More mayors for Fulop

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Good Friday morning!

Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop yesterday announced three new mayoral endorsements for his nascent 2025 Democratic gubernatorial campaign from Westfield’s Shelley Brindle, Clinton’s Janice Kovach, and Hillside’s Dahlia Vertreese.

Fulop kicked off his campaign so early that he has lots of time to wrap up little endorsements. These follow Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small.

But there might be some potential risk for mayors to come out so early. There are so many people who are at least considering running for governor in 2025, including some lawmakers, that it’s a minefield. Mayors who are dependent on a lot of state funding may want to be a little more cautious.

Which brings me to Hudson County, where most local officials jumped on the Fulop bandwagon as soon as he announced. But a couple very powerful Hudson County Democratic figures have not endorsed Fulop. One is Brian Stack, the state Senate judiciary chair and mayor of Union City who’s known for his vote-driving abilities.

Stack didn’t respond to my questions about why he hasn’t backed Fulop, but despite his powerful post in the Senate, Stack has always been mayor first and senator second. As such, he jealously guards a lot of state aide to his city. Is his reluctance to endorse Fulop related to that? Perhaps. Though I also picked up on some friction between the two five years ago, after they unsuccessfully worked together to oust Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise.

Another big Hudson County figure who hasn’t endorsed Fulop is Sen. Bob Menendez. But that, at least on its surface, is much less of a mystery.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I work on elections, and the election is June.” — Democratic political consultant James Devine seeking to delay his June 1 election fraud trial because he has to work on an election.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Allison Foley, Brian Hughes, Ritzy Moralez-Diaz, Bill Weightman. Saturday for Angela Delli Santi, Dan Golabek, Nick Mammano, Wayne Wittman. Sunday for Ray Lesniak, Darlene Tedesco-Cullen, Chris Paladino, Olivia Helck.

WHERE’S MURPHY? In New York City for a 12:45 p.m. “conversation about current issues and priorities in the Tri-State Region During the Regional Plan Association Centennial Assembly”

WHAT TRENTON MADE


0.81 MASTROS — “N.J. agrees to pay out $7.2M to cover Bridget Anne Kelly’s legal fees in Bridgegate,” by NJ Advance Media’s Ted Sherman: “Nearly three years after the U.S. Supreme Court threw out her conviction in the infamous Bridgegate scandal, the state of New Jersey has agreed to pick up the legal bills of Bridget Anne Kelly, who had been charged in the high-profile political corruption case. According to settlement documents, the state Attorney General’s Office reimbursed $7,249,424 in legal expenses incurred in the defense of the former aide to then-Gov. Chris Christie, who fired her after the inside details of the scheme came to light. Her co-defendant in the matter, meanwhile — Bill Baroni, a former Republican state senator who served as deputy executive director for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — has not been able to recover any of his legal costs in the case. Baroni sought to recoup about $4 million incurred his own legal defense, but lost a battle in federal court after he sued to have those costs covered as an employee of the bi-state agency. He is still appealing that decision.”

LAUFENBERGING ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK — Assemblymember who alleged carpenters union retaliated, placed tracking device on his car settles lawsuit, by POLITICO’s Matt Friedman: “Assemblymember Anthony Verrelli and four other former carpenters union employees have settled a yearslong lawsuit that alleged they were punished, surveilled and ultimately fired for supporting efforts to combat corruption and discrimination in the union. The terms of the lawsuit’s settlement were not disclosed … In 2018, the union fired Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters Executive Secretary John Ballantyne, leading him to file a lawsuit alleging it was in retaliation for blowing the whistle on financial malfeasance by George Laufenberg, who oversaw the regional council’s pension funds. Ballantyne’s lawsuit was quickly settled. Laufenberg eventually pleaded guilty to embezzling $140,000 and making false statements to the Department of Labor, and was sentenced in November to six months home confinement and three years probation. All of the plaintiffs — Verrelli, Ballantyne’s son Justin, Alex Lopez, Vanessa Salazar and Susan Schultz — were allies of Ballantyne who were fired in March 2020. They alleged the union used the coronavirus as cover to remove them because of their alliance with Ballantyne and other efforts that drew the ire of union leaders.”

