Hudson head-scratcher

Dec 06, 2024

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Good Friday morning!

The background maneuvering in the 2025 governor’s race has apparently taken a bizarre turn in Hudson County.

Associates of Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop have in recent weeks made entreaties to the county’s most influential figures after the Hudson County Democratic Organization started wavering on who to support, two people familiar with discussions told POLITICO. They approached party chair Craig Guy and state Sen. Brian Stack, who is also Union County’s mayor, seeking support or at least the organization’s neutrality in the primary, said the people, who were granted anonymity to speak candidly.

Fulop denies it and said no one on his campaign was authorized to make such outreach. And he said he’d reject an endorsement by Hudson Democrats unless the party made significant changes to its endorsement process and ballot design.

“There’s no ambiguity,” Fulop said. “Not interested.”

Fulop originally had the backing of Hudson Democrats, but that changed under Guy. Fulop has hinged his prospects of becoming the next governor on the premise that he is against New Jersey’s boss system, and he’s been liberal in dispensing critiques of the political machinery and the bosses who all but control who gets endorsements.

“He basically burned the whole house down,” one of the people said. “It’s bonkers that he can think he tore the organization down and the same day or the day after Hudson is strongly shifting their support he sends ambassadors and messengers … that he hopes we can get back on the same page and have a dialogue.”

Given Fulop’s outspoken criticisms, it’s hard to see how anyone in his orbit might see the possibility of reaching a deal or a détente. And Fulop said that “if somebody's going out and freelancing by themselves, I have no idea.”

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “There were three testers in the field. Only one went rogue.” — Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora, about a water department employee caught falsifying records thanks to an annoyed neighbor who saw the employee’s car parked in an alleyway.

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WHAT TRENTON MADE

CELL PHONES — Lawmakers on Thursday advanced a statewide policy on phones in schools, a move that comes as states and school districts across the country have set up their own policies.

The Senate Education Committee approved a bipartisan bill 5-0 that requires the commissioner of education to create “appropriate and grade-level differentiated policies” that would limit the use of phones and social media in K-12 classrooms. The bill gives the state broad authority on what to put into the policy, which local school boards would have to adopt. School boards could ask the state for exemptions.

Some groups are seeking to change the requirement that the state have a uniform policy.

“We believe … that it’s necessary and appropriate for boards of education to have maximum flexibility crafting their policies based on community preferences,” said Jonathan Pushman, director of governmental relations at the New Jersey School Boards Association.

Committee Chair Vin Gopal, however, said a “one size fits all” policy was appropriate.

“I'm trying to think about my 2-year-old daughter going district to district and there's going to be a different cell phone policy based on the district,” he said. “There's nothing in my opinion more dangerous right now than social media and the use of phones, especially during the school day.”

The bill has not advanced yet in the Assembly.

— Daniel Han

REGISTER NOW: As the 118th Congress ends, major decisions loom, including healthcare appropriations. Key focus: site neutrality. Can aligning hospital and clinic costs cut federal spending, reflect physician costs, and lower patient expenses? Join policymakers and providers to discuss.

LEAD — “Trenton lead pipe replacement program under scrutiny after contractor charged in Newark scheme,” by The Jersey Vindicator’s Jeff Pillets: “A federal criminal investigation into Newark’s lead pipe replacement program has spilled into Trenton, where a similar multimillion-dollar project to replace 32,000 lead lines is underway in the state capital … Michael Walker, a spokesman for the Trenton Water Works, said in a late November interview that the city agency was recently contacted by law enforcement officials reviewing lead line replacement work done by JAS Group Enterprise Inc. … The West Windsor-based firm made national headlines in October when federal prosecutors charged company officials in an elaborate scheme involving Newark’s $10.2 million lead pipe project.”

BIPARTISAN LEAVE — “Bill would allow workers to take family leave to grieve death of child, pregnancy loss,” by NJ Monitor’s Sophie Nieto-Munoz: The Senate Labor Committee advanced a bipartisan bill where "workers would be eligible for bereavement leave for the death of a child, miscarriage, or stillbirth under the Family Leave Act or Temporary Disability Benefits Law. Workers could also seek bereavement leave for an unsuccessful adoption that had been pending, a pregnancy terminated for medical reasons, a failed fertility treatment, and ectopic or molar pregnancies. Spouses or domestic partners of someone who had a miscarriage or stillbirth would be eligible for the expanded bereavement leave.”

ISRAEL — "Gottheimer, Sherrill offer diverging post-Oct. 7 records on Israel," by Jewish Insider's Marc Rod: "Support from New Jersey’s sizable Jewish community could be critical in the state’s upcoming gubernatorial primary, which features Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) as early frontrunners. The two candidates’ records on Israel policy in the House — which feature notable differences — are poised to play a role in shaping the outcome of what’s set to be a highly contentious primary. Gottheimer has been among the most vocal Democrats in his support for Israel throughout his congressional career, but especially in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, breaking frequently with the Biden administration and other Democrats. Sherrill’s record, some Jewish leaders in the state tell Jewish Insider, is more mixed."

GOV RACE GETS CRISPI — Conservative podcaster forms exploratory committee for governor, by POLITICO's Daniel Han: Mike Crispi, a conservative podcaster who ran for Congress two years ago, is launching an exploratory committee to run for governor. The move suggests that the GOP field for governor — which already includes four major candidates — could soon become more crowded. And it adds another pro-Trump candidate in a race where support for the president-elect has been an early theme. “Our Gubernatorial Exploratory Committee has already begun speaking with grassroots activists, local elected officials and party leaders at every level of government, including nationally to identify the right course ahead,” Crispi said in a statement.

— Gov. Phil Murphy got a briefing this week from the head of Homeland Security about drones flying over the state from which there is “no known thread.”

— “NJ student test scores improve, but not back to pre-pandemic levels”

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BIDEN TIME

TICK DOCK — “NJ port workers' contract talks stuck over adding automation as January deadline nears,” by NorthJersey.com’s Daniel Munoz: “Talks between the United States Maritime Alliance and the International Longshoremen’s Association have broken down in recent weeks over the issue of introducing more automation at East Coast ports, including the Port of New York and New Jersey, just a month and a half ahead of a new deadline — and potential new strike.”

LOCAL

RUNNING FOR A SECOND JAIL TERM — “Judge doesn't dismiss indictment against former Paterson mayor Torres,” by NorthJersey.com’s Joe Malinconico: "Convicted former mayor Jose 'Joey' Torres has failed to convince a judge to dismiss an indictment pending against him, setting up a possible trial on a criminal charge that comes with a maximum 18-month prison sentence.

In a ruling made public on Thursday, Superior Court Judge Marilyn Clark determined there was sufficient probable cause for the indictment, which accuses Torres of violating his 2017 guilty plea by trying to submit a nominating petition to run for mayor in 2022 after he was already banned from holding public office.

'I reach this legal conclusion and cite the state’s argument that it is disingenuous for Jose Torres to assert that he knew he could not hold public office again but was not prohibited from gathering over 1,100 signatures on the petition, and then presenting same to the City Clerk for filing, thereby placing him on the mayoral ballot in the general election,' Clark said in her ruling."

Billions in spending. Critical foreign aid. Immigration reform. The final weeks of 2024 could bring major policy changes. Inside Congress provides daily insights into how Congressional leaders are navigating these high-stakes issues. Subscribe today.

SCHOOL BAND AID FORMULA — “Toms River schools hope Trenton will offer more money, but might have to sell land instead,” by Asbury Park Press’ Jean Mikle: “Toms River Regional schools are still in funding limbo as the district waits to see if pending legislation could help close a $12.4 million budget gap, or if it might have to turn to a real estate sale.”

SUPERFLOOD SITE — “Amid Newark building boom, Passaic River flooding poses threat,” by Mark J. Bonamo for NJ Monitor, with photos from Thomas E. Franklin: “Tanisha Garner, a resident of Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood, is raising her three daughters in an apartment building steps from the Passaic River, the environmentally damaged river that looks like the neck and right shoulder of New Jersey’s largest city on a map … But when Garner stares at the river yards from her front door, she wonders whether people should live by the Passaic at all, especially when it floods. ‘When it rains hard around here, the water accumulates, the flooding goes up against the infrastructure, the water is not properly drained, so there are areas of the Ironbound where you need a boat,’ Garner said. ‘It smells like garbage, sewage, and fish. It’s so much that you can’t always pinpoint what kind of odor it is, except that it definitely comes from the river.’”

— “County claims airport inspection ‘obstruction’; owner says nope.”

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EVERYTHING ELSE

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