| | | | |  | | By Matt Friedman | | Presented by |  | | | Andy Kim is the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate. He won yesterday’s primary against Patricia Campos-Median and Larry Hamm easily. Without the line. You just have to marvel at the fact that this relatively low-profile congressman — well-liked but probably not at the top of anyone’s list of statewide candidates prior to Sen. Bob Menendez’s indictment — not only threw a hand grenade into New Jersey’s traditional ballot structure but became the party’s standard-bearer in the process. The AP declared Kim the winner just 14 minutes after polls closed, when he had over 80 percent of the vote. It didn’t get much closer. But a cursory read of last night’s results shows the state’s Democratic organizations still have some fight left in them without the line. In District 8 — one of New Jersey’s most political machine-dominated districts — organization-backed Rep. Rob Menendez defeated Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla in the Democratic primary. And in South Jersey’s 3rd District, Assemblymember Herb Conaway, who had the backing of all three of the district’s Democratic county organizations, handily defeated his longtime Assembly running mate, Carol Murphy. And in Passaic County, which I held out as a test of Democratic organizations, organization-backed sheriff candidate Thomas Adamo beat the better-known and better-funded Jerry Speziale. But don’t take that to mean that the line didn’t matter much when it existed. First off, Judge Quraishi’s decision to end the line in the Democratic primary came after the candidate filing deadline, so it’s impossible to say whether there would have been a flood of more qualified candidates Second, you just have to look at the Republican Senate primary, where the line was still in use in most counties. You would think that if anything were to break the power of the line in a Republican primary, it would be an endorsement by Donald Trump. And Christine Serrano Glassner had that. But her opponent, Curtis Bashaw, had the bulk of the county lines. And Bashaw won, according to the AP. That may be a blessing for New Jersey Republicans, since the moderate and openly gay Bashaw, who’s given tepid support to Trump while keeping his distance, is likely an easier sell to the New Jersey general electorate than Serrano Glassner, a Trump loyalist who said she wouldn’t have voted to certify the 2020 election. Read that and more of our takeaways from last night here. TIPS? FEEDBACK? Email me at MFriedman@politico.com. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Ima park where I want” — An excerpt from a lengthy Facebook rant by Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. in response the press writing about his wife and child abuse co-defendant La’Queta parking in a handicapped spot. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Alisa Cooper, Kevin Peng, Shereef Elnahal, Dan Harris, Charles Rosen WHERE’S MURPHY? — No public schedule
| | | | A message from Amazon: Maydeen turned a temporary job at Amazon’s Edison, New Jersey fulfillment center into a full-time career. “Amazon provides so much training and support,” she said. As the largest job creator in the U.S. Amazon is committed to helping employees thrive with benefits starting on day one and free, on-the-job skills training programs. See how Amazon supports employees. | | | |  | MENENDEZ CORRUPTION TRIAL | |
HIGH STEAKS — The steakhouse stakeout that entangled Bob Menendez, by POLITICO’s Ry Rivard: On May 21, 2019, two FBI surveillance teams were sent to the Morton’s steakhouse a few blocks from the White House. They were not there looking for Sen. Bob Menendez, but then he showed up. That’s according to testimony Tuesday from an FBI investigator called as a witness in the New Jersey Democrat’s corruption trial. That evening, two FBI investigators, posing as a husband and wife, were inside the steakhouse eavesdropping on a trio of Egyptian men seated at a table, including one who was the subject of their investigation. Then Menendez and his now-wife, Nadine, joined the men. And the senator — who infamously goes to Morton’s much of the time he’s in D.C. and charges meals to his political action committee — ended up in the middle of the steakhouse stake out. Among his dining companions that evening were Egyptian intelligence head Ahmed Helmy; Egyptian diplomat Nader Moussa; and Wael “Will” Hana, an Egyptian-American business person based in New Jersey who had recently been granted a lucrative monopoly by the Egyptian government to oversee American halal meat exports to the country. …Toward the end of the meal, the five dinner companions were getting louder, and that’s when Williams-Thompson said she overhead Nadine Menendez say, ‘What else can the love of my life do for you?’”
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ALICE COOPER PREDICTED THIS — “Financial uncertainties add to teacher shortage in some districts,” by NJ Spotlight News’ Hannah Gross: “A shortage of teachers and financial instability in some New Jersey school districts is making it difficult for certain schools to retain and hire staff. The state’s budget timeline required districts to notify nontenured workers by May 15 if they would keep their jobs for the next school year. One day before the notification deadline, after many schools had already announced layoffs due to budget cuts, a bill providing financial relief to school districts became law. But before the relief was official, some teachers already accepted jobs in other districts, with many moving between districts that have job openings due to the shortage. Schools across the state are struggling to fill teaching positions as the number of candidates dwindles in certain subject areas. Teachers at different stages in their careers now have more negotiating power as they look for new jobs.”
UP AND COMERS — “They were young adult killers. That doesn’t let them get out of prison early, judges rule,” by Kevin Shea for NJ.com: “New Jersey will not conduct sentencing reviews for inmates serving long prison terms for crimes the committed as young adults, like they do for those convicted as juveniles, an appellate court ruled. The decision comes in a consolidated decision in the cases of Sean Jones, Timothy Harris and Richard Roche, who were convicted of killings when they were 18 to 20 years old in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Each argued they should be given the same chance at a reduced sentence that is given to inmates serving life terms for crimes they committed when they were under the age of 18 – called a Comer hearing. … On Friday, a three-judge appellate court panel said in a published decision the three inmates do not qualify for Comer hearings because, simply put, they were not juveniles when convicted.” THE FIGHT CLUB OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY — Hochul to nominate counsel for Port Authority as struggle with New Jersey looms, by POLITICO’s Bill Mahoney: A late-session batch of nominations from Gov. Kathy Hochul will include Liz Fine, the governor’s top attorney. Fine will be nominated to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s board of commissioners, two individuals familiar with the selection said. … The Port Authority faces a potentially bumpy road ahead. Murphy has said that he plans to use the commission’s powers to block congestion pricing if his lawsuit against New York on the subject fails. Murphy has also threatened a “nuclear option” against Hochul, in which his members would veto the minutes of any decisions the authority makes. That could grind major transportation projects throughout the region to a halt.”
| | | | A message from Amazon: Amazon is committed to helping their employees and communities where they operate thrive.
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.
Read employee success stories. | | | | | BIDEN TIME | |
MAKE A CAMPAIGN RUN ON THE BORDER — Biden issues new executive action: Much of southern border to close at midnight, by POLITICO’s Myah Ward: President Joe Biden issued long-expected executive actions on Tuesday to clamp down on migrants seeking asylum, and in doing so set the stage for the U.S. border with Mexico to be shut down between ports of entry at midnight. The action and accompanying rule from the Biden administration allows the president to suspend asylum claims in between ports of entry when there is an average of 2,500 crossings a day over a seven day period. That threshold, administration officials said, has already been hit over the past week. The announcement represents an aggressive attempt by Biden to bolster his standing on the border in advance of the November election.
YOU GOT SERBED — “Kushner’s deal with pro-Russia Serbs raises hackles,” by SpyTalk’s Michael Isikoff: “After weathering criticism over its reliance on a gusher of Saudi cash, Jared Kushner’s investment fund made its first big splash last month when it announced it had signed a $500 million deal with the Serbian government to develop a high end real estate project in downtown Belgrade on the site of a bombed down army building destroyed during the 1999 Kosovo war. But the fine print of the deal includes a commitment that seems destined to stir up even more international controversy: a pledge by Kushner’s firm, Affinity Partners, to construct a “memorial dedicated to all the victims of NATO aggression”— an allusion to the U.S.-backed bombing campaign that brought the Serbian government of Slobodan Milosevic to its knees a quarter century ago in response to its relentless campaign of repression and savage massacres of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.”
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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. | | | | | | | LOCAL | | THE EXPLANATION JUST DOESN’T HOLD (SPARKLING) WATER — “Hoboken City Council to vote on forming committee to investigate how ‘Pellegrini memo’ got leaked,” by The Jersey Journal’s Mark Koosau: “The leak of a confidential memo regarding former Hoboken city director Leo Pellegrini could be investigated by the City Council, a proposal spearheaded by an administration critic on the council who claims the document was released for one reason — to help Mayor Ravi Bhalla’s congressional campaign. The City Council is set to vote Wednesday on a resolution that would create a committee with subpoena power to probe the leak of a document that said Pellegrini, the city’s former health and human services director, had ‘engaged in unlawful, corrupt conduct in the course of his city employment.’ “(The leak of the memo) was used for purposes of supporting (Bhalla in his primary election race) and fighting off other people’s comments about the allegations (Pellegrini) made (in his lawsuit),’ said Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher, one of the sponsors of the resolution to create the committee.” ATLANTIC COUNTY — “1,803 mail-in ballots in Atlantic County were opened four weeks ago,” by New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “The Atlantic County Board of Elections opened 1,803 vote-by-mail ballots more than a month ago, and now a judge is being asked if they can be counted. There are no allegations of nefarious conduct, but it’s possible that close races might not be determined until after a court hearing on Friday. The ballots represent 42% of all VBMs cast in advance of today, with a partisan breakdown of roughly 1,100 Democrats and 700 Republicans, the New Jersey Globe has determined. Deputy Attorney General Kim Dinenberg is asking Atlantic County Assignment Judge Michael Blee to break a tie after two Democratic commissioners voted to count the mail-in ballots and two Republicans on the Board of Elections voted to disqualify them.” THE 2 PERCENTERS — “'Further hurt the morale': Paterson police officers union calls 2% annual raises stifling,” by The Paterson Press’ Joe Malinconico: “Members of the Paterson’s Superior Officers Association police union will be getting 2% annual pay raises stretching back to 2019 under a decision issued last week by a state arbitrator. City officers were not happy with the ruling, partly because Paterson’s 104 sergeants, lieutenants, captains and deputy chief will be getting diminished retroactive pay under the arbitrator’s decision. The union’s president, Mason Maher, said the lack of full retroactive pay will prompt high-ranking officers who were ready to retire to stay on the job for another year so that the raises can be factored into their pensions. ‘This will stifle promotional opportunities and will further hurt the morale of the department, as well as increase costs for the city,’ Maher said.” —“Paterson wants more state aid to limit property tax hike as council bemoans services” —“Paterson shuts health offices because of AC failure, but will open Wednesday” —“Detective, volunteer, now [Randolph] councilwoman: ‘I don’t know any other way.’ says Morris mom” —“Some beaches to close as $10M beach restoration project begins in N. Wildwood” —“Rutgers is seeking to preserve history — and boost downtown Camden’s future” —“At Newark's St. Benedict's Prep, the girls are here to stay”
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FLYING SPIDERS HAVE HIGHER FAVORABILITY RATING THAN MENENDEZ — “Large, flying, invasive Joro spiders are on their way to NJ. Everything you should know,” by The The Record’s Amanda Wallace: “Attention New Jerseyans, sorry to have to tell you this, but you might want to be on the lookout for some new creepy crawlers heading our way. In November, Dr. David Coyle, entomologist at Clemson University, told NorthJersey.com that the large, invasive, flying Joro spider could be making its way into the state ‘by next year for all we know.’ … Although ‘flying spider’ definitely sounds scary, there isn't really anything to worry about… Joro spiders travel in a couple of different ways. The first is called ballooning where they put out a strand of silk that could cause them to be picked up by the wind. If the wind picks them up, they could travel as far as the wind takes them in whichever direction the wind is blowing. … The first When they get here, the Joro spiders are going to be hard to miss as they can grow to be about an inch long with a leg span of up to four inches.”
WHAT’S A POLITICIAN GOTTA DO FOR A FREE FUNDRAISER AT THE BROWNSTONE? — ”Thomas Manzo, ex of 'RHONJ' star, found guilty over assault of ex-wife's new husband,” by The Record’s Kaitlyn Kanzler: “Thomas Manzo was found guilty on Tuesday for his role in the assault of his ex-wife's new husband. The Franklin Lakes resident and owner of The Brownstone banquet hall in Paterson had been on trial for the past two and a half weeks for directing an alleged mafia member to assault the then boyfriend of his former wife, ‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’ star, Dina Cantin. The suspected mob member, John Perna, was given a free wedding reception at The Brownstone in 2015. … Manzo's sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 15.” THIS MUST BE THE PLACE (NAIVE DELIVERY) — “Marlboro apartment complex letters, packages getting delivered to this neighbor's house,” by The Asbury Park Press’ Olivia Liu: “Since March, the residents of the newly leased apartment development The Place at Marlboro have not gotten any mail. Instead, it has landed at the doorstep of a neighboring house. At first it was furniture and Amazon packages. Then came the social service mail and Optimum bills. And then food deliveries and one police visit. … Although residents at The Place have moved in, the locks for their individual mailboxes have not arrived from the United States Postal Service. The apartment complex had also once used Tierney's address 'for GPS purposes' on its website." — “Barclays cutting 70 North Jersey jobs as more layoffs hit financial sector” —“Dead dolphin washes up on Jersey Shore at Island Beach State Park” —“Missing man eludes Brick police in Forge Pond Park, paddling off in resident's kayak: cops”
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