First, let me make this much clear: The odds that the Assembly votes to impeach Attorney General Matt Platkin are virtually nil.
One Democratic leader in a position to know, who did not want to go on the record, made that clear to me. Assembly Republicans’ impeachment resolution is a sort of throw-everything-at-the-wall effort that lists a lot of criticism of Platkin’s office but nothing that can realistically be construed as a crime. And Democrats aren’t going to want to provoke progressives more than they already have by going after the official who is effectively New Jersey Democrats' point man against President Trump.
And has anyone even been impeached in New Jersey before? I reached out to two New Jersey constitutional experts — Ronald Chen and John Farmer Jr. — and neither could recall an instance.
But don’t mistake the lack of will to impeach Platkin for Democratic support. Top Democrats’ silence in response to the GOP impeachment resolution tells you all you need to know about how they feel about him. I asked the assembly speaker and senate president about it. Both declined to comment. I asked the governor's office, a spokesperson for which in a statement dismissed the resolution as a “political stunt” but didn’t proactively add any defense of Platkin. (I didn’t specifically ask them if they thought the criticism was fair). Sen. Andy Kim has had the most forceful defense of Platkin.
And progressive leaders who sent a letter to all 120 lawmakers urging them to stick up for Platkin? “As far as I saw in my inbox, it didn’t get any response from Democrats or Republicans,” Antoinette Miles of the New Jersey Working Families Party, who helped organize it, told me.
This is another sore point between progressives and Democratic officials. It has been the party’s left flank, not conservatives, who were the loudest opposition to Democratic lawmakers paring down OPRA, gutting campaign finance laws and defending the county line. But with a new governor coming, Democrats are probably more inclined to wait this one out.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “If possible, I’m asking you to temporarily switch your party affiliation from Republican to Democrat so you can vote for my Assembly candidates. If you’d like, I will help switch you back to Republican the day after the primary.” — Union City Mayor/state Sen. Brian Stack, in a letter to registered Republicans in his district
WHAT TRENTON MADE
BARAKA — A proudly progressive mayor running for NJ governor could be getting an unlikely boost from Trump, by POLITICO’s Madison Fernandez and Daniel Han: Newark Mayor Ras Baraka is making a bet on progressivism in the race for governor of New Jersey. President Donald Trump seems to be helping his cause. Baraka, the longtime mayor of New Jersey’s most populous city, is one of six candidates running for the Democratic nod in this year’s high-stakes race for governor. He is one of the most progressive elected Democrats in the nation — and is leaning into those liberal values and an anti-Trump messaging strategy in an attempt to stand out from the field. It could be paying off. … His repeated attacks on Trump and Trump’s policies — especially moves on immigration — appear to be buoying Baraka’s candidacy. And Baraka thinks that’s proof other members of his party are approaching the Trump era all wrong. “I think that they’re playing into the national kind of sentiment, the Democratic sentiment that Trump has won and we need to placate him and move toward the middle,” Baraka said in an interview. “I think that’s wrong — a losing strategy. I think it’s a losing strategy in New Jersey in November, and it’s a losing strategy in the country during the midterms.”
R.I.P. — “Newark detective shot to death in car, 2nd officer wounded. 14-year-old charged with murder,” by NJ Advance Media’s AJ McDougall and Anthony Attrino: “A Newark police detective investigating a group believed to have illegal guns Friday night was shot to death before he could get out of his vehicle and a second officer was wounded, authorities said. A 14-year-old, whose name was not released because of his age, is facing charges of murder, attempted murder and weapons offenses. Five people are in custody and being questioned … Joseph Azcona, 26, a five-year veteran of the department, was pronounced dead at University Hospital in Newark early Saturday. Azcona was surrounded by his mother, father and five brothers, officials said during a press conference Saturday morning. ‘He was shot before he even had the opportunity to leave his police car,’ said Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens. The second officer wounded in the shooting is expected to recover, officials said.”
WHEN YOU HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT GETTING SUED OVER A BAD POLL — “Monmouth University will shutter its gold-standard polling institute,” by New Jersey Globe’s Joey Fox and David Wildstein: “Monmouth University is planning to imminently shutter its lauded polling institute, sources with direct knowledge of the matter have told the New Jersey Globe, robbing New Jersey and the nation of one of its premier pollsters. Patrick Murray, the polling institute’s director, declined to comment. A Monmouth University press contact did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Murray, a former pollster at the Rutgers University Eagleton Poll, left to join Monmouth University in 2005, and in the following 20 years built the university’s fledgling polling institute into one of the most well-respected pollsters in the nation. The institute, which conducted polls of both New Jersey races and national elections, was consistently rated as an A+ pollster by FiveThirtyEight and was treated as New Jersey’s “gold standard” poll. But in recent years, sources told the Globe, administrators at Monmouth University had begun considering whether the polling institute was worth continuing to support. Some university leaders felt it was losing too much money while not attracting enough students, and any poll that Monmouth released that ultimately ended up being inaccurate — always a hazard of the polling trade — was seen as a possible stain on the university’s image.”
TRUMPED — “Trump casts a long shadow over a governor’s race,” by The New York Times’ Tracey Tully: “There are plenty of thorny policy issues facing the next governor of New Jersey. Housing and health care costs are high. Mass transit is on the ropes. Schools are among the most segregated in the country, and sea levels along the state’s 130-mile coastline are rising. But on the campaign trail, nearly all the candidates in both parties have been forced to focus heavily on another topic altogether: President Trump. He has dominated the rhetoric at Republican and Democratic debates. His photograph has been featured prominently in ads for candidates competing for their party’s nomination in June. At forums that draw each side’s most energized base of supporters, he is either the standard-bearer or the bête noir. Some candidates have even laced their comments with curse words in an apparent effort to emulate Mr. Trump’s blunt speaking style.”
SERVICE TO AUTOMATICALLY IMPROVE BY 3% EACH YEAR — “NJ Transit proposes $3.2 billion budget with automatic 3% fare hike,” by NJ Advance Media’s Larry Higgs: “NJ Transit has proposed a $3.2 billion operating budget for the 2026 fiscal year budget that for the first time would include an automatic 3% fare hike to take effect this year. The budget represents a 5% increase from the current spending plan. It has several firsts, including the first revenues from Gov. Phil Murphy’s Corporate Transit Fee, which allowed NJ Transit to avoid a predicted fiscal cliff of $766 million. NJ Transit riders will see the first annual automatic 3% fare increase, joining drivers who are also paying more.”
CASSINO ON CASINOS — “Majority of people in NJ favor limits on sports betting ads, poll finds,” by The Record’s Daniel Munoz: “The new FDU poll, whose results were released Friday, found that 76% of New Jersey voters favor a limit on gambling ads. Majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independent voters all felt the same way. Men and women, and Black, white and Hispanic voters all also agreed that there ought to be limits, as did voters in every age group … ‘If either party is looking for a slam dunk issue in New Jersey, this is it,’ said Dan Cassino, executive director of the FDU Poll.”
SHOWCASE SHOWDOWN — “How a showcase prosecution collapsed for New Jersey's AG,” by Law360’s George Woolston: “New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin took a risk that backfired when he used over 100 pages to lay out his case accusing George E. Norcross III, one of the Garden State's most influential businessmen, of leading a racketeering enterprise to deepen his commercial footprint in a struggling city. Former prosecutors and white collar trial attorneys say Mercer County Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw's decision last week to toss the high-profile corruption case in its entirety, ruling that the state failed to allege a single crime in the indictment's 112 pages, was a "self-inflicted wound" by the government that now will be difficult to heal on appeal. The loss for Platkin's office may also be a setback to his career, as he's now facing an ouster bid by critics who liken the Norcross indictment to weaponization of his authority. ‘The dismissal was a self-inflicted wound on the part of the government because of their decision to not only use a speaking indictment — which is kind of a tool that prosecutors can deploy — but to use it full bore,’ said Daniel H. Ahn, former prosecutor and partner in Reed Smith LLP's regulatory and investigations practice group.”
CALIFORNIA DECODED: The technology industry and its key characters are driving the national political narrative right now, but it is also a uniquely California story. To understand how the Golden State is defining tech policy and politics within its borders and beyond, we’ve launched POLITICO Pro Technology: California Decoded. This new daily newsletter will track how industry players in Silicon Valley are trying to influence state and national lawmakers – and how government officials are encouraging or foiling those figures. Sign up now to get a limited, free trial of this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox.
ARE YOU TELLING ME THESE MOMS ARE NOT ACTUALLY FOR LIBERTY? — “Park Ridge church receives threats after Moms for Liberty posts photo of its Pride flag,” by The Record’s Matt Cortina and Philip DeVencentis: “The First Congressional United Church of Christ in Park Ridge told its congregation this weekend that it had received threats stemming from a social media post by the head of the Bergen County chapter of Moms for Liberty, a group known for opposing inclusive curricula in school and supporting book bans. The post by local chapter chair Alexandra Bougher, later deleted, included a photo of the church's Progress Pride flag and commentary from Bougher suggesting that it promotes pedophilia. The flag in question is an intersex inclusive Progress Pride flag, but the post — and many of its comments — suggested that it included support for ‘minor-attracted persons,’ which is not true. In its statement, the church said it alerted authorities when 'one commentator suggested the only way to deal with us was with "gasoline and a match."' ... Neither Bougher nor anyone from the national headquarters of Moms for Liberty responded to multiple requests for comment."
SPARKLING WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE — “Pellegrini suit alleging Hoboken corruption dismissed after his embezzlement plea,” by Hudson County View’s John Heinis: “Former Hoboken Health and Human Services Director Leo Pellegrini’s civil lawsuit alleging quid pro quo, retaliation, and defamation has been dismissed following his guilty plea to embezzlement in December … The lawsuit made allegations of quid pro quo, retaliation, and defamation related to Mayor Ravi Bhalla and his administration. In one instance, the suit claimed that a cannabis dispensary, Nature’s Touch, was never allowed to open since it was too close to Story Dispensary, which is located in a building co-owned by Jaclyn Fulop, the wife of Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop. ‘For years the Hudson County machine and power brokers in NJ have tried every dirty trick imaginable to damage my reputation and as time goes on again and again we see that what they say is just false. I knew from the beginning this was another political stunt and I’m glad the public can now see that clearly,’ Mayor Fulop told HCV.”
CARDINAL SIN — “The Catholic church's secret quest to quash clergy abuse investigation,” by The Record’s Deena Yellin: “Among the details revealed by the court documents is that even as a flurry of briefings were submitted to the trial court, more than 550 phone calls had come into the state's 24-hour Task Force hotline with callers 'who alleged sexual, physical, verbal and mental abuse by clergy dating back to the 1940s and continuing to the recent past. The calls also detailed actions by Church officials to conceal misconduct, such as shuffling accused priests among parishes and promoting clergy who molested children,' according to the state's brief. At least four clergy have been arrested. ‘I'm glad the Supreme Court saw fit to release this. It should never have been sealed,’ said Mark Crawford, state director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests or SNAP. ‘The victims were starting to give up hope about the truth ever coming out.’”
KNOXIOUS — “Anthony Knox Jr.‘s tainted wrestling title epitomizes all that’s wrong in high school sports,” by NJ Advance Media’s Steve Politi: “The referee raised Anthony Knox Jr.‘s right fist in the air on Saturday afternoon as a state champion — the same fist, police say, that the wrestler used to ‘repeatedly’ punch a minor at a tournament just two weeks ago. Go ahead. Let that one sink in. Even in the win-at-all-costs culture that has swallowed high school sports in a way that has made them unrecognizable from a generation ago, the moment was hard to fathom. Is this how far an enterprise that was once built around teaching young people life values has fallen? Is this really what we want? The athletes watching at Boardwalk Hall learned some important lessons as Knox became just the fifth four-time state champion in New Jersey history. They discovered that sportsmanship is a quaint idea from another time. They saw that the right lawyer and the wrong judge can get a person out of anything.”
THINGS YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO SAY OUT LOUD — “Fulop protege who urged staff to lie to media suspended after 900k jury verdict,” by The Jersey City Times’ Aaron Morrill: “Brian Platt, a former protege of Mayor Steven Fulop, who rose to become Jersey City’s Business Administrator, has been suspended from a top job in Kansas City after a jury awarded $900,000 to an employee he fired for refusing to lie to the press. The decision to suspend Platt with pay was announced in a letter on Thursday from Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas. Lucas hired Platt in 2022 to become Kansas City city manager, the city’s highest non-elective office … According to the plaintiff and whistleblower, Chris Hernandez, who ran Kansas City’s communications office, Platt told him and several other city employees that lying to the press was a ‘legitimate media strategy’ during a 2022 staff meeting. Hernandez says he told Platt, ‘That’s not a good idea. We shouldn’t do that.’ Platt replied, ‘Why not? In Jersey, we had a mayor who would just make up numbers on the fly from the podium, and no reporters ever called him on it.’”
