9 Burst results for "George Norcross"
On The Media
"george norcross" Discussed on On The Media
"Buildings or free rent for businesses that were willing to invest in Camden. That's what he told me when I talked to him in 2019. There is not been a single person. That I have seen or read anywhere that with fact has suggested that what's going on in the resurgence in Camden, it's been going on over the last 7 years. Is anything but extraordinary and spectacular? But when Jeff pellets and I visited the waterfront, there was something missing in all the fancy development there. The people who actually live in the city. Oh, here comes the streetcar. Every ten minutes, an empty streetcar passes by. On the line meant to bring people down to the river. I didn't see a single. The median household income in America is more than $67,000 a year. In Camden, it's 28,000. That means half of all the households in Camden make less than that. Massive amounts of state and federal aid haven't done much for the residents of this city. And government entities, once owned much of the land on the waterfront, including the L three complex, the subject of the dispute between the norcross brothers and the nonprofit developer. In the letter I sent George and Phil norcross, I asked why they intervened in the L three deal. My name is Dan fee. With me is built in busy set as built. I had an hour long video call with his lawyers. In House counsel for Cooper. What cross was there? He didn't speak, and he three lawyers and two spokespeople didn't turn on their cameras. Attorney Michael Critchley did most of the talking. But they didn't want to talk about the L three deal. What we're talking about is if you're going to be fair, make sure you emphasize that you have no evidence whatsoever that George norcross at anything to do with the Sherman's murder investigation, that tragedy, that tragedy. And I don't want to get this to be adversary because if anyone even suggests intimates are infers, obliquely directly indirectly, that George New York cross was somehow involved. And John Sherwin's Joyce chardin's tragic death, the next letter you received for me as a litigation hold, notice. I had to look that up. It's when you get a letter saying you're about to be sued and you're legally required to keep documents. Suffice to say, they're not happy I'm talking about norcross. And they wanted me to agree to say on the podcast that I have no evidence that George norcross was involved in the Sheridan deaths. If you're not going to give me that commitment, I would recommend we terminate this proceeding. Other than that, it's just waste of time. I told them I would consider it, but without a promise, the meeting ended abruptly. I think we're finished. I mean, we clearly and I never got to ask my questions of George norcross. Thank you. Thank you. But fair enough, I'll say it. I don't have any evidence that George norcross had anything
On The Media
"george norcross" Discussed on On The Media
"Wherever you get podcasts. This is on the media. I'm Brooke gladstone, and this is the conclusion of our excerpts from dead end, a New Jersey political murder mystery. Here's the host of the podcast Nancy Solomon. Jeff pellets is an investigative reporter who has been watching the political players in south Jersey for decades. Together, we spent months digging into the documents left on the Sheridan, dining room table. They detail a dispute over the sale of L three. The building on the campton waterfront. Cooper's ferry partnership had a contract to buy it at a very good price. But George norcross and his brother Phil informed the leaders of the nonprofit that they wanted to choose, who would buy the property. That led to a series of emails where the nonprofit asked John Sheridan for his help. What happened then in the subsequent months according to these documents is Cooper's ferry did everything they possibly could to fight off George Nord crosses. Aligned companies from taking it over. As Jeff pellets and I dug into the documents, we could see it all came to a head in April 2014. A memo in John Sheridan's handwriting details a call with the two top guys at Cooper's ferry partnership. The local nonprofit developer, they'd had a meeting with Phil norcross, and were asking for Sheridan's help. If you're looking for the fingerprints of the party boss, George norcross, this memo pretty much has it on here, the Cooper's ferry people, these executives are telling Sean Sheridan Phil says we're persona non grata. Then he says, they have to get out of the real estate business. So basically, you have, according to this document, you have Phil norcross George norcross telling the chief nonprofit developer in town, you can't be in the real estate business. I recently sent letters to George and Phil norcross, and asked them whether they said the Cooper's very executives would be persona non grata. And if they did, what did they mean? They didn't address that question. These guys have no official position, but this is evidence. Of some nature that they want to control. What happens in this town? And that they are controlling what happened in this town. So that leads to really only a week or two later. John Sheridan has a meeting at Parker McKay, the law office of Phil norcross. This is about what time this is now. This is now may 5th 2014. 2014. At 12 O 7 p.m. I happen to know. Because it has because he put his visitor sticker from Parker McKay on top of the envelope where he had scribbled notes.
On The Media
"george norcross" Discussed on On The Media
"John Sheridan decided to go work for norcross at Cooper university hospital in Camden at a curious time. It was just months after damaging recordings of norcross came out. Dubbed the Palmyra tapes, the recordings caught him bullying and offering a favor to a small town official. He also boasted about his power. I said, you have to understand something. I'm not going to tell you this talk to insult you. You have to understand something. I'm not going to tell you this to insult you. They're all going to be with me. But in the end, the greaves, the core designs, they're all going to be with me. Because they like me. But because they have no choice. Not because they like me, but because they have no choice. For the New Jersey and initiated, those are two of our former governors. It was a pretty big story in New Jersey, and yet just months after the tapes went public, John Sheridan agreed to go work for norcross at Cooper university hospital. I was curious to know what his son Mark thought about it. He didn't express any concerns about George norcross reputation. I mean, this is now post the Palmyra tapes and, you know, people know what kind of an operator he is at this point. So I asked him about that. He had this view that George's bark was worse than his bite. And that George really was working to redo his image and wanted to fix Camden, the Nordic cross family had a long storied history in Camden and my dad believed George generally wanted to fix it. And I think that's been borne out. George E norcross the third was born in Camden, and grew up in Pennsylvania, a blue collar town right next door. He's 66. A few years ago, he was said to be worth $245 million. He owns a multi-million dollar insurance brokerage that does a very lucrative business with government entities all over New Jersey. Norcross didn't run for office, but he hand picked candidates, raised money for them, and hired expert campaign consultants and pollsters. By the 1990s, nor cross had a network across south Jersey, who owed him. Mares and people who served on city councils, school boards, and even the state legislature. There's nothing harder to do in politics than they ask somebody for money. Micah Rasmussen is the director at the center for politics at writer university. But he's not just an academic. He ran local campaigns in south Jersey. He worked in the state legislature, and he worked for a governor. Throughout it all, he saw how norcross became powerful by raising campaign cash for local candidates. There's nothing more on pleasure. Unless you're good at it, unless you're just masterful at it, as nor cross is. The politicians who took norcross money, they could be independent, as long as they voted with the boss on the things he cared about. You knew the votes that were important, who was going to be the speaker of the assembly. Who was going to be the Senate president. Who was going to wield the power. Those were votes where you, that came with the bargain. The strategy worked. In 2009, the norcross allies elected Steve Sweeney, president of the state Senate. That's the most powerful person in the state legislature, and makes him second only to the governor's statewide. That meant Sweeney could control what bills came up for a vote and who would serve on which committees. The relationship between Sweeney and norcross is often boiled down in news articles to one phrase Sweeney, the childhood friend of norcross. But I got my hands on an email chain from 2014 that showed the kind of power that norcross held over Sweeney. In the thread, Sweeney received a list of bills from his assistant that are ready to be put up for a vote. He forwarded the list to norcross with a note, is there anything on this list that bothers you? In a one word reply nor cross approved Sweeney putting the bills
On The Media
"george norcross" Discussed on On The Media
"Listener supported WNYC studios. Earlier this year, the New Jersey attorney general opened up an investigation into the killings of John and Joyce Sheridan, a well-known couple with personal ties to three governors. In 2014, they were found stabbed to death, and their homes set on fire. This morning, the mystery deepens over the death of John and Joyce Sheridan, a prominent New Jersey couple with powerful connections and close friends of governor Chris Christie. The first responders who came into the door, the Sheridan home early the morning of September 28th, found what could only be described as a house of horror. Local police thought that John Sheridan murdered his wife and then killed himself. That was 8 years ago. So why is the attorney general revisiting the case now? Well, this year, our WNYC colleague Nancy Solomon released an investigation into their brutal deaths and found damning evidence of corruption at the highest levels in the garden state. The series is called dead end, a New Jersey, political murder mystery. I'm a big show out on Friday, you'll hear an hour of that spellbinding coverage. But in this midweek podcast, I wanted to hear why after 20 years of reporting on New Jersey politics, Nancy made the show at all. The idea first occurred to her in 2019. She was working on a project with ProPublica, and she found that a tax break program was being exploited by a powerful family in Camden, New Jersey. During that