| | | | |  | | By Matt Friedman | Good Monday morning! On Friday, the day after U.S. Rep. Donald Payne’s funeral, Gov. Phil Murphy called a special election as soon as possible. But that’s not really soon. The only thing that’s actually coming soon is the May 10 deadline for candidates to file petitions to run in the July 16 special primary, which will take place about a month and a half after the regularly scheduled June 4 primary, followed by a special general election Sept. 18, which is about a month and a half before the regularly scheduled Nov. 6 general election. Murphy didn’t have any really good options. The only other one was to call a special general election to coincide with the regular general election, and the law is being silent as to how the nominees would be chosen in that case. The latter option would have saved some money — how much, I don't know exactly — but kept the seat vacant for two more months. You could read politics into that if you want. Republicans have a tiny majority so of course Democrats want to have as many votes as possible. But this isn’t a Senate seat. There’s no way for the governor to appoint a successor. So until the election results are certified, nobody’s representing the district. It’s hard to argue that an election is an unreasonable expense for two months of representation the district would otherwise not have. New Jersey’s succession statutes are a mess. We also saw it play out following Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s death in 2013, when even though then-Gov. Chris Christie appointed an interim successor, he called a special election in August rather than at the next general election, when he was on the ballot, enabling him to avoid then-still-rising-star Democrat Cory Booker being a draw on the ticket opposite his. Despite that, the Legislature didn’t clarify the succession statutes. So here we are. TIPS? FEEDBACK? Email me at MFriedman@politico.com. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “This seems to me like a discomfort with accountability, more than anything else.” — Comptroller Kevin Walsh on the NJAC’s targeting of him HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Angela Delli Santi, Dan Golabek, Nick Mammano, Wayne Wittman. Missed Sunday: Bob Healey WHERE’S MURPHY? — No public schedule
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Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | |  | WHAT TRENTON MADE | | TILTING AT WINDMILLS — “Three groups are suing New Jersey to block an offshore wind farm,” by The AP’s Wayne Parry: “Three anti-wind power groups are suing New Jersey to overturn a key environmental approval for a wind energy farm planned off the coast of Long Beach Island. Save Long Beach Island, Defend Brigantine Beach and Protect Our Coast NJ filed suit in appellate court on April 26 challenging a determination by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection that the Atlantic Shores wind farm project meets the requirements of a federal coastal protection law. … Joshua Henne, a political strategist advising several groups fighting climate change, accused the anti-wind groups of acting in league with the fossil fuel industry. ‘There ain’t nothing grassroots about this effort,’ he said. ‘It’s astroturf, seeded by the fossil fuel industry.’ … Robin Shaffer, president of Protect Our Coast, rejected that claim. ‘We have never taken one penny from any entity linked to the fossil fuel industry,’ he said. … Up until a year ago, the group used the Caesar Rodney Institute to hold its money. The Delaware-based group is part of a group of think tanks supporting and funded by fossil fuel interests, according to the Energy and Policy Institute.” WOODBRIDGE TO RENAME ITSELF ED WOOBRIDGE. WOOD-RIDGE TO BECOME ED WOOD-RIDGE. AND SO ON — “Film is booming in NJ. Here's how Gov. Murphy lures film, TV productions,” by The Record’s Daniel Munoz: “Gov. Phil Murphy has touted the state’s growing film and television industry ever since taking the helm in 2018. Since then, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority has approved $723 million in tax subsidies for film, television and ‘digital media’ productions, public records show. … That doesn’t count the massive film studios coming to New Jersey. … State officials estimate that more than $2 billion has been spent on film projects and the ancillary economy in New Jersey since 2018 … Critics of the tax incentives have been skeptical of the touted benefits. A previous, smaller iteration of the tax break was estimated to cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars over the life of the program, despite spotty projections of how much revenue it could produce for the state.” THE POLITICAL CLIMATE — “NJ Transit sets big climate goals — with no plan to pay for them, environmental groups say,” by NJ Advance Media’s Larry Higgs: “After two years of deliberation, public comment and drafts, NJ Transit released its final sustainability plan late last month to mixed reviews from environmentalists, who say key details are missing. One question they raised had more to do with the political environment than the natural environment — namely, how the agency plans to fund priorities such as replacing diesel buses with electric ones and outfitting garages with the infrastructure to charge them. ‘It hits nothing and is missing everything,’ said Bill Beren, NJ Sierra Club transportation chairperson, who said he had been reviewing drafts of the document over the last two years.” CLUB MED — “Patients fear medical program is failing without intervention from state officials, cannabis agency,” by New Jersey Monitor’s Sophie Nieto-Munoz: “Recreational marijuana continues to boom in the Garden State as new dispensaries open every week two years after the industry’s launch. But on the medical side, patient numbers have steadily dropped since the legalization of recreational cannabis, leaving patients concerned the program is floundering while the state fails to do enough to maintain a robust program for people who depend on marijuana as medicine. ‘It’s like they’re not even faking an effort anymore, like feigning interest in saving the program. It just seems like there’s so much more they can do, and I don’t understand why they stopped caring about the medical program,’ said Michael Wiehl, a medical marijuana patient and local advocate. ‘They just did.’” —Snowflack: “Fulop hardly freaked out about being ‘an outsider’” R.I.P. — “Kathy Forsyth, Brendan Byrne’s press secretary, dies at 73”
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MCIVER TO FASHION CANDIDACY FROM PAPERCLIPS, COTTON BALLS AND AN OLD TRANSISTOR RADIO — “Baraka Organization Veteran McIver Well-Positioned in CD-10,” by InsiderNJ’s Max Pizarro: “The allies of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka appear to be coalescing around Newark Central Ward Councilwoman Lamonica McIver for the CD-10 Congressional seat. McIver serves as the council president of the Newark City Council. … Others will likely contend for the seat, especially now in a post-organization line environment, but Baraka maintains order in his inner circle, which includes longtime ally McIver, a former student of his at Central Ward High School turned battle-tested elected official. … Seeking unity behind Sherill – itself a test given Baraka’s presence in the statewide contest – the committee would likely be reluctant to favor Baraka’s choice for the vacant congressional seat if it means empowering a congressperson to back Baraka’s gubernatorial candidacy. But the county as of right now does not seem to have a clear-cut alternative to McIver.”
—“Here’s who might replace Donald Payne in NJ-10” —“Inside Rep. Rob Menendez's fight to be more than a 'nepo baby'” —“Menendez Jr., in for a fight this time around, confident in the job he’s done in Congress” —Watch: “NJ's Democratic 8th District congressional debate” —Bashaw: “In Gaza protests, Biden administration failed to protect civil rights on college campuses” | | LOCAL | | PUFF, PUFF, KEEP — “Is cannabis competition good? Owners on Jersey City plaza say yes, but it’s complicated,” by The Jersey Journal’s Mark Koosau: “The open air mall, located in the heart of Downtown, has become the ideal place for a number of entrepreneurs to sell legal cannabis to commuters, visitors and stoners alike. But some entrepreneurs on the plaza have taken to the courts to stop others from opening. … ‘There’s always room for competition,’ said Brian Markey, owner of Garden Greenz dispensary at 190 Newark Ave. ‘Businesses have rent, overhead, owners and partners, and they have to be able to survive. The question is: Are these businesses going to be able to make enough money where they can stay open?’ Markey opened his pawn shop-turned-dispensary last Halloween as one of the first cannabis businesses in the city and then filed a lawsuit that would have effectively prevent other competitors from opening, based on the city’s proximity rules.” DOLL TO RUN FOR VICE-CHAIR — “Craig Guy enters race for Hudson Democratic chairman,” by New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “Hudson County Executive Craig Guy today made his much-anticipated formal announcement that he would run for Democratic county chairman. The incumbent, Anthony Vainieri, is not expected to run again but has not yet publicly stated his intentions. Guy appears to have the votes to win even if Vainieri were to seek re-election. Speculation that Guy would take over the county Democratic organization post began last year, before he had been sworn in as county executive. At a memorial service this week for Rep. Donald Payne, Jr. (D-Newark), it was Guy — and not Vainieri — who represented Hudson County as a eulogizer” THE INTERNET IN REAL LIFE — “Multiple giant trolls made out of trash will be built near N.J.’s ‘Big Rusty’,” by NJ Advance Media’s Nyah Marshall: “South Jersey will soon be home to not just one giant troll made out of recycled trash, but more than a dozen. Burlington County is looking for local artists to install at least 13 troll statues, inspired by ‘Big Rusty,’ a 20-foot troll that has been living in Hainesport Township since last summer. As part of a larger sculpture series to promote sustainability, last July, Thomas Dambo, a Copenhagen-based artist, created Big Rusty from thousands of recycled materials sourced from an abandoned ceramic factory in the township. Once the statue opened to the public, it became a popular attraction, drawing many visitors outdoors to the South Branch Rancocas Creek section of the town to see the troll.” PROBABLY IN A YEKATERINBURG BASEMENT — “Some Brigantine residents wondering where the 'STR czar' is,” by The Press of Atlantic City’s Selena Vazquez: “It's been seven months since the city revamped its short-term rental ordinance to better regulate the properties due to resident concerns. But the city has yet to appoint an official to oversee the enforcement of the new regulations, which has some residents worried — especially since the shore town's tourist season starts in just a few weeks. ‘It's almost Mother's Day, and while it may be quiet now, it will surely not be quiet as time moves on,’ resident Ann Phillips said at Wednesday's council meeting. ‘So what tools do we have to enforce the ordinance?’” —“Asbury Park schools cut 26 jobs to make up for state aid shortfall; see what's taken away” —“Toms River police chief takes township to court over his unpaid suspension” —“Retired Newark police officer killed in South River house explosion in New Jersey” —“Outlier: How [Union City] school district upped test scores and beat COVID's learning loss” —“Marlboro family sues and says daughter was groomed, molested at middle school” —“Official in Stolen Valor Scandal returned $100 contribution after donor sued him” | | EVERYTHING ELSE | |
COURAGE OF EVICTION — “At Rutgers, strident students blow a chance to help Gaza,” by The Star-Ledger’s Tom Moran: “I went to the Rutgers encampment in New Brunswick Thursday morning, expecting to sympathize with the protesting students who had spent three nights in tents on Voorhees Mall to protest the slaughter and starvation in Gaza. Because I agree with most of what they say. … The protesters’ harassment of the press was worthy of a Trump rally. They were on public land, this is America, the press has a right to be there -- but somehow these students missed that memo. They hassled me all day, not just telling me to leave, over and over, but physically getting in my way, over and over. One opened an umbrella in front of me to block my view of a speaker, while several students and one faculty member kept insisting that I leave. … It was worse for a fellow journalist, Chuck O’Donnell, of TAPinto New Brunswick, who says he was surrounded by seven or eight protesters at about midnight on Monday, when the encampment began. They put their hands in front of his camera, and tried to grab it, he said. ... In the end, Holloway denied their two main demands, to disinvest from “Israeli apartheid, colonialism and genocide” and to terminate the university’s partnership with Tel Aviv University."
—“Rutgers student encampment ends peacefully with agreement. Here are the details" HEALTH CARE — “CarePoint Health saga takes new twist: RWJBarnabas, Hudson Regional Hospital in talks,” by The Jersey Journal’s Teri West: “RWJBarnabas Health and Hudson Regional Hospital are in talks about a joint bid to rescue the cash-starved CarePoint Health network, whose financial woes are threatening the welfare of its three Hudson County hospitals, according to a source close to the hospitals. RWJBarnabas, which owns Jersey City Medical Center as well as 13 other hospitals in the state, would partner with Hudson Regional Hospital in the management of Bayonne Medical Center, Christ Hospital and Hoboken University Medical Center under a new plan that is currently being considered, the source said. … The news comes just days after Christ Hospital received a ‘D’ grade in the latest Leapfrog hospital safety rating, the worst grade in the state.” A HILL TO DIE WITH — The CEO who hired his wife, gave his dog a title, and brought down a bank, by The Wall Street Journal's Gina Heeb: “Vernon Hill’s Commerce Bancorp was about to open its first New York City branch in 2001 when his wife, Shirley, called wanting to know whether dogs could be allowed inside. Shirley Hill, also the branch designer, had been stopped from bringing the couple’s Yorkshire terrier, Sir Duffield, into other banks. Vernon Hill, the bank’s founder and chief executive, declared it ‘just another stupid bank rule’ and launched a campaign to encourage dogs to visit Commerce. Hill, now 78 years old, thought a lot of bank rules were stupid. … His latest project, Republic First in Philadelphia, was seized by regulators last weekend, after shareholders had ousted Hill in a last-ditch effort to save the bank. … Hill was kicked out by shareholders in 2022, but the new leaders couldn’t raise the money needed to fill the balance-sheet holes his strategy left.” —“Princeton faculty demand university VP resign after arrest of student protesters” —“Bear incidents steady in NJ but on the rise in Sussex; state offers bear-proof trash cans”
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