| | | | |  | | By Matt Friedman | | | Good Monday morning! You’ve probably heard by now about the two Democrats expelled by the Republican-controlled Tennessee House of Representatives in a party-line vote last week over their leading a gun control protest into the chamber. If you’re like me and looking for the Jersey angle in everything, you may have thought about the parallels to an act of civil disobedience here: When Republican lawmakers refused to abide by the Statehouse vaccine mandate and occupied the Assembly floor ahead of a session. The Assembly and Senate have the power to expel members with a two-thirds supermajority. But during the standoff, I don’t recall that idea even being raised. Granted, unlike Tennessee Republicans, at the time New Jersey Assembly Democrats were just short of the supermajority they would need to expel someone, if they managed to get every Democrat on board with it. Today, they’re significantly further short of it. And that’s kind of my point. Jeff Greenfield wrote last week about the power of legislative supermajorities, so entrenched by gerrymandered legislative districts that in some states they may even reverse referendums that reflect the voters’ will. It’s a testament to the strength of New Jersey’s Constitution that it lays out a redistricting process in which the party in power gets no automatic advantage in redrawing the maps, but has to compete with the minority party for a tiebreaker’s vote — or even, as happened last year, work together with them. And I think that’s one of the reasons we don’t have the majority party completely shutting out the minority, as has happened in Tennessee. TIPS? FEEDBACK? Email me at mfriedman@politico.com. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I’d demand the immediate resignation of Thomas, and use my platform as a representative of New Jersey to make sure that happened, come hell or high water. In New Jersey, we scrape, claw and fight to win and for what’s right. But, when it comes to corruption, we struggle to do that in our state. Why? One reason is that Menendez was ‘severely admonished’ by his Senate colleagues for incidents that sound similar to the allegations about Thomas.” — Roselle Park Mayor Joe Signorello III, who’s challenging Sen. Robert Menendez in the Democratic primary, in a letter to the editor in which he draws parallels between Menendez and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ behavior. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Roy Cho, Anthony DeNova, Mt. Kareem Pritchet, Eileen Kean, Rudy Orozco, Stephen Yellin WHERE’S MURPHY? In Trenton for a 1 p.m. announcement with Civil Service Commission Acting Chair Allison Chris Myers | | A message from Alibaba: New Jersey businesses, like local beauty brand Nuria, are among thousands of American companies that sell their products to one billion consumers in China on Alibaba. These sales added $1.2 billion to New Jersey’s GDP and supported over 10,000 jobs and $694 million in wages for New Jersey residents. “We’re very excited about the results we’re seeing in China,” said Josh Ghaim, CEO of Nuria. Learn more about Alibaba’s impact on the U.S. economy. | | | |  | WHAT TRENTON MADE | |
SCARLET STRIKES —Rutgers University workers will strike, a historic first for New Jersey's state school, by POLITICO's Dustin Racioppi: Rutgers University workers plan to strike Monday after failing over many months to reach a new contract, a historic moment in the school’s nearly 260-year history. The strike also adds New Jersey to a national wave of walkouts as teachers and staff grow increasingly frustrated with their wages and benefits. Leaders of three unions representing about 9,000 workers voted to strike Sunday night, and it takes effect Monday morning at all three of Rutgers’ major campuses — Camden, Newark and New Brunswick.
66.6666666667 MASTROS — A pending lawsuit that could invalidate Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey’s reorganization could jeopardize a $600 million payment from the insurer to the state, by POLITICO’s Daniel Han: Administration officials, plaintiffs in the case, the state treasurer and the state’s nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services have all recently suggested that Horizon’s payment to the state — which was part of the reorganization deal — could be impacted by the litigation, which alleges that the reorganization could be to the detriment of Horizon policyholders and the public. The Department of Banking and Insurance approved Horizon’s reorganization application in the fall; state law gives Horizon until June 1 to pay the $600 million. “That’s still a bit of an open question, because there’s a lawsuit,” Thomas Koening, the legislative budget & finance officer for OLS, said during a recent Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee hearing when asked if the money would still be collected by June. “There's certainly the possibility that we will not see that payment made in the current fiscal year.” Horizon — which has successfully reorganized its corporate structure to a nonprofit mutual holding company — says it still plans to make the initial payment on time. Legal efforts to stay the reorganization have also been unsuccessful so far, although expedited proceedings are scheduled for later this spring. BED BATH AND BEYOND THE LAW — “New law goes into effect Monday for laid off NJ workers,” by The Record’s Daniel Munoz: “Starting Monday, New Jersey workers have a new set of rights when they get laid off by their employers. These rights are afforded under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, typically called the WARN ACT. Proponents like bill sponsor state Sen. Joseph Cryan, D-Union, said the measure was inspired by the collapse of several large-scale retail giants such as Toys R Us, based out of Wayne. After filing for bankruptcy in 2017, Toys R Us laid off roughly 2,000 New Jersey workers, some of whom received severance pay only after gaining outside support from advocacy groups and politicians. … The law guarantees workers in a business with 100 or more full-time employees one week of severance pay for every year of service when layoffs impact 50 or more workers. The new law expands the New Jersey WARN Act to guarantee workers at least 90 days notice when downsizing is on the way.” SUCCESSOR TO BE CHOSEN BY VOTERS IN EXTREMELY DEMOCRATIC AND TRANSPARENT WAY — “Jackie Yustein set to replace Caputo in State Assembly,” by New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “Jacqueline S. Yustein, a longtime Essex County Democratic stalwart, is expected to replace Ralph Caputo in the New Jersey State Assembly, the New Jersey Globe has confirmed. Democrats have scheduled a special election convention for April 18 to fill the remainder of Caputo’s term. Caputo resigned on Mach 22, two days after the State Senate confirmed his nomination to the board of directors of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. Yustein has no opponent in the race for the interim term and will serve the remainder of Caputo’s term, which expires on January 9, 2024, and will not be a candidate for a full term this year.”
| | | | 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. | | | | | —Fuscarino: “ELEC director’s emails reeked of bias, partisanship and disrespect” —“Here are four takeaways from the N.J. School Performance Reports” —“For mourning family, questions swirl 20 months after N.J. dad killed in police car accident” —“Superior Court judge stepping down after less than a year” CARTOON BREAK — “Rutgers has been getting a free ride”
| | | | A message from Alibaba:   | | | | | LOCAL | |
YOU CAN TAKE THE DEVELOPER OUT OF THE PRISON … — “Now that’s drama! Developer depicted in Hoboken play about gentrification storms stage, attendees say,” by The Jersey Journal’s Teri West: “A prominent retired Hoboken developer who is portrayed in a local play about the city’s gentrification 40 years ago stunned actors and the audience when he stormed onto the stage during Wednesday’s production and knocked over a set piece, people who attended the show said. Joe Barry, a co-founder of the Applied Companies, interrupted the evening performance of ‘Yuppies Invade My House at Dinnertime’ in the play’s first act and was escorted out of the theater, sources said. … While in the audience, Barry made expletive-laced comments on multiple occasions in a ‘somewhat loud voice’ before heading to the stage, said Bill Bayer, who was in attendance that evening. … Hoboken Councilwoman Jen Giattino is one of the show’s five actors, who are seated and read scripts from pages placed on music stands. Bayer said Barry went on to the stage and knocked over Giattino’s music stand. … Barry called out, ‘I’m Joe Barry,’ as he was leaving, said the audience member who had been sitting in his row, … He spent more than a year in federal prison beginning in 2004 after pleading guilty to paying nearly $115,000 in bribes to the former county executive to support financing Shipyard.”
DEMOCRACY INACTION — “Only one Passaic County race contested in June 2023 primary election,” by The Record’s David M. Zimmer: “Passaic County's Thursday ballot draw set the stage for what should be a relatively staid primary election in June. Only Republican voters in Pompton Lakes are due to see a contested primary election on June 6. There, Borough Council President Councilwoman Jennifer Polidori has challenged incumbent Mayor Michael Serra for the Republican nomination.” PERHAPS SOMEONE SHOULD CHECK A SHELL COMPANY IN DELAWARE — “CarePoint Health says its doesn’t have missing federal funds, seeks reimbursement from county,” by NJ Advance Media’s Ron Zeitlinger: “CarePoint Health System, the nonprofit that owns and operates three hospitals in Hudson County, says it wasn’t involved in suspicious transactions that caused nearly $1 million in federal funds to be diverted from the system’s charitable foundation. The CarePoint Foundation reported earlier this year that $970,000 in checks dedicated to a program that provides care for HIV/AIDS patients had been stolen. The checks originated with Hudson County government, which is responsible for distributing funds from the federal Ryan White program. … CarePoint is asking that Hudson County reimburse the hospital chain for the missing money, since the county was responsible for administering the federal grant.”
| | A message from Alibaba: Alibaba helps American businesses succeed globally. In 2022, $66 billion worth of U.S. products were sold on Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms, a nearly 10% increase over 2021. From household names to emerging small businesses, thousands of American companies sell products to over one billion consumers in China on Alibaba.
Read how American businesses are succeeding with Alibaba. | | | PATERSON — “Imam stabbed during prayers at South Paterson Omar Mosque,” by The Record’s Joe Malinconico, Philip DeVencentis and Kaitlyn Kanzler: “The imam of a prominent Paterson mosque was stabbed just before 6 a.m. on Sunday as he led his congregation in morning prayers, officials said. Around 200 people were attending prayers at the time of the attack, which happened as the prayer session began. The attacker was quickly restrained by other worshippers at the Omar Mosque on Getty Avenue in South Paterson, officials said. At a press conference given at the mosque, officials said the attacker was not a member of the congregation but had been there before. The suspect’s name had not been released as of noon on Sunday. Authorities have not said what they believe prompted the stabbing.” NO-HARBOR-FOR-EGG-PRODUCERS TOWNSHIP — “Pigs, chickens set off neighborhood feud in Egg Harbor Township,” by The Press of Atlantic City’s Christopher Doyle: “A neighborhood feud has ignited over chickens, pigs and 6 inches of land. Dave Ferrier, his partner Brianna and an assembly of supporters pleaded to the Township Committee on Wednesday to be allowed to keep their pet chickens and potbellied pigs, despite an outstanding order mandating their removal. The group was met with fierce opposition, with neighbors asking that the township refuse relief, uphold law and order and remove illegal livestock. The meeting ended with frayed tempers, tears and an uncertain future for the swine at the center of controversy. … ‘You’re asking us to give up creatures that we love,’ Dave Ferrier, a retired Marine staff sergeant and actor, said Thursday. Doris Dilley, a neighbor of the Ferriers and the person who sold them the property at which the chickens are being kept, is among the opposition, maintaining that the chickens and pigs are a nuisance” —“Ransomware attack at [Camden] County Police Department locks up criminal investigative files” —“[Lambertville] tax assessor charged with possessing child porn, prosecutor says” —“DeGise stays on council, but Fulop administration unfairly fires police officer who stopped to help after on-duty accident | Opinion” —“Officer shot in Phillipsburg released from hospital, police did not fire, investigators say” —“[South Orange-Maplewood] teacher accused of grabbing child with autism, holding him upside down by his ankles” —“Jersey City planning board wrongfully denied application of massive West Side development, lawsuit says”
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DREAM OF 'NUCKY JOHNSON UNIVERSITY' DIES — “Stockton University president reaffirms that name will not change,” by WPG’s Harry Hurley: “This should be the final word on the topic of whether Stockton University will be changing its name. The answer is a hard, unequivocal, ‘NO.’ Stockton University President Dr. Harvey Kesselman put the matter to rest … once and for all … in a live on-air interview. … Kesselman was unambiguous in his declaration that Stockton University’s name will not be changed under any circumstances”
NEW JERSEYANS FEAR SHORTAGE OF FISH TO PLACE ON ENEMIES’ DOORSTEPS —“Should N.J. fisheries be worried about offshore wind farms? Study elicits more questions,” by NJ Advance Media’s Steven Rodas: “A new study, “‘Synthesis of the Science: Fisheries and Offshore Wind Energy,’ released at the end of March by two federal agencies and a fishing industry coalition hopes to shed light on at least some aspects of what could happen to fishing off the coast of New Jersey during and after offshore wind construction. But the new study, which collected about two years of research, has only made clear that many questions remain. … What effect construction and the establishment of turbines (a process that could begin as soon as the end of 2023) will have on species including fish that recreational and commercial industries rely on in New Jersey will require more studies, experts said. The latest research effort — that touches on how the new infrastructure could impact where fish will migrate, how they feed, what noise from operational turbines could have and how the fishing industry may adapt — remain opaque, according to the report and one of its lead authors.” STRAIGHT TO GEORGE GILMORE’S LIVING ROOM — “Century-old Coca-Cola ad emerges in Long Branch. Can it be saved before it vanishes again?” by The Asbury Park Press’ Dan Radel: “The demolition of the former SICA building at 20 Third Ave. revealed a long-obscured — but well preserved — Coca-Cola advertisement that could be well over 100 years old. Now the race is on to see if it can be taken down and saved before a new apartment complex is built and covers it over again. The painted ad is on a wooden exterior wall on an adjacent building at 22 Third Ave. It advertises a ‘delicious and refreshing’ bottle of Coca-Cola that ‘relieves fatigue’ for just 5 cents.” —“N.J. houses of worship adjust to new era as attendance dips, but online connections soar” —“What are the options for DeCamp riders Monday, as commuters finally say goodbye to the bus line?”
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