reporting, she realized there was more to the Sheridan killings than the public had been told. But that thought didn't make it into that story. Instead, she focused on the political corruption. I'd spend a whole year working on that reporting. And it never really broke through. It never had what we call legs. It didn't feel like it went anywhere. And that it got the kind of attention that I had hoped it would get. Those are hard stories to tell because they're very document driven and us radio people we love good tape. And I didn't have a lot of good tape. And so those stories were just a bit dry and long and complicated. And so it just left me kind of a little frustrated by the end of the year. You said it was a yearlong project. And you were looking into many party bosses. But you ended up focusing on the nor cross brothers, right? Yes. George norcross was often described by the press as quote one of the most powerful Democrats in New Jersey. Is that phrase straightforward? Or is that code for something? I don't think it's code necessarily. I think it's true, but it doesn't really tell you anything. And I think for many years, I wondered what exactly that meant. You know, okay, so he's powerful. I get that, but how? What kind of power does he have? What levers of power is he able to pull on? And how did he get to be so powerful? Okay, so that started out as a story of outrageous conflict of interest and corruption and a tax break program in the poorest city in America. Somehow you found yourself staring down an old double murder case. And that is what dead end is about. And in order to tell the old story and the murder story together, you landed on a new format true crime. And that was a conscious decision because you love true crime. That's right. I guess my very first experience with detective stories was Nancy Drew, who I adored when I was a kid, especially since my name is Nancy. That sort of thing matters a lot. I thought those books were written for me. And in more recent years, I'm just a complete Scandinavian noir nerd. And I like in a true crime podcast. So all that was rumbling around in my mind in terms of what I actually consume as a reader and a watcher and a listener. So I realized that if I could hook an audience with a compelling murder mystery, then maybe they would stay along for the ride to understand the political corruption at work behind and connected in some ways to the murder mystery. You know, this spring as we geared up and got ready to launch the podcast. I would lie awake in bed in the middle of the night. Worrying that the audience was going to drop off as soon as we left the murder mystery and tried to explain the political machine and the real estate deal and the tax breaks. I thought, oh, people are not just going to not listen, but they're going to be mad at me. That's what I was afraid of. But you made those inextricably intertwined. To me, they are inextricably intertwined, and that was one of the mind-blowing pieces of new information that no one had ever reported related to the Sheridan case. So, you had all this. You had the somewhat arcane story of taxes intertwined with a, let's face it, addictive mystery about terrible murder. Did this strategy of yours to apply the true crime format to a story you'd visited before? Did it work? Yeah, absolutely. I think we're thrilled with the audience numbers that we're seeing. How many listeners do you know that you've gotten? As far as I know we're up over 3 million in two months, you know, when I do a story that runs on the air, even if it runs on NPR on the national network, I'm excited if I hear from one or two people. Like, oh, I heard your story. It was so good. Blah, blah, blah. This has just been unreal. But here's the big question. This is a somewhat fraught genre. The gory details are what draw people in, but true crime can easily tilt closer to exploitation than justice. Also, the plot twists that keep people tuned in can feel manipulative and confusing, but hey, that's the price of admission, right? As long as it doesn't mislead. Now is really concerned about the Sheridan family and how they would feel about it and what it would be like for them. And so I was really super happy to hear from multiple members of that family about how pleased they were with the podcast after it came out. You know, and one of the other issues is, you know, we thought long and hard about whether we would insert the usual narrative tool that many mysteries engage in, which is the red herring. They present a solution to the crime that starting to look like, oh, that must be it. You get really drawn in like, that's the guy who did it. And it's looking like it's going that way. And, oh, I'm so smart because I'm figuring this out ahead of what they're telling me. And then of course it turns out not to be true. And that person, whatever has an alibi or didn't do it, and you move on to the next red herring. And I really did want it to unfold like a murder mystery, but I just couldn't, as a journalist, I couldn't put information into the podcast that I knew was not true. I just couldn't live with that. So there were, there were limits to how far we were willing to go. When our producer asked you, if there was anything about dead end that you didn't want to give away in this conversation, you mentioned feeling a little conflicted about that.
On The Media
"george norcross" Discussed on On The Media
"George norcross spoke at the sheridans memorial. Bob Stephens, the husband of Joyce's close friend Chris, was taken aback. That was the first time I saw nor cross, and that was the first time I said, jeez, John was dealing with norcross there. I didn't know that. And I knew nor across his name and probably not in a good sense. Bob watched as his wife offered a eulogy for Joyce Sheridan. He had been an assistant attorney general. So he knew what to expect when his wife told everyone at the memorial that she had had a three hour lunch at the Tiger's tale with Joyce just a day and a half before her death. And I thought I'm sitting there right behind her because she needed my support. Especially when she saw a cane Christie, you know, and everybody there and Christy Whitman. Two former governors and the current one. She was sitting next to Christy Whitman. They got all great. But as soon as she said, when I had lunch with Joyce, two days before she was killed, and I don't know if I even remembered what she said after that. I said, well, she just sealed your fate. You're going to be brought down and questions. Not for the suspect, but for information. So after the memorial, bob canceled the rest of his work day and drove his wife home. He was certain that detectives would be waiting for them on their doorstep. And nobody was there, and I would think that they'd want to see what Joyce said. And she's complain about John's that weren't getting along or the three hour lunch. Joyce probably wouldn't have said much, but she might have said something. But they didn't know Joyce could have said, John, John's been crazy. He's on medication. He's nuts, you know? That maybe he's not feeling well and he's hallucinating. But you don't know what. So you follow the leads. Never did it. And right away from the lack of contact by the prosecutor's office, I knew right away that they didn't do a good investigation..
WABE 90.1 FM
"george norcross" Discussed on WABE 90.1 FM
"Message from the United Nations which is running this climate summit in Glasgow that's NPR's Frank Langford with me here in Scotland Thanks Frank Good to talk Our cup 26 coverage this week from Glasgow was produced by Noah Caldwell and Mia vin cat with editing by Ashley Brown You're listening to all things considered from NPR news Today in New Jersey the Republican challenger for governor has conceded the race to democratic incumbent Phil Murphy But the second most powerful Democrat in the state the president of the state Senate was toppled by an unknown truck driver with a sordid history of offensive tweets from member station WNYC Nancy Solomon reports on the race that turned out to be the real stunner in New Jersey Republican Edward dirt drives a furniture delivery truck for work and a Harley for fun He only spent a few $1000 on the race standing outside his small blue House He says he was utterly surprised It didn't happen because of me I'm nobody I'm absolutely nobody I'm just a simple guy It was the people That nobody and a surge of Republican voters in south Jersey took down Steve Sweeney a barrel chested bear of a man who ruled the state Senate for 12 years He was the top lieutenant for the most powerful Democratic Party boss in New Jersey if not the whole country George norcross runs a political machine that had the largest voting block in the state legislature and Sweeney kept them in line I think Steve Smith lost mostly because the south stars in the machine did not run a campaign They didn't spend any money They didn't try Sue Altman is director of New Jersey working families alliance She lives in Camden the heart of the norcross empire And she's been a thorn in his side Norcross and Sweeney worked closely with Republican governor Chris Christie and later blocked many initiatives of the progressive governor Phil Murphy They're not super enthusiastic about Murphy's second term We know based on their path history that they work just fine Thank you very much with Republican governors A week before the election Sweeney said he thought Murphy's double digit lead was going to be much smaller But Elizabeth Trinidad a democratic voter and a lawyer and Sweeney's district says Sweeney didn't seem concerned about his own reelection There was no getting out the vote presents It would have been noticeable No door knocking few lawn signs and nary a robocall They didn't even publicize something opposition researchers would have readily found about the Republican truck driver a history of racist and islamophobic posts on Twitter But Trinidad says without Donald Trump on the ballot and the governor leading by double digits in the polls Democrats had less reason to vote You know it's not like I've run into people you know at the post office at the grocery store and everybody's complaining about Steven Sweeney That's not the case But Republicans were motivated Party turnout in the district was way up Republican operative Steve kush worked in the district Well I can sum this up in four words Phil Murphy Joe Biden Sweeney lost by a little more than 2000 votes Nor cross told a few newspapers that the losses show governor Murphy and the Democratic Party are too far to the left But locals in south Jersey like Logan township mayor Frank miner say voters are fed up We want people that are not pleasant fealty to the machine anymore but people who feel to the interest and the concerns of the people who are Democrats in this region The new Republican state senator Ed de will be a backbencher in the minority party And today Democrats chose their next Senate president But this time governor Phil Murphy was at the table and that could mean he'll pivot from near defeat to a much stronger alliance than the legislature And that spells trouble for the norcross machine For NPR news I'm Nancy Solomon This is all things considered from NPR news And at 5 48 it's all things considered on 90.1 ABE where ATL meets NPR I'm Jim barres The Weeknd officially beginning and it is going to be a cold one We will detail that in just a moment but right now in Jackson watch out for construction causing delays on 85 southbound at the Jefferson Gainesville exit also in Marietta the left shoulder is blocked on 75 southbound at north myriad of Parkway due to a collision I'm Greg Dalton On the next climate one a former Patagonia executive on conscious capitalism If you could create food and fiber with regenerative farming then that creates healthy soils which pull carbon out of the air and start back.
77WABC Radio
"george norcross" Discussed on 77WABC Radio
"Here's the Globe's editor in chief, David Wildstein. Welcome back everybody. Leroy Jones is the newly elected New Jersey Democratic State chairman. It's It's an honor to have him. Mr. Chairman, How are you? I'm just fine, David. Hell he is. I'm doing well, Thank you. Chairman. The New Jersey Globe reported this week that the race for governor in 2025 has already begun. Senate President Steve Sweeney and Democratic powerbroker George Norcross went up to Hudson County to open up a line of communication there. Is it is it too early to start to 2025 campaign? Well, I certainly think so. You know, I am, you know, sharply focused on you know where we are now. This is 2021, you know, way about to move into the fall cycle of the campaign and Our Democratic Party will be, you know, staunchly moving a robust campaign to reelect. Our first Democratic governor in Brandenburg. Democrats are going to need a candidate one way or the other, either. Phil Murphy is going to be term Limited or Jack Chanterelle is going to be running for reelection. Isn't it smart for someone who wants to run for governor to start lining up support? Well, I think you know, we, you know, we have to take election by election. You know, That's how we but tried to, you know to, um put together a of an effective elections. Program, our campaign and you know what other folks are doing out there? Uh, you know, we can't allow that to deter us from the mission that had and the mission at hand, You know, it's just real simple. Re elect Bill Murphy. Uh, you know for 2021. Party chairs aren't household names. So I want to. I'm going to give some listeners and background. I'm Leroy Jones, you You're the Essex County Democratic Chairman. You were a freeholder. You and you were an assemblyman. Uh, two county chairmen get a bad rap when people throw out that term party boss. Yeah, I think that's I think that's an unfair time. Uh, you know, I don't consider myself a party boss had not traveled. Consider myself as unified. Um, we try to unify. Um people and voters, You know, around democratic principles around democratic priorities, you know that. You know the mission, you know, and that's how we grow our plug. So you know that that label bosses? Um you know, perhaps you know has evolved from yes to you, You know, But as we moved on, you know, in the current involvement of 2021. And certainly, uh, you know, under my leadership project they're going to be hopefully, a redefining of you know that that notion of bosses and I'm speaking with New Jersey Democratic State Chairman Leroy Jones. Sometimes I think, Mr Chairman, people forget that. In the 19 nineties. You were Probably one of the leading progressive voices of the New Jersey Legislature. Does it? Does it bother you that people forget the role that you played when you were in public office? Now because I haven't forgotten it And as I move about, you know my own community, which is the city of East bronze. And you know, that's what kind of, uh you know. Over the years have been expanded to The county of ethics. And now the state of New Jersey. You know, I'd get an opportunity to to let them know who I am. And you know when they understand you know what my past was, you know, back in 19 nineties. And you know, they see the progressive ideology that lasted for nothing like they get a more more of a comfort level, you know, with knowing who we were. Jones's among among many things, you you were the leading voice to stop a System called racial profiling by police officers. Yeah, I You know, I was along with, you know, just some forward thinking legislative who were concerned about their constituents who was concerned about the state. The unfortunate thing David is, you know, we're still dealing with very you know, real and similar problems that we did back in 1990. You know, George Floyd Tragedy, you know, is to positively Dad beyond Calif. The list goes on and on, you know, And it's sad that in 2021, Yeah, we're still dating, you know the issues of racial profiling and, um The misuse of law enforcement amongst particularly amongst the African American community and brand. It was yesterday, Brandon McCoy or Thursday. Brandon McCoy, who runs New Jersey policy perspective. Said that That he thought systemic racism was baked into the state budget and and took some shots at the legislative leadership. Was was he fair in saying that You know, brothers and product his opinion. You know, I'm not quite sure what you know, specific area of the budget that he was honing in on, you know, certainly love to To discuss that with him and you know, and you know there is a belief you know, on his part, given given an opportunity to discuss it. Hopefully we can come to a meeting of the minds and Try to develop as we move forward. You know something that you know Lessons is concerned in that particular area. I'm speaking with Leroy Jones, the New Jersey Democratic state chairman. Democrats haven't re elected a sitting governor since 1977 and and it seems like a long, long time ago, 44 years. You and I were both involved in politics by 77. So so we have Uh, I'm not quite sure I was all engaged. David David installed either coming out, you know about to come out of high school and you know involved evolving in the process. Yeah, It's been a long time. And you know, I am glad you know that. You know, I have the opportunity to lots of to make sure the government Governor Murphy of the elected that we You know, Elect, you know on legislators, Um, you know, up and down the state. Uh, you know, hopefully, you know, increasing majorities and you know in certain areas that are targeted And you know, and with respect to not county and local races, uh, you know, increasing Democratic majorities and democratic presence and you know, and those selected areas are going to be You know the missions that you know, we embark on in this camp old and you are also the co chairman of the Legislative Redistricting Commission. So it In addition to this year's election, you're going to be focusing, you know, I guess the process officially begins fairly soon. You're going to be focusing on drawing new legislative districts. What are what are your priorities over the next few months to to put together a map that you'll be happy with for the next 10 years? Well, as you know, we should have been, uh, you know, done with that process, but because of you know, the You know the missile? Absolutely to Washington and with the Prime administration, man differences, you know, we're not there. You know, my priority would be to to draw legislative maps that You know, preserve. Um and, you know, perhaps increased Democratic majority. Um, you know, also making sure that minority and women stop, uh, represented in you know the construction of those do not And, you know, ultimately moving over the next 10 years. You know, with a, uh, a a map that establishes that progressive agenda going forward. Aren't Republicans right in saying that they are.
WNYC 93.9 FM
"george norcross" Discussed on WNYC 93.9 FM
"C. I'm Rebecca Rivera. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy gave the final state of the state address of his first term today. And like all things during the pandemic, this one was different. Unlike previous years where the speeches delivered before the state Legislature, this one was pre recorded and streamed online. And it was delivered during an election year. W M I. C is Nancy Solomon takes a look at where the governor stands as his campaign for a second term gets under way. The last time a Democratic governor ran for re election in New Jersey. Well, let's just say it didn't go too well. Human nights ago, I called Mr Christie and congratulated him on becoming New Jersey's next governor. It was 2009. The country was in a devastating recession, and Jon Corzine had spent much of his first term fighting with Democrats in the Legislature. That sounds a lot like Murphy but might do him of Mercury Public affairs, a Republican strategist behind Christie's too successful campaigns says there's one obvious difference, I think Pandemic really defined him and gave him a chance to show leadership skills in a way that people hadn't seen prior to that to him, says the pandemic is the defining issue of Governor Phil Murphy's first term. And it considerably raised his public profile. Some 60% of New Jersey voters approve of the governor's job performance. Patrick Murray of the Monmouth University Polling Institute says If that holds, he's easily reelected if his job approval rating starts to dip below 50% Then voters will need to take a look at what the alternative is. And if the alternative ends up being too far to the right, the probably stick with Phil Murphy Murphy has been called the most progressive governor in America. Anywheres. That title is a badge of honor. But lately he's made some moves to shore up the political center, Moderate Democrats, independents and the business community. And that has angered progressive leaders like Patricia Campus. Medina. There's a group of insiders, I will say mostly men, and why males that are telling him that the way to win re election is toe move to the middle. We begin to cut deals with the machines and the county pulses as examples. Campus, Medina says Murphy allowed Democratic power brokers to take control of redrawing the Legislative district's any compromised on a bloated tax break. Bill. Environmentalists and South Jersey progressives are upset that Murphy Green lit a terminal to be built on the Delaware River. It would store Fracked Gas from Pennsylvania. Kate Delaney is president of South Jersey Progressive Democrats and has been battling the powerful George Norcross machine. She's unhappy with the governor. Not enough to pull support in order to make change in South Jersey. It really has to be, you know, a bottom up change. It really has to be in the grass roots. Even though Delaney wishes Murphy would reject the endorsement process of the county machines that gives candidates preferential treatment on the ballot. She doesn't expect him to do that. So I think that you know there's a lot of great things that the governor has done. But for South Jersey, we still need some more support. Murphy still does have support for the core of his agenda. He raised the minimum wage passed a millionaire's tax and is expected to legalize marijuana. The Reverend Charles Boyer of Salvation and Social Justice points out that Murphy was elected with 94% support from black voters. Boyer says the governor listen to his demands to ensure marijuana legalization includes reparations for black communities. And to release prisoners at risk of getting Cove it. These are all things that definitely are not popular with white voters but were necessary from a justice standpoint, Boyer hopes the governor won't do what many a Democrat has done before and take the black vote for granted. Even if Murphy doesn't he faces a different peril. Come November. Mike do Heym, The Republican strategist, says the governor's performance during the pandemic will only go so far. It's not about what people think right now is. What are people gonna be thinking in September, October November about the state of the economy, and it's the unemployment is very high. You know, that will be a problem for Governor Murphy. If it's steadily coming down, that would be another plus for Governor Murphy. New Jersey's current unemployment rate is hovering at 10%. About the same as it was when Jon Corzine was running for re election. Nancy Solomon W N. Y C news As we just mentioned Governor Murphy delivered his state of the state speech earlier today in a taped speech streamed online and here to fill us in on the details is W and my CI's Nancy Solomon, Nancy. Hello. Rebecca. Long time. No. See Nancy, We just heard you talk about the governor's reelection chances. So how did his speech today square with that? Have a little whiplash. To be honest. After Murphy spent the last several months making peace with moderates. This was not the speech I was expecting. I mean, I was expecting a campaign kickoff speech. Yes, but I was surprised with how much the governor doubled down on progressive policies. I put together a little montage, raising the minimum wage, black lives matter. Passing, earned sick leave and expanding paid family and medical jersey wind, poor environmental justice for combating senseless gun violence, the millionaire's tax and dignity. Of our LGBT Q plus community and for welcoming our immigrant communities. That almost sounds like just a checklist of standard progressive priorities, And that's not even the half of it or even a quarter. I counted 27 different policies on Def There was any doubt that this was Maura