EDUCATION _ “New Jersey Board of Education sets lower high school exit exam passing score after narrow vote,” by Chalkbeat’s Jessie Gomez: “After months of deliberation and recommendations from New Jersey’s top education officials, the State Board of Education voted to lower the high school exit exam passing score, a requirement for graduation. On Wednesday, board members voted 6-5 to lower the New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment passing score in the English language arts and math portions of the test to 725, down from the original 750 scores. The new scores apply to the classes of 2024 and 2025 and will allow more students to meet graduation requirements next school year, according to analyses provided by department official”

CLEAN UP ON AISLE PERSICHILLI — Persichilli: ‘Some restrictions’ on mifepristone would not be ‘significant’ in New Jersey, by POLITICO’s Daniel Han: Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said Thursday that “some restrictions” on mifepristone — the drug commonly used for abortions — would not have a “significant” impact in New Jersey. Persichilli made the comments when asked during a Senate budget hearing what kind of impact a possible federal court ruling restricting mifepristone could have in New Jersey … “We do not have a lack of access to mifepristone,” Persichilli said at the budget hearing. “And the impact, if there is some restrictions, will not be significant in New Jersey because of the work that the Legislature has done over the past year to protect the reproductive rights of women. Nancy Kearney, a spokesperson for the Department of Health, later clarified that the commissioner’s remarks only applied to whether there were “some restrictions” of the drug, but that “an outright ban could have different outcomes for our state.”

—“NJ Transit struggles to regain riders after pandemic”

—“No dedicated funding source for NJ Transit this year, budget chair says”

—“NJDOT and NJMVC to get more in Murphy’s proposed budget. Here’s how they want to spend it”

—“New group will zero in on collaboration between cops and community groups, AG announces”

—“Del Borrello calls DeSilvio’s attack on operating engineers ‘desperate’”

BIDEN TIME


EVESHAME — “Marlton man admits role in U.S. Capitol riot,” by The Courier-Post’s Jim Walsh: “An Evesham man has pleaded guilty to taking part in the January 2021 Capitol riot. Michael Gianos was accused of entering the Capitol after investigators found incriminating text messages on the phone of another riot suspect, Lawrence Stackhouse, 35, of Blackwood … Gianos sent messages to two Facebook users that described his presence in Pelosi’s office … One day after the riot, Gianos told Stackhouse he had deleted videos from the Capitol intrusion and expressed strong disapproval of the government, the statement says. Similarly, a prosecution filing says, Myers texted Stackhouse, ‘Don’t tell anyone you were there. Just move forward and we will deal with whatever comes our way if it happens.’”

KHAIRULLAH — “N.J. Muslim mayor denied access to White House event will still support Biden re-election,” by New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “Prospect Park Mayor Mohamed Khairullah, the longest-serving Muslim mayor in the nation, was invited last month to be at the White House for an Eid al-Fitr celebration but was disinvited just before the event. Khairullah told the New Jersey Globe that he still hasn’t received an explanation … Khairullah wouldn’t mind a meeting or phone call with Biden, “as long as we discuss the list.” “I would like to discuss this topic. I don’t need to be celebrated, I need to be heard. Khairullah said. “Somebody decided to put me on the list. There’s no due process.” He acknowledged that the list was created in 2019 — before Biden took office.”

—“Menendez slams decision to send troops to the southern border”

—“N.J. congressional delegation asks N.Y. governor to stop N.Y.C.’s planned $23 commuter fee”

LOCAL


R.I.P. — “Newark mayor: ‘Whole city is hurting’ after adult, 8-year-old boy die of gunshots,” by WNYC’s Elizabeth Shwe: “Officials are investigating Wednesday night’s fatal shootings of a man and 8-year old child in Newark, as well as the police shooting of a man authorities say was armed and fleeing when officers responded. Another person in the home was also shot, but survived and was in stable condition at University Hospital Thursday afternoon, according to Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. Authorities have not yet released the names of anyone involved in the incident. “Our whole city is hurting today after the tragic shooting,” Baraka said.”

PATRONAGE PARK — “Palisades Park police harmed by political influence and lack of leadership, report says,” by The Record’s Kristie Cattafi: “The borough’s Police Department is plagued with heavy political influence and a lack of leadership and procedures, an assessment conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office has found. The report found that most officers have contributed to or worked with political organizations within the borough, and that those same officers believed the “political influences had done immense harm” to the department. Officers told Prosecutor’s Office investigators the influence has made it difficult to supervise, manage and appropriately discipline officers, as politics affected many of these decisions … The Prosecutor’s Office found Borough Administrator David Lorenzo’s ‘persistent interference’ in the running of the Police Department “improper and highly distracting” to its leadership.”

PATERSON TAX BASE FALLS — “As development surges in Paterson, why is the tax base falling?” by The Paterson Press’ Joe Malinconico: “Amid a massive building boom that the mayor says has produced $1.5 billion in new investment in Paterson, city officials are projecting that the municipal tax base will decline in 2023 for the third straight year. The seemingly incongruous situation of new construction rising while the city’s ratables are falling comes at a time when several hundred developments in Paterson have gotten tax breaks, many under the state’s 2013 ‘Growth Zone’ law, designed to spur investments in some of the state’s struggling urban areas. Paterson has more than 425 developments on the books with abatements, which allow those property owners to avoid paying full or partial taxes on new construction, according to lists contained in the city’s annual state aid application. Those projects include more than 120 with 20-year abatements and about 290 with five-year tax breaks.”

—“This is what Paterson police’s new top cop has planned for troubled department,”

ROBERT’S RULES OF DISORDER — “N.J. superintendent quits in fiery resignation letter, says school board created ‘toxic’ environment,” by NJ Advance Media’s Brianna Kudisch: “The superintendent of a Morris County district — who was placed on paid administrative leave last fall and filed a lawsuit against school board members — has resigned. Mount Olive Superintendent Robert Zywicki submitted his resignation, effective immediately, to the district’s board of education last week. He had led the district since 2018 and was earning $238,000 a year when the school board placed him on paid leave in October for unspecified reasons. In his April 27 resignation letter, Zywicki said some board members have ‘personal grudges’ against him and ‘constructively discharged’ him from his position … ‘I will no longer fight for a job that has been spoiled for me. I will no longer watch this Board waste of hundreds of thousands of dollars of the taxpayers’ hard earned dollars paying legal fees to Mr. Zitomer,’ Zywicki said in the resignation letter.”

NESTLE WILL CRUNCH THE NUMBERS — “Freehold’s Nestlé factory faces uncertain future; over 200 jobs in jeopardy,” by News 12’s Jim Murdoch and Lanette Espy: “For more than 70 years the smell of coffee helped wake up folks in Freehold - and it didn’t come from their kitchen. The smell came from the Nestlé Instant Coffee factory. But now, the future of this plant is uncertain. Several people contacted News 12 New Jersey about the possibility of the Freehold factory closing. More than 200 employees work at the plant, and decisional bargaining talks are ongoing.”

THEY WERE PLANTING AN OLIVE GARDEN — “Pasta dump mystery deepens: Cops looking for source of ditched spaghetti and macaroni,” by NJ Advance Media’s Jackie Roman: “Local police are investigating the mysterious dumping of 15 wheelbarrow loads of pasta along a creek in a residential section of Old Bridge last week, officials said. Police were contacted after local officials learned of the piles of pasta April 28 from photos circulated on several local Facebook groups, said Himanshu Shah, Old Bridge’s business administrator. The town’s Department of Public Works cleaned up the pasta. ‘DPW visited the site and did in fact find what appeared to be 15 wheel barrel loads of illegal dumped pasta along a creek in a residential neighborhood,’ Shah said in a statement … It is unclear if the pasta — which appeared in the photos to be spaghetti and macaroni — was already cooked or if it had been left at the site uncooked and softened when it was exposed to moisture.”

—“Hoboken City Council pulls 3rd attempt at rent control amendments this year”

—“Meet Monroe Township’s newest council member”

—“Who contaminated Hercules site in Roxbury? Developer points finger at Dover dirt”

—“Pop-up party organizer banned from planning in Seaside; must get permit first”

—“Big Bang’s Horn Antenna won’t disappear from Holmdel, but developer considers moving it”

EVERYTHING ELSE


SISTER ANTI-DISCRIMINATION ACT — “Did Catholic school have the right to fire unmarried pregnant teacher? N.J. Supreme Court to decide,” by NJ Advance Media’s Ted Sherman: “Sister Theresa Lee felt she had no choice but to fire Victoria Crisitello. Two weeks after disclosing that she was pregnant, the unmarried art teacher was terminated from her job at St. Theresa’s School in Kenilworth for defying the school’s moral code and Catholic tenets. At a deposition after the matter landed in court, the principal of the school testified that Crisitello had been let go for allegedly violating the Archdiocese Code of Ethics by ‘having fornication and not being married.’ But the teacher’s lawyer, along with experts on the First Amendment and the New Jersey attorney general say Crisitello was simply a victim of discrimination … How the case ultimately plays out could have major implications over the statute barring employment discrimination.”

—“NJ has high-paying constructions jobs. So why are so few women training for them?”

—“Kim wades into Philly mayoral race”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of New Jersey Playbook incorrectly stated Sen. Brian Stack’s next election year.