home nursing shortage. A crisis intensifies as families beg for lifelines ," by NJ Advance Media's Elizabeth Llorente: "The private-duty nursing shortage is far worse than the overall nursing crisis affecting hospitals and nursing homes across the state and country, industry insiders say. It has prompted calls for Gov. Phil Murphy's administration and the state Legislature to again bolster the reimbursement rate to help recruiters find and retain those nurses. Private-duty nurses grew especially scarce as the greater nursing shortage deepened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals, also in need of nurses, raised wages and even added hefty bonuses to attract them from other health care sectors .As a result, many home health agencies are turning away desperate families seeking services for children and adults with delicate medical needs. 'None of my [member] agencies can take any more cases,' said Nancy Fitterer, president and CEO of the Home Care & Hospice Association of New Jersey, a nonprofit trade group that represents home health agencies, health care service firms and hospices."

—New Jersey revives rules to protect property from flooding

—"Insider NJ's 2022 Insider 100: Millennials Publication"

—" N.J. colleges can't hold your transcript hostage under proposed state law"

BIDEN TIME

NANCY PELOSI DRINKING GAME/DEBATE — First Malinowski-Kean debate focuses on economy, inflation, by POLITICO's Matt Friedman: Republican Tom Kean Jr. painted Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski as a creature of Washington whose votes for spending packages worsened inflation during the first debate Thursday of the most hotly contested congressional race in New Jersey. Malinowski, who's finishing his second term representing the 7th Congressional District, portrayed Kean Jr. as a mealy mouthed politician who offers no specifics on what he would do in Washington and would "fade into the woodwork" as the extreme elements of the GOP set the agenda. "He only listened to Nancy Pelosi. Every single place she wanted him to vote and to be, he was there," Kean Jr. said. "That's not the type of responsible leadership we need on your behalf in Washington, D.C. … Thursday morning's 90-minute debate — the first of two planned in the race — was hosted by the Gateway Regional Chamber of Commerce at a hotel in Clark, a conservative town in the Central Jersey swing district. The chamber's president, James Coyle, kept his questions limited exclusively to the economy and health care. But that didn't stop Malinowski, who has focused much of his campaign's attention on abortion after the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, from pivoting to that issue three times.

MR. SMITH WILL NOT GO TO WASHINGTON — "Ian Smith's drunk driving charges dismissed," by New Jersey Globe's Joey Fox: "Drunk driving charges against Ian Smith, a former Republican candidate for New Jersey's 3rd congressional district, have been dismissed, the New Jersey Globe has confirmed. Smith has pleaded guilty, however, for refusing a breathalyzer. Smith, until recently the owner of Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, was charged with a DUI in March after a Cinnaminson police officer pulled him over for erratic driving. The officer made the determination that Smith was intoxicated based on a field test, but Smith didn't allow the officer to confirm via a breathalyzer test … At the time of the incident, Smith was in the midst of a primary battle against fellow Republican Bob Healey Jr. …But the drunk driving charges, which were especially notable in light of the fact that Smith had killed a teenager while driving under the influence in 2007, stalled his momentum"

—"Reasons behind Amtrak's nationwide breaking system outage due to investigators next week"

—"Man who went to U.S. Capitol with his son convicted at trial of all Jan. 6 charges"

—Snowflack: " Healey undaunted in Hamilton"

—Pascrell: "Gas prices: Oil companies need to stop screwing New Jersey drivers at the pump"

LOCAL

PATERSON FAILS — "Why did the Passaic prosecutor decline to investigate Paterson's 'robbery squad?'," by The Paterson Press' Joe Malinconico: "The Passaic County Prosecutor's Office dropped 10 separate investigations targeting five Paterson cops who later admitted in federal court that they robbed and assaulted people in Paterson. From June 2016 through September 2019, Prosecutor Camelia Valdes' Public Integrity Unit sent the Paterson Internal Affairs Division 10 letters saying there wasn't enough evidence to pursue criminal charges against the five officers, whose crimes were so rampant that it later came to light they called themselves 'the robbery squad.' One of the rogue cops, Eudy Ramos, had come under scrutiny from Valdes' investigators in seven separate instances, the letters showed. In every case, the prosecutor's office decided not to go ahead with a criminal case against Ramos, according to the letters. In one case, Valdes' staff notified the Paterson police department it was scrapping an investigation of Ramos in a letter dated March 12, 2018 … Thirty days later, on April 11, 2018, FBI agents arrested Ramos and another Paterson cop, Jonathan Bustios, on federal civil rights charges. Those were the first arrests in a case that ultimately resulted in the convictions of eight Paterson officers — including three who were not named in any of the letters the prosecutor's office sent to Paterson IA."

—"Paterson's 'robbery squad': FBI investigation leads to convictions, federal prison terms"

THE REPAIR SCHEDULE HAS BEEN TRUNKATED — " Lucy the Elephant's repairs should be finished soon, CEO says," by The Press of Atlantic City's Eric Conkln: "Lucy the Elephant should be reappearing in November or December to see her beloved fans, the Save Lucy Committee said Thursday. Lucy has been hidden behind drapes while her caregivers are spending nearly $1 million to rehabilitate the famous roadside attraction. Lucy the Elephant has been a popular Downbeach landmark since the late 19th century. 'Lucy is now in month 13 of what was supposed to be an eight-month project,' CEO Richard Helfant said Thursday. The exact date of Lucy's "shower" will be announced soon, he added. City firefighters will give the elephant a bath before the scaffolding covering her is ready for removal, which will help detect leaks in the structure, Helfant said."

—"[Trenton] pays $40K to woman who said cops assaulted her when she recorded arrests"

—" Plainfield City Council narrowly approves limiting Historic Preservation Commission powers"

—"Bridgewater expected to have new police chief next week "

—"Jersey City group that features Watterman breaking down tax bill has ties to Lefrak"

—Baraka: "Challenges can be overcome, we will get it done"

—" [Deptord] cop cleared of remaining charge in debt collection case"

EVERYTHING ELSE

HOW IS AN ELITE GOLF CLUB IN A RICH AREA EXPECTED TO AFFORD TO PAY A DECENT WAGE? — "Caddie at century-old Morristown golf club claims state wage violations in suit ," by The New Jersey Herald's Lori Comstock: "The Morris County Golf Club is one of the most prestigious in the state, an establishment founded nearly 130 years ago that boasts an elite members-only club … The invitation-only club operates each season with a roughly 30-member team of caddies, who lend physical and moral support to golfers, but who claim their value is not being rightfully compensated by their employers in return. In a lawsuit filed in state Superior Court in Morris County, a former caddie says he and others didn't even get paid minimum wage or overtime pay, despite working long hours on the course. Jose Yanez, who worked during the 2020 season, filed a proposed class action suit on behalf of an estimated 50 caddies who were employed at the Morristown-based association from August 2019 through the Sept. 28 filing of the complaint. He seeks unpaid overtime premium and minimum wage pay and monies for unspecified damages. Yanez, who has since moved out of state, says the caddies have been wrongly classified as independent contractors and are only being paid bag fees — golfers pay $80 per bag at the Morris club — plus any tips, a policy that his attorney Douglas Lipsky says violates state law."

R.I.P.— " Morris doctor at center of Karen Ann Quinlan patients-rights case has died," by The New Jersey Herald's Kyle Morel: "Joseph Fennelly, a Morris County physician who became a key figure in the 'right-to-die' movement that gained prominence in the legal battle over the fate of Karen Ann Quinlan, has died, according to his family. Fennelly, a retired doctor of internal medicine from Madison, died Tuesday at the age of 93 after a long illness. He practiced medicine for more than 55 years and "provided deeply compassionate care via house calls" for decades before retiring from Morristown Medical Center in 2019, his son Glenn said."

—" Penn Medicine/Virtua Health to open South Jersey's first proton therapy center for cancer patients"

—" NJ Advance Media names 2 veteran journalists as new General Manager, VP Content"

—"Inside 'The Watcher.' Bobby Cannavale, Naomi Watts bring a creepy N.J. mystery to Netflix"

Follow us on Twitter