campaign speech than a state of the state. All of them were things Murphy has already entirely or partially accomplished. But that could be said of any state of the state. Right. Don't governors always run down their list of accomplishments? Sure, but they also layout policy priorities. They want the Legislature to take up in the new year, so as a comparison I counted four policies that Murphy called on the Legislature to get done this year, and none of them are necessarily knew. Also, the governor said, the phrase moving forward eight different times, which is kind of interesting since forward was President Obama's slogan for reelection in 2012. Murphy, of course, was President Obama's ambassador to Germany of though It's also worth noting he actually governed to the left of his old boss. You mentioned the initiative's Murphy wants to get done this year. What are they He wants to finish legalizing marijuana, of course, And he said last week's collapse of the deal with the Legislature on the legalization effort is just a blip in what's become a yearlong process. You're years long process he wants to complete an ethics reform package that he has already proposed. Another stalled issue is the elimination of mandatory minimum sentencing on Bob Obl E. The newest of his proposals is early voting. He wants to move to a system more like New York, where people can vote both by mail and in person in the weeks leading up to election day. Nancy, what's been the response to a speech so far. Well, you know, the one response that interested me the most came from New Jersey policy perspective. It's a progressive think tank that has mostly supported Murphy's agenda. But after the governor agreed to a $14 billion corporate tax break program last month, it's President Brandon McCoy, who is usually very and even keeled guy. He was furious. McCoy felt the governor betrayed his progressive base after Murphy had made his opposition to corporate tax breaks a big time. Priority during his first years in office. But today, McCoy praised the governor, especially because Murphy signaled quite clearly that his covert recovery plan would rest not on austerity economics, McCoy says investing in public schools the social safety net, then health care is the only way for New Jersey's economy. To recover from the pandemic. W M I C s Nancy Solomon. Thanks so much. Thanks, Rebecca..
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"It's morning edition on W When my C I'm David first New Jersey governor, Phil Murphy gives the final state of the state address of his first term today. And like all things during the pandemic, this one is different. Murphy is pre recording it and streaming it online. W. On my CI's Nancy Solomon takes a look at where the governor stands as he begins his re election year. The last time a Democratic governor ran for re election in New Jersey. Well, let's just say it didn't go too well. Two minutes ago, I called Mr Christie and congratulated him becoming New Jersey's next governor. It was 2009. The country was in a devastating recession, and Jon Corzine had spent much of his first term fighting with Democrats in the Legislature. That sounds a lot like Murphy but might do him of Mercury Public affairs, a Republican strategist behind Christie's too successful campaigns says there's one obvious difference, I think Pandemic really defined him and gave him a chance to show leadership skills in a way that people hadn't seen prior to that to him, says the pandemic is the defining issue of Governor Phil Murphy's first term. And it considerably raised his public profile. Some 60% of New Jersey voters approve of the governor's job performance. Patrick Murray of the Monmouth University Polling Institute says If that holds, he's easily reelected if his job approval rating starts to dip below 50% Then voters will need to take a look at what the alternative is. And if the alternative ends up being too far to the right, the probably stick with Phil Murphy Murphy has been called the most progressive governor in America. Anywheres. That title is a badge of honor. But lately he's made some moves to shore up the political center, Moderate Democrats, independents and the business community. And that has angered progressive leaders like Patricia Campus. Medina. There's a group of insiders, I will say mostly men, and why males that are telling him that the way to win re election is toe move to the middle. Begin to cut deals with the machines and the county pulses as examples. Campus, Medina says Murphy allowed Democratic power brokers to take control of redrawing the Legislative district's any compromised on a bloated tax break. Bill. Environmentalists and South Jersey progressives are upset that Murphy Green lit a terminal to be built on the Delaware River. It would store Fracked Gas from Pennsylvania. Kate Delaney is president of South Jersey Progressive Democrats and has been battling the powerful George Norcross machine. She's unhappy with the governor. Not enough to pull support in order to make change in South Jersey. It really has to be, you know, a bottom up change. It really has to be in the grass roots. Even though Delaney wishes Murphy would reject the endorsement process of the county machines that gives candidates preferential treatment on the ballot. She doesn't expect him to do that. So I think that you know there's a lot of great things that the governor has done for South Jersey. We still need some more support. Murphy still does have support for the core of his agenda. He raised the minimum wage passed a millionaire's tax and is expected to legalize marijuana. The Reverend Charles Boyer of Salvation and Social Justice points out that Murphy was elected with 94% support from black voters. Boