| | | | |  | | By Matt Friedman | | Presented by |  | | | Good Monday morning! The Menendez trial begins today. Amazingly, that’s just one of several important stories either happening now or within the last couple days. Also today, both houses of the Legislature are scheduled to vote on the deeply controversial Open Public Records Act amendments that will eliminate mandatory attorneys fee awards who successfully challenge records request denials, eliminating a tool in state law that sometimes costs towns some money but errs on the side of transparency. Donald Trump held a big rally in Wildwood Saturday where he made some news, including by endorsing a candidate in New Jersey’s U.S. Senate race (Hint: It wasn’t the candidate from Cape May County, or who most of the Republican leaders down there are backing.) It was a big rally, and I wasn't there. But sorry, based on the photos and videos I've seen, I’m not buying the Wildwood spokesperson’s estimate of 100,000 attendees. And on Friday a dozen people filed petitions to run for the late U.S. Rep. Donald Payne’s seat You can read about all of that below. The crush of news feels close to overwhelming, and the New Jersey press corps isn’t getting any bigger. TIPS? FEEDBACK? Email me at MFriedman@politico.com. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We’re going to see a big fight in the next couple weeks over the public records law. They want to gut that. The complete balls of the Legislature…” — The Record’s Charles Stile on a new podcast, “The Jersey Angle,” from Brian Donohue and Mark Bonamo HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Megan Coyne WHERE’S MURPHY? — No public schedule
| | | | A message from Amazon: When Maydeen started at Amazon’s Edison, New Jersey fulfillment center she thought it would just be a temporary job. Now, “it’s become a career. Since starting at Amazon I’ve been promoted five times,” she said. As the largest job creator in the U.S. Amazon is committed to helping their employees thrive with benefits starting on day one and free, on-the-job skills training programs. See how Amazon supports employees. | | | |  | WHAT TRENTON MADE | | OPRA. — “NJDOT rejected warnings before 2021 I-295 wall collapse in New Jersey, CBS Philadelphia investigation finds,” by CBS Philadelphia’s Brandon Goldner: “If you've driven to the shore from Philadelphia or come into the city from New Jersey in the past five years, you've probably driven past a retaining wall, known as Wall 22, as it's a major part of the I-295 Direct Connect Project. But on March 25, 2021, Wall 22 failed. The wall held up an elevated roadway that had yet to open to traffic. Thankfully, no one was injured. In January 2022, an investigative engineering report detailed the complex causes of the wall's failure. It found early signs of distress on the wall beginning on March 11, two weeks before its failure. Our investigation found contractors had concerns before it collapsed … "That Thursday morning, a flurry of emails was being sent between NJDOT workers discussing the failure. In one email, an NJDOT employee sent a co-worker, who, at the time, was a regional construction engineer, an email thread from November 2018, in which, the project's contractor, South State Inc., expressed concerns about the wall's design The regional construction engineer wrote back, ‘Reading the claim, it's almost like they had a crystal ball.’ That email was obtained in a two-year CBS News Philadelphia investigation into why Wall 22 failed and whether it could've been prevented. Through its investigation, CBS News Philadelphia found NJDOT brushed off years of warnings from South State Inc. about Wall 22 until it was too late. … The investigation required obtaining and reviewing over 2,000 pages of internal emails, meeting minutes and contractual notices, and multiple interviews."
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OPRA: IT AIN'T OVER 'TIL ... THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY PASS THE BILL AND THE GOVERNOR SIGNS IT — Some advocates raised new alarms on Friday and Saturday about the latest OPRA amendments, concerned by the placement of some brackets that the current draft would actually remove the presumption of public access to records from state law. I spent a little while over the weekend just making sure that wasn’t the case, by reading it carefully, calling around and asking a lawyer with expertise who’s not involved in this fight. While the paragraph that includes the language about the public’s right of access to records has indeed been removed from the bill, that’s only because they had been amending part of that passage but no longer are. The language would remain in the law — just not this bill.
LONG-TERM APATHY — State report: New Jersey too reliant on nursing homes, should overhaul long-term care, by POLITICO’s Daniel Han: A highly anticipated state report said Friday that New Jersey is overly reliant on nursing homes and should change its policies to incentivize home- and community-based care. The report released by the New Jersey Task Force on Long-Term Care Quality and Safety recommends policies that would drastically reshape long-term care as well as reimbursement models. … According to the report, 9,000 long-term care residents and over 100 facility staff died of Covid-19 in the state — making up about a quarter of all Covid deaths in New Jersey despite being a small segment of the population. … The report focused heavily on incentivizing home- and community-based care, where residents get their long-term care services from their own homes or community settings that are not nursing homes. RAPE KITS — “Is New Jersey’s treatment of rape victims violating their human rights?” by News 12’s Walt kane: “The International Human Rights Clinic at Rutgers Law School says that New Jersey is violating the human rights of rape victims. The clinic is asking the United Nations to investigate the “deliberate failure” to test DNA from rape kits in New Jersey and other states. New Jersey’s backlog of untested kits was the subject of a series of Kane In Your Corner investigations.” —“N.J. casino authority names former sheriff, Atlantic City cop as new director” —Sinha: “We have a responsibility to protect student protesters” —“Some riders furious as NJ Transit plans to invalidate tickets sold with no expiration date” —“NJ Transit is on the hook for $88M to help rehab 2 East River tunnels. This is why” —McDonald: “Gov. Murphy’s choice on public records bill: Mimic Michigan Dems, or the Louisiana GOP” CARTOON BREAK — “The Democrats are still trying to gut the Open Public Records Act,” by Drew Shenaman
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SIDESHOW BOB — Bob Menendez corruption trial, round two: Prosecutors have ‘compelling’ narrative, by POLITICO’s Matt Friedman and Ry Rivard: When Sen. Bob Menendez walked into a Newark federal courthouse for the first day of his 2017 corruption trial, so many reporters were watching him that the courthouse assigned them a spillover room. The spectacle didn’t last long. Interest from the public and news media quickly waned after salacious allegations of Dominican sex workers, flights on private jets and scenes of luxurious villas gave way in the courtroom to technical details about Medicare reimbursements and credit card points to purchase a high-end grill. Jurors weren’t convinced he broke the law. Now the government has another shot at the senior senator from New Jersey. This next trial, set to play out beginning Monday, promises to be consistently dramatic — and gives prosecutors who’ve eyed Menendez for at least two decades perhaps their best chance to convince a jury of his alleged corruption.
—Meet Bob Menendez and his co-defendants
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Maydeen turned a temporary job at one of Amazon’s Edison, New Jersey fulfillment centers into a full-time career because “Amazon provides so much training, mentoring and coaching support,” she said.
Discover more. | | | WHEN SPEAKERS AT YOUR RALLIES DEFEND LITERAL NEO-NAZIS — Trump, escalating attacks at rally, says Biden is ‘surrounded by fascists’, by POLITICO’s Meredith McGraw and Myah Ward: After spending the week sitting in silence as a parade of witnesses — from porn star Stormy Daniels to a former White House aide — testified in court, former President Donald Trump had to get a lot off his chest. Speaking before tens of thousands of people in Wildwood, New Jersey, Trump called the hush money case a “sham.” He mocked Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg as “Fat Alvin.” He insulted the judge overseeing the case as “corrupt” and “highly conflicted.” And according to Trump, President Joe Biden was to blame for it all. … Surrounded by roller coasters and amusement park thrills along a boardwalk in Wildwood, the former president railed against the trial that has largely taken him off the campaign trail. This was only the third rally Trump has held since the case began almost one month ago. … During the speech, Trump threw well-worn lines on the border, windmills and electric vehicles, China and migrants. And he compared himself to the infamous gangster Al Capone, which has become a regular bit on the campaign trail. BASHAWFUL — Former President Donald Trump gave his “complete and total endorsement” of Christine Serrano Glassner in the Republican Senate primary during his rally in Wildwood on Saturday — while attempting to put down former Gov. Chris Christie. “They said that her person is a Christie person. I said I’m endorsing you immediately,” Trump said. Serrano Glassner, the mayor of Mendham Borough, is running for the Republican nomination against Curtis Bashaw, a hotelier from South Jersey. She is married to Michael Glassner, former deputy campaign manager for Trump in 2020. “I look forward to serving as [Trump’s] steadfast ally in Washington and working hand-in-hand with him to Drain the Swamp and Make America Great Again,” Serrano Glassner said in a statement. “New Jersey deserves better than the corrupt political establishment that gave us ‘Gold Bar Bob’ Menendez, and America deserves better than the unmitigated disaster of the Biden regime.” — Dustin Racioppi FIRST AMENDMENT — “Gottheimer’s authoritarian answer to antisemitism,” by The Star-Ledger’s Tom Moran: “Rep. Josh Gottheimer had the best of intentions when he helped win passage of the Antisemitism Awareness Act in the House earlier this month, a bill he co-sponsored. He wants to protect Jewish students at a time when antisemitism is surging. Who can argue with that? But consider what his bill would do. It would empower the Department of Education to police speech by students and faculty, and to cut funding for colleges that allow speech deemed antisemitic under the bill’s expansive definition.’” CD10 — A dozen candidates file to fill Payne Jr.’s House seat, by POLITICO’s Dustin Racioppi: A dozen candidates filed by the Friday deadline to run in the special election to fill the late Rep. Donald Payne’s seat … Democrats: LaMonica McIver, Newark city council president — Darryl Godfrey, chief operating officer of the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority — Brittany Claybrooks, former East Orange councilmember — Shana Melius, former Payne staffer — Derek Armstead, mayor of Linden — Sheila Montague, Newark educator — Jerry Walker, Hudson County commissioner — John J. Flora, educator — Debra Salters — Eugene Mazo — Alberta Gordon. Republican: Carmen Bucco
| | | | JOIN 5/22 FOR A TALK ON THE FUTURE OF TAXATION: With Trump-era tax breaks set to expire in 2025, whoever wins control of Congress, and the White House will have the ability to revamp the tax code and with it reshape the landscape for business and social policy. Join POLITICO on May 22 for an exploration of what is at stake in the November elections with our panel dissecting the ways presidential candidates and congressional leaders are proposing to reshape our tax rates and incentives. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | REMEMBER THAT 2022 DOUG MASTRIANO LANDSLIDE IN PA? — Trump says Ciattarelli would have won in 2021 governor’s race if he courted his support, by POLITICO’s Daniel Han: Former President Donald Trump on Friday said that Republican Jack Ciattarelli would have “easily” won the 2021 governor’s race if he sought his support. Trump, who is hosting a rally in Wildwood this weekend, made the remarks during an appearance on New Jersey 101.5’s morning show hosted by Bill Spadea, who is viewed as an all-but-declared GOP candidate for governor in 2025. Trump praised Spadea, which could prove valuable in a Republican primary. “You've had my back from the beginning,” Trump said. “That's why I'm talking to you. I turn down plenty of requests." … “This guy never came to ask for my support,” Trump said. “And you know what? When MAGA sees that, they don’t like it and they didn’t vote for him. He would have won easily if he did. But he didn’t do that. He thinks he’s hot stuff, I guess.” —“Hoboken’s Bhalla wants more mayors, and fewer Menendezes, in Congress” —“Rep. Kean: Now more than ever, Ukraine needs U.S. support” —Cory Booker backs Menendez for reelection. Not that one. —"Muslims for New Jersey backs Bhalla for Congress" —“Cryan backs McIver for Payne’s congressional seat” | | LOCAL | |
CANCEL CULTURE RUN AMOK. NOW IT’S WRONG TO BE A POLYGAMIST WHO MARRIES AN 18-YEAR-OLD FORMER STUDENT? — “In his sex abuse trial, Wasim Muhammad testified that four of his six wives were 18 when he met them,” by The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Melanie Burney: “Camden School Advisory Board President Wasim Muhammad told a jury Wednesday that he married his former student when she was 18, and denied her accusations that the relationship started with his sexual abuse when he was her middle school teacher years before. During Muhammad’s three hours on the stand, he told the seven-member jury of his sex abuse civil trial before Superior Court Judge John Kennedy that he was grateful for the opportunity for them ‘to hear my side’ in response to the ‘heinous allegations’ from a lawsuit lodged in 2021 by the former student. Two of his wives also testified, while his other wives and some of his 17 children were in the courtroom.”
THE DAWN OF A NEW O’DEA — “Second thoughts? Some in HCDO rethinking choices in Jersey City mayoral race, insiders say,” by The Jersey Journal’s Joshua Rosario: “Hudson County Executive Craig Guy couldn’t help but feel the pro-Bill O’Dea vibes at a recent Jersey City Democratic Committee meeting. “I am here to support Rob Menendez. I see you all are here to support Bill O’Dea (for Jersey City mayor in 2025),” Guy joked with the crowd, which roared its approval of the longtime Hudson County Board of Commissioners member — according to sources who attended the event. Guy, who is expected to take over as chairman of the Hudson County Democratic Organization — the group that makes and breaks political careers in the county — was likely closer to the mark than some colleagues would like … In an election that’s still 18 months away, there is a buzz that even some in the HCDO are turning in Bill O’Dea’s direction, or at the least hedging their early all-in support of former Gov. Jim McGreevey to succeed Steve Fulop, insiders say. Five HCDO insiders told The Jersey Journal some members, especially in Jersey City, are losing interest in supporting McGreevey.” A HEFTY INVESTMENT IN ARMAGNAC WILL PAY FOR IT — “Jersey City tells state: Pompidou can break even with tax credits, $4 million in donations and some aid,” by The Jersey Journal’s Joshua Rosario: “Jersey City made a case for its grand iconic French museum plan Thursday, telling state officials the Centre Pompidou outpost would cost New Jersey taxpayers $19 million each year — and could even break even. Jersey City Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Diana Jeffrey sent the New Jersey Economic Development Agency a three-page letter accompanied by a brief five-year operating budget for the Centre Pompidou x Jersey City that is short on revenue and heavy on donations and tax credits. Mayor Steve Fulop posted the letter and the initial budget online, saying ‘the benefits of having a global institution like the Centre Pompidou’s North America location in New Jersey would provide tremendous benefit to the city, residents, arts community and school kids — these benefits outweigh the costs.’” — “How a pro-Palestinian walkout at a high school became a flashpoint for debate in N.J.,” —“NJDEP hosts Jersey City open house for Liberty State Park-South revitalization” R.I.P. — “Former Ridgefield Park mayor George Fosdick has died” | | EVERYTHING ELSE | |
MEET THE FOULKERS — “Cherry Hill dealer's Chevrolet franchise in jeopardy over warranty claims,” by The Courier-Post’s Jim Walsh: “A longtime South Jersey auto dealer has lost a bid to keep its franchise agreement with General Motors. Mall Chevrolet Inc. sued the Big 3 carmaker after GM said it planned to terminate its relationship with the Cherry Hill dealer in October 2018. GM said the dealer had violated its franchise agreement by submitting dubious claims for warranty repairs worth more than $650,000. It also demanded the return of its payments for those claims. Mall Chevrolet’s lawsuit sought to block GM’s actions, claiming they would violate New Jersey’s Franchise Practices Act. But a federal judge in Camden dismissed Mall Chevrolet’s wrongful-termination claims in 2021. And on April 26, a three-judge appeals court in Philadelphia upheld that view. Its 30-page ruling said Mall Chevrolet’s lawsuit provided ‘no genuine dispute of material fact,’ and found the business “did submit false claims for warranty repairs.' … An attorney for Mall Chevrolet said the firm ‘is disappointed and disagrees with the outcome.’ The dealer ‘is fully exploring its options,’ said the lawyer, William Tambussi …
[The decision] described the Haddonfield Road business, with dealer operator Charles W. Foulke III, as ‘one of the most successful car dealerships in New Jersey.’” But the relationship ruptured after GM in 2017 began a series of increasingly intensive reviews of warranty reimbursement claims submitted by Mall Chevrolet.” —“Amid campus protests, Rutgers-New Brunswick commencement ceremonies go off without disturbance” —“Judge rejects motion to dismiss whistleblower lawsuit that could cost CarePoint Health tens of millions” —“Airport union workers demand higher wages, job protections” —"Apple Store in New Jersey votes against unionizing" —“‘Dawson’s Creek’ star James Van Der Beek returns to N.J. college decades after dropping out”
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