| | | | |  | | By Matt Friedman | | Presented by |  | | | Good Monday morning! Clark Mayor Sal Bonaccorso, who’s on tape casually tossing around the n-word and other slurs in casual conversation, and who’s currently facing state corruption charges, is up for reelection Tuesday. And given Clark’s Republican bent, he’s the favorite. But something is afoot in Clark. During the public speaking portion of Clark’s Oct. 21 council meeting, Democratic mayoral candidate Mike Shulman — a defense attorney — pointed out that Bonaccorso had a Nov. 6 court date scheduled for a plea bargain. Bonaccorso shot back that he had “no idea” why that date turned up in the court system and that he had texted his lawyer to ask about it. “I will not be entering a guilty plea on November 6. So I guess that’s the October surprise,” Bonaccorso said. Indeed, Bonaccorso will not be entering a plea on Nov. 6. Instead, after this public exchange, the court date was pushed back to Nov. 20. But the purpose of the hearing before Superior Court Judge Regina Caulfield is still listed as a “plea bargain.” To refresh, Bonaccorso is facing an official misconduct charge for allegedly operating his underground storage tank removal business from his government office “using township devices including computers and fax machines, and directing township employees to perform duties while working for the township,” as well as other charges of submitted false paperwork to nearly two dozen municipalities to facilitate storage tank removal. I called Bonaccorso and didn’t hear back. But if you listen to his statement at the hearing, Bonaccorso admits using fax machines at work for non-government business, suggested that everyone does it and it’s not a big deal. “They charge you with misconduct to grab you by your earlobes …. To try to squeeze you out of office when they know that what they have is garbage,” Bonaccorso said, while painting himself as the victim of a left-wing witch hunt just because he said a bunch of racial slurs and then the town council authorized paying $400,000 to try to cover up the recordings. (Official misconduct carries a five-year mandatory minimum). “Just like the woke: If you don’t think the way they think, you’re wrong,” Bonaccorso said. Shulman, reading between the lines, said it appears that Bonaccorso is setting himself up to explain why he’s pleading guilty to lesser charges and using the witch hunt as justification. And it will all come out a couple weeks after the election. “He is softening the ground, and he’s going to try to frame this as ‘I had to do this because I’m going to trial and … liberals are out to get me,'” said Shulman. In a since-deleted Facebook exchange I obtained, Bonaccorso didn't deny he has a plea date on Nov. 20. A critic asked him if that was his plea date and said she "can't wait" and "will be there. "Come on down as u go down," Bonaccorso responded. TIPS? FEEDBACK? Email me at mfriedman@politico.com. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I’m going to have an investigator run a full background search on you since the day you were born … I’m going to pay somebody probably $5,000 to run a full report on you.” — Union County Republican Chair Carlos Santos to a NJ Advance Media reporter asking about the numerous times he filed for bankruptcy WHERE’S MURPHY? No public schedule | | | | A message from Uber: Uber Expands Safety Features For Drivers. Uber’s CEO met with drivers and couriers to unveil new updates to make their experience safer and fairer. Among them, Record My Ride lets drivers use their phones as a dashcam on trips. Uber also revamped its deactivation processes, enabling drivers to appeal decisions directly in the app. Learn more. | | | |  | WHAT TRENTON MADE | |
R.I.P. — “Top Republican who once held big power in Trenton dies,” by NJ Advance Media’s Brent Johnson: “Former New Jersey Assembly Speaker Garabed ‘Chuck’ Haytaian, one of the leading figures of the Republican wave that took over Trenton in the 1990s and an influential lawmaker for more than two decades, has died at age 86, state officials said Friday. A cause of death is unclear, though Haytaian reportedly suffered health issues in recent months, officials said. A lawmaker from the northwestern corner of the state, Haytaian was both affable and blunt, loyal to his party, and sometimes combative with the press — a precursor of sorts to some modern politicians. Haytaian — pronounce Hi-TIE-an — assumed the top post of the state Legislature’s lower house in 1992 as Republicans took control of both chambers in a voter revolt over Democratic Gov. Jim Florio’s $2.8 billion in tax increases. Republican Christie Whitman ousted Florio in the next gubernatorial election.”
WASHINGTON RE-CROSSES THE DELAWARE TO BUY FIREWORKS IN PENNSYLVANIA — For America’s 250th, often-overlooked New Jersey wants a prominent role , by POLITICO’s Ry Rivard : At America’s next big birthday party, New Jersey doesn’t want to be a flare in the fireworks show. It is, after all, a place like no other in the country’s founding — where George Washington led a ragtag army to unlikely victories that helped turn the tide of the Revolutionary War. Without the battles in New Jersey, there may not even be an America. But since at least 1976, when America held a national bicentennial celebration of the 200 years since the Declaration of Independence was signed, the Garden State has been sidelined. "Places like Massachusetts and Philadelphia have taken up more of the focus, I think, at New Jersey’s expense,” said New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. Murphy’s administration wants to change that and make a state that calls itself the crossroads of the American Revolution a destination in 2026 for the nation’s 250th birthday celebration, which planners hope will be the "largest and most inclusive anniversary" in the nation’s history. Also, there will surely be fireworks. MURPHY TWEAKS BILL AFTER STAFF BEGS HIM NOT TO TWERK IT — “ Gov. Murphy signs bill tweaking senior citizen tax cut program,” by New Jersey Monitor’s Nikita Biryukov: “Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill Friday making a series of technical changes to three state tax relief programs. The bill seeks to align Stay NJ — a tax credit program that promises to cut seniors’ tax bills in half, to an indexing cap of $6,500, beginning in 2026 — with the senior freeze and Anchor property tax rebate programs. ‘I am signing this bill because I believe the streamlining of Senior Freeze and Anchor will be of benefit to our seniors, and I am hopeful that the State budget will be able to support the implementation of Stay NJ,’ the governor said in a statement released with the bill signing … The spending bill Murphy signed into law in late June anticipates the state will have 10.9% of appropriations as surplus by the end of the July-to-June fiscal year and features a $2.1 billion structural deficit. The limits are not absolute. Lawmakers overwrote Stay NJ’s surplus requirement through budget language in the current fiscal year and could do so again in the future. 'I am committed to maintaining these guardrails while working with my partners in the Legislature to achieve the goal of sustainable property tax relief for seniors,' Murphy said.” — Sinha: “ New Jersey can provide a national example by passing the Immigrant Trust Act” — “ Meet N.J.’s newest voters: the youngest members of Gen Z” | | | BIDEN TIME | | |
FROM OUR COUSINS AT THE POLITICAL INFLUENCE NEWSLETTER — Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.) once invested in a business venture advising clean energy clients and subsequently introduced a bill that authorized a massive increase in state support for clean energy that benefited that firm. Read all about it here.
DUMP WRONG — “N.J. congressman mailers dumped by USPS worker at Pennsylvania Shop-Rite,” by New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “The New Jersey Globe has confirmed that a woman wearing a USPS uniform was observed pulling up next to a dumpster at a Shop-Rite in Brodheadsville, Pennsylvania, taking several postal bins out of the trunk of her car, and throwing them into a dumpster before driving off. The incident was captured on the supermarket’s surveillance camera. The recording was turned over to USPS investigators and obtained by the New Jersey Globe. The pro-Kean mailers, sent by an independent expenditure committee connected to the national GOP, were meant for voters in Succasunna, part of Roxbury Township in Morris County and one of the most heavily Republican municipalities in New Jersey’s 7th district … The incident occurred about two weeks ago.” FOR WHOM THE BELNOME TROLLS — “He was at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Now Joseph Belnome seeks to unseat Rep. Mikie Sherrill,” by The Record’s Nicholas Katzban: “Adding to Republicans’ trouble in left-leaning carveouts like Maplewood, Livingston and South Orange, the elephants in the room elected a candidate with quite the elephant in the room. Belnome ― a vocal supporter of Donald Trump ― attended the Stop The Steal rally in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, then marched to the U.S. Capitol where throngs of rioters delayed Congress from certifying election results as they overwhelmed the complex in a violent siege. Belnome denies raiding the Capitol’s interior and has not been charged in relation to the attack. ‘I peacefully marched to the Capitol. I did not break anything. I did not have altercations with police. I did not go in the building,’ he said in July during an interview with NorthJersey.com. He claims he left after finding himself alone and ‘just standing there.’ … ‘Joe Belnome is an election-denying insurrectionist no matter what revisionist history he tries to sell to voters,’ said Sean Higgins, a spokesperson for [Mikie] Sherrill … A rogue group of investigators calling itself the Sedition Hunters have logged multiple photographs of a person closely resembling Belnome climbing scaffolding outside the complex, parading within a mob as it pressed toward the building’s western entrance and overlooking the inaugural stage from a marble veranda.” — “Our lives depend on it: Why this election means more in N.J. than just who wins” — “ New Jersey voters feel 'negative emotion' ahead of election season, poll finds” — “ NJ 3rd Congressional District: 2 doctors competing to replace Rep. Andy Kim” — “How did N.J. vote in last 2 presidential elections? See town-by-town interactive maps” | | | | A message from Uber:   | | | | | LOCAL | |
MONICA MOSLEY — “Former NJ cop charged in coverup after burglars kill detective at home,” by NJ 101.5’s Dan Alexander: “One of the suspects charged in the murder case involving a detective gunned down in her home was a former cop herself. Cyndia Pimentel, 38, of Paulsboro, was charged with hindering an investigation, obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence after authorities say she helped three suspects charged with murdering Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office Detective Sgt. Monica Mosley, 51, during a home invasion Oct. 15 in Bridgeton. Camden County police confirm that Pimentel was an officer with the department between 2013 and 2015. She was ‘terminated’ in 2015 but a spokesman would not disclose the reason. Investigators said Pimental worked with Jarred Brown, 31, of Bridgeton, and Richard B. Hawkins Willis, 32, of Gloucester City, in the days after the deadly home invasion to 'discard, destroy and conceal' evidence of the home invasion, according to an affidavit.”
A LEAGUE TO DISOWN — “Why are local election debates vanishing? Some NJ Republicans have become 'debate duckers' ,” by The Daily Record’s William Westhoven: “In an age when Americans must sift through mountains of misinformation to make their electoral decisions, one traditional method of informing voters is rapidly fading away: the local candidates' debate. At least some of that troubling development can be traced to a growing distrust in the nonprofit entity that for decades has organized forums for elected office, including school boards in New Jersey, the League of Women Voters. That's particularly true among Republican candidates, who have questioned the fairness of LWV debates just as they have the media, election officials and other institutions once touted as neutral referees. Locally, Democrats have sometimes put up resistance as well. ‘I find they are a very liberal organization,’ said Morris County Republican Committee Chairperson Laura Ali … Her counterpart, Morris County Democratic Committee Chairwoman Amalia Duarte … refers to Republicans who have refused invitations from the league as ‘debate duckers.’ ‘This is like applying for a job and refusing to show up for the job interview,’ said Duarte.” THE TIPSY POINT — “ N.J. may lose one of its last ‘dry towns’ if voters agree to allow liquor licenses,” by NJ Advance Media’s Rob Jennings: “One of New Jersey’s few remaining ‘dry towns’ is asking voters whether local restaurants should be allowed to sell liquor. Haddon Heights in Camden County has a ballot question Tuesday on permitting retail consumption licenses. It is a nonbinding referendum, meaning that approval would not necessarily result in any change in policy. The borough council has the final say. ‘It would be beneficial to the community,’ [Haddon Heights Mayor Zachary] Houck told NJ Advance Media on Thursday.” — “ [Middlesex County] women accused of submitting mail-in election ballots on behalf of dead family members” — “ [Stanhope] could be the newest to allow weed sales if voters approve referendum” — “No ‘October surprise,’ big-bang finish in Hoboken rent control referendum campaigns” — “Kim and Bashaw see eye to eye on federal judges” — “ Booker rallies with Altman, Kim in NJ-7 push” — “Jamesburg mayor resigns; Four GOP county committee will build list of successors” | | | | A message from Uber: Uber’s Latest Updates Put Drivers First
At an in-person event with drivers, Uber’s CEO announced updates to give them more peace of mind. Uber has started sending warnings to riders who drivers reported for inappropriate behavior. The Record My Ride feature allows drivers to capture video and audio during trips, improving accountability and safety. Plus the app also got more hands-free with Siri voice commands, letting drivers focus on the road while staying connected. Learn more. | | | | | EVERYTHING ELSE | |
POLITICAL OPPORTUNISTS CROSS THEIR FINGERS, HOPE IMMIGRANTS ARE TO BLAME — “Federal authorities looking into ‘butchered’ remains of dolphin discovered at Allenhurst beach ,” by the Asbury Park Press’ Dan Radel: “Federal authorities are trying to get to the bottom of what happened to a Common dolphin that was found 'butchered' on the beach here Wednesday, the Brigantine Marina Mammal Center said. The Center reported that the dolphin's ‘flesh had been completely removed with clean cuts from a sharp instrument, leaving only the head, dorsal fin and flukes. The animal’s organs, except for the heart and lungs, had been removed.’"
ELECTION DAY MUST BE MOVED TO APRIL 20 — “How is N.J. coping with election anxiety? Tuning out, calming down — even stocking up on weed,” by NJ Advance Media’s Jelani Gibson: “Gov. Phil Murphy says he sees election anxiety. So do psychologists seeing worried patients. Some studies say we’re losing sleep over it. And a New Jersey cannabis dispensary owner says business is booming leading up to the election because her customers see weed as one way to reduce election stress … In South Jersey, cannabis dispensary owner owner Suzan Nickelson said her shop, Holistic Solutions, is experiencing a surge in consumers who are using weed to manage stress. She said many have been voicing anxiety about the upcoming election. In fact, customers are stocking up on weed in a way reminiscent of the early days of the pandemic, when there was panic-buying of things customers thought was going to run out, Nickelson said. ‘It’s at an all-time high. People are coming and buying weed in abundance,’ she said.” BOGGED DOWN — “‘It is a crisis’: N.J. cranberry farms struggle amid worst drought they’ve ever seen ,” by The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Frank Kummer: “Stephen V. Lee III, 78, has farmed the fruit for decades … Cranberry harvesting is an annual colorful ritual in New Jersey. But this year is anything but typical. ‘I haven’t seen this in my lifetime,’ Lee said of a drought that farmers trace to summer .. Luckily, the lack of water does not appear to have affected the size of quality of the crop. But the lack of rain has been extremely costly for cranberry farmers like the Lees who rely on local waterways to flood their bogs. Cranberries are grown in dry bogs, which get flooded in fall, causing fruit to pop to the surface for easy harvesting. But this year farmers have had to pump from wells that tap into the Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer, a 17 trillion-gallon source of fresh water under the sandy soil. It costs a lot of money to run the pumps night and day.” — “N.J. librarian started lending wedding gowns for free. Then, brides from around the world began arriving” | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment