| | | | |  | | By Matt Friedman | | Presented by |  | | | Good Tuesday morning! Nine towns — most of them well-off and suburban — are suing New Jersey to invalidate the affordable housing law Gov. Phil Murphy signed in April, claiming it violates the Constitution in several ways. I’m as much a housing policy scholar as I am a legal one, so I offer no predictions as to how this will play out in court. Housing policy and 50 years of New Jersey law and case law can get pretty complicated. But I do understand that affordable housing policy and development — which are usually tied together — are politically potent issues in New Jersey. And this lawsuit could coincide with the 2025 gubernatorial race. New Jersey Republicans had a really bad year in 2023 at the state level. Their big issues that year — gender identity and windmills — fell flat. But by running campaigns on checking development, Republicans managed to score big local victories in three wealthy, suburban towns that have trended heavily Democratic in the Trump era: Millburn, Westfield and Summit. Harrison Neely, the Republican consultant who organized the plaintiffs’ press call on the lawsuit, worked on the Westfield 2023 campaign. Affordable housing typically comes up as an issue in gubernatorial elections, but I don’t recall it dominating. Still, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop has an aggressive housing plan — one that was criticized in a mailer in Westfield’s 2023 election. I have to wonder if this lawsuit, though from a bipartisan-run group of towns, is a sign of Republicans seizing on this issue to win back those once Republican-leaning suburban towns that became so friendly to Democrats in the Trump era. Fulop in a phone interview acknowledged the challenge. “If somebody’s not able to communicate on how they’re going to work through the process and respect the integrity of communities people live in, it’s going to be a challenge,” said Fulop, who said talking about the issue involves “threading the needle” between talking about the housing shortage and reassuring people that there won’t be “changes to the fabric of their communities and how they feel.” “Generally when you talk through it, people become more comfortable with it, but I do suspect it will be an issue,” Fulop said. TIPS? FEEDBACK? Email me at mfriedman@politico.com. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I stayed in the race despite the most powerful political family in the state jumping in. I don’t need Murphy and every single Democratic leader in the state to say they endorse me. What I need is to be able to show that we’re building the same kind of campaign that we did at the congressional level in a district that Trump won twice.” — Andy Kim HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Mahen Gunaratna, Jorge Santos, Lexie Norcross, Nick Repici, Lynn Olanoff, Ian Allen WHERE’S MURPHY? Canada
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MONTVALE AND MONTVILLE ARE ACTUALLY TWO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT TOWNS — Nine towns sue to overturn new housing law, by POLITICO’s Matt Friedman: A coalition of nine mostly suburban towns is challenging New Jersey’s new affordable housing law in court, saying it runs afoul of the state Constitution. “This is about standing up for all New Jersey communities,” Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali, the lead plaintiff, said in a press release. “We all want safe, welcoming, and vibrant neighborhoods, but the new ... mandates from Trenton go too far and will place unnecessary strain on our towns without providing any resources to make it work.” Gov. Phil Murphy in April signed the law, which codifies affordable housing obligations outlined by Superior Court Assignment Judge Mary Jacobson in 2018. It assigns the Department of Community Affairs to publish towns’ affordable housing obligations and establishes an Affordable Housing Dispute Resolution Program to resolve disputes. … In addition to Montvale, the town plaintiffs are: Denville, Florham Park, Hillsdale, Mannington, Millburn, Montville, Old Tappan and Totowa. With the exception of rural Mannington, they’re suburban towns where residents’ median incomes exceed the state average.
2025 – Operating engineers leader says Gottheimer should run for governor — by POLITICO’s Daniel Han: The state’s influential operating engineers union will back Rep. Josh Gottheimer in the Democratic primary for governor should he run, a union official said in an interview with POLITICO. The support comes as the unabashedly centrist North Jersey lawmaker is viewed as an all-but-declared candidate for the 2025 governor’s race. Greg Lalevee, business manager for the Operating Engineers Local 825, cited Gottheimer’s support for the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill and his moderate politics as reasons for earning the union’s support. “He certainly should run in the Democratic primary,” Lalevee said. “His centrist ways and whatnot have produced results in Washington. And I think [it] would produce results here.” REKIMINATION — “Why won't Gov. Phil Murphy endorse Rep. Andy Kim? Is it Jersey retribution?” by The Record’s Charles Stile: “The governor’s refusal to let bygones be bygones is another reminder of his swift rise in politics. The ex-Goldman Sachs executive was financed by big money and had the help of the party machinery, which shooed away any competition. He never faced the political pummeling of a hard-fought primary. He never endured a defeat like others who clawed their way up the ladder. He’s acting like a candidate with a glass jaw, who is nursing his own petty spite ahead of the party’s larger interests. For added measure, Murphy resisted pressure from state and national Democrats to install Kim as the interim senator after Menendez stepped down last month, which would have given him a powerful platform of incumbency to run his campaign against Bashaw. Murphy chose his former chief of staff, George Helmy, for the prized sinecure. … Then there is Murphy’s endorsing of Bashaw as a “very good" candidate. Who does that in the heat of a partisan fight for the Senate, for the future of democracy?” GOING TO THE MATS — “Discipline in schools infringes on NJ disability rights, says mom. Why it still happens,” by The Record’s Gene Myers: “Kelly Graziano's son was 7 when he suffered what he still calls the worst day of his young life. The trouble started on May 4 last year when the first grader, who has a learning disability and struggles with anxiety, began arguing with his teacher at Martha B. Day School in Bloomingdale over which side of a paper to color. It ended an hour and 20 minutes later with the boy in a frenzy, shouting as three adults tried to contain him behind rubber mats. Graziano said her son is still scared and confused by the ordeal, more than a year later. Such tactics remain in use in New Jersey schools despite warnings by experts that they're traumatizing and counterproductive — and despite efforts by state and federal education officials to root them out of the classroom. In a first-of-its kind survey this past spring, Garden State schools reported about 2,500 incidents in the 2022-2023 school year in which students were physically restrained or shut away in rooms by themselves to deal with difficult behavior.” —Gas pipeline owner warns of rough winter after court ruling — “N.J.’s nursing shortage expected to be among the worst in the nation by 2036” —Another judge rejects push for casino smoking ban —“Updates to NJ teacher evaluation system expected soon” —“New life for abandoned offshore wind leases?” —“New Jersey launches $156 million solar energy program to benefit low-income communities”
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WHAT ABOUT ROB? — Friends with political benefits: Andy Kim and Rob Menendez try to move on after a rough year, by POLITICO’s Ry Rivard: Reps. Rob Menendez and Andy Kim hugged it out, literally. Menendez is throwing his support behind the fellow Democrat who is vying to fill the Senate seat long held by his father, Bob Menendez, who resigned this summer after being convicted of federal corruption charges. The younger Menendez on Friday took Kim on a walking tour of businesses in Newark’s North Ward along Bloomfield Avenue, the center of an old Italian neighborhood that has gradually become a major Hispanic one. At one spot, they drank iced tea with aloe vera juice. The endorsement may do as much to help Rob Menendez as it does to help Kim: It again signals that the younger Menendez stands outside his father’s shadow and without sour grapes. “We’re big boys, we’re grownups, we’re colleagues in Congress, we understand the dynamics here,” Kim said in an interview.
HE’S NOT JUST THE NEWEST SENATE DEMOCRAT. HE’S THE NEWEST DEMOCRAT — “George Helmy sworn in as New Jersey’s newest Senator,” by New Jersey Globe’s Joey Fox: “New Jersey has a fully functional, entirely non-indicted Senate delegation once again. George Helmy was sworn into the U.S. Senate today, succeeding disgraced Senator Bob Menendez, who resigned on August 20 following his conviction on corruption charges. Helmy’s time in the Senate will be fleeting; he’s set to serve until the regularly scheduled November election between Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) and Republican Curtis Bashaw is certified, after which he will step down and Gov. Phil Murphy will appoint the winner to his seat. “New Jersey couldn’t have a better caretaker for the next few months,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor shortly before Helmy was sworn in. … As Helmy himself has noted, he won’t have much time to get things done in the famously slow-moving chamber. The Senate is scheduled to be out of session for all of October and the first week of November, meaning that Helmy will only have four or five weeks in-session as a senator before he’s replaced by Kim or Bashaw in November.” SENATE RACE TO COME DOWN TO WHO’S BEST AT CLEANING FLOORS — “GOP Senate hopeful Curtis Bashaw says he’s not afraid to ‘clean up the mess’ in D.C.,” by Mark Bonamo for New Jersey Monitor: “An eagle-eyed Curtis Bashaw was walking on a recent weekday through Congress Hall, one of the hotels he owns in this farthest of South Jersey seaside towns. Revelers from a midday wedding party were swilling their cocktails, then spilled some booze right in front of Bashaw, the Republican nominee in this year’s U.S. Senate race. He may have his hands full campaigning, but in a flash, Bashaw cleaned up the mess in front of him, helping to mop up with a focused gleam in his eyes. Bashaw, 64, a hotelier and real estate developer who calls himself a business-oriented moderate, wants to apply this kind of hands-on management method he developed in Cape May on behalf of the whole Garden State down in Washington, D.C., at an especially chaotic time. ‘This town got rebuilt because we restored things. I’m proud of the micro-economy and the jobs that we’ve created here. We’re not like Goldman Sachs,’ Bashaw said during an interview at his Cape May hotel.” —“NRSC chair will host fundraiser for Bashaw on Wednesday” —“‘We can still fix these problems,’ Democrat Andy Kim says as he seeks Senate seat”
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JERSEY CITY MAKE IT FRANCE’S — “Pompi-doubts? Some Jersey City officials, mayoral hopefuls asking how city can afford Fulop’s museum plan,” by The Jersey Journal’s Joshua Roasario: “Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop may have revitalized his grand vision of a French modern art museum in Journal Square, but it will be up to the next mayor, and the ones after that, to figure out how to pay the exorbitant operational costs. That’s the question elected leaders and insiders were asking Monday, with few answers. During the City Council caucus session Monday afternoon, Fulop — who is running for governor instead of reelection in 2025 — said the city would earn $11 million per year from the Centre Pompidou x Jersey City, but he did not provide details. A Jersey City political insider said the success of the deal with KRE Group — the Pompidou would be part of a two-tower project on Pavonia Avenue behind the historic Loew’s Jersey theater — would depend on who becomes mayor Jan. 1, 2026.”
WHERE THERE’S SMOKE THERE’S… STILL THE THREAT OF CLOSURES — “Could Atlantic City see more casino closings when New York gambling halls open?” by The Press of Atlantic City’s Nicholas Huba: “A decade ago, the city’s casino industry changed forever as four venues closed over a nine-month period … The question that always lingers around the city’s gaming industry is: Could it happen again? The continued development of internet gaming, sports betting and the potential for casinos in New York City could impact brick-and-mortar properties in much the same way that the expansion of gaming along the East Coast did a decade ago. ‘Many of the market conditions that preceded the closures persist to this day — loss of an East Coast casino monopoly and intensifying regional competition, especially for in-person ‘convenience’ gamblers,’ said Jane Bokunewicz, director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism at Stockton University … During the 2023 East Coast Gaming Congress in the resort, panelists said the construction of three new casinos in New York could cost Atlantic City 20% to 30% of its casino revenue, a development that could possibly return the resort to the days of casino closures." YOU HAVE ANY EVIDENCE FOR THAT SUSPICION, ASSEMBLYMAN? — “'Ugly, hateful' political sign set on fire in Somerset County,” by Patch’s Alexis Tarrazi: “A political sign described as ‘ugly, hateful, and undignified’ was set on fire on the front lawn of a Somerset home on Saturday morning. At 8:23 a.m., the Franklin Township Police went to a property on DeMott Lane after receiving multiple calls reporting a flag on fire on the front lawn of a home, said Franklin Police Lt. Vincent T. Wilson. Officers saw remnants of two custom flags, along with the mounting hardware, damaged by fire, said Wilson. The two flags mounted on a white sign stated ‘F*ck Biden’ and ‘Freedom Over Fear.’ … Democrat Assemblyman Joe Danielson … saw the flags being burned and spoke with the Franklin Reporter and Advocate. ‘No form of arson is acceptable. This was criminal. Despite the suspicion he may have started the fire himself, it is his constitutional right to have whatever sign he wants on his front lawn,’ said Danielson in the interview. ‘But I say his right is his wrong. It's ugly. It's hateful. It's undignified and it gives a black eye to all of Franklin.’” — “North Bergen Housing Authority ED resigns ‘due to personal health reasons’” —“Full-day kindergarten is key part of [Haddonfield] district’s $46.7M referendum” —“Defense attorney suggests 2 shooters in Sayreville councilwoman killing” —“Mount Holly United again: Candidates settle in ballot slogan suit” —“Atlantic City sees 28% increase in arrests this year” —“Paterson spent $200K to fix up a park for kids. Drug addicts use it. And people dump trash” —“Black bear shot and killed after attacking goat in Passaic County” —“Monmouth prosecutor launches new unit to focus on domestic violence” —Fantasia: “Urban myths vs. rural realities: How detached legislators miss the mark on black bear management” | | EVERYTHING ELSE | |
RIP — “The sudden loss of the Gaudreau Brothers stuns their rural hometown,” by The New York Times’ David Waldstein: “The Gaudreau brothers and Mr. Higgins all grew up in the same county, a verdant swath of New Jersey south of Philadelphia, where lush fields of grain surround small towns connected by two-lane roads. All three were athletes and seemingly all-American boys. Mr. Higgins, about a dozen years older, was a star high school baseball player and later joined the Army National Guard. … John and Matty — as their family called them — grew up about 10 miles farther west, in Oldmans Township. They were undersized but amply skilled young hockey stars who learned the game from their father, Guy Gaudreau, a former hockey player originally from Vermont. … John Hollinger, a retired police officer in Woodstown, said everyone in the area was talking about the accident and the agony of the Gaudreau family. But they also acknowledged the burden for Mr. Higgins’s family. ‘By all accounts, he’s a nice guy who made a terrible mistake,’ Mr. Hollinger said at Gus’s Pizzeria, on South Main Street in Woodstown.”
—“Widow of Johnny Gaudreau announces she is pregnant with their third child during funeral” STOCKTON U — “How a Pleasantville man went from busboy to head of Stockton's Holocaust Resource Center,” by the Press of Atlantic City’s Vincent Jackson: “In the 54-year history of Stockton University, few staff members have had a more meteoric rise than Irvin Moreno-Rodriguez, who climbed from working as a busboy at a Ventnor pizzeria to taking over as the new director of the Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center. Moreno-Rodriguez, 30, of Pleasantville, was employed at Uncle Gino’s Pizza & Ristorante in 2011 and was appointed the Holocaust Resource Center’s director 13 years later. He is the first Hispanic to head one of the 30 Holocaust centers in New Jersey. ‘Gail was mentoring him,’ said Leo B. Schoffer, a member of the Holocaust Resource Center’s executive committee and the son of Sara and Sam Schoffer, about the previous executive director, Gail Rosenthal, who died last year. ‘It was always her dream that he could succeed her. ... She knew she would not be there forever.’” BABY WHEN THE LIGHT GOES OUT — ”Historic N.J. lighthouse forced to close after deadline passes,” by NJ Advance Media’s Eric Conklin: “New Jersey’s second-oldest lighthouse has been closed after a lease agreement between a historical society and the state Department of Environmental Protection expired on Friday. Over the weekend, volunteers used trucks and their personal vehicles to help haul furniture from the East Point Lighthouse at the Delaware Bay’s shoreline in Cumberland County, Nancy Patterson, president of the Maurice River Historical Society, said. ‘It was a tough day,’ Patterson said, calling the lack of a new lease agreement with the DEP ‘clear-cut discrimination.’ …. This is the second time in three years that the society has been left hoping it can negotiate with DEP to return to the property and reopen the museum to educate the public on the lighthouse’s history and significance to New Jersey’s coast, Patterson said. The society managed the lighthouse for about 50 years, restoring the building and beacon that been dormant for about 40 years.” —“Patti Scialfa, Bruce Springsteen’s wife and bandmate, reveals cancer diagnosis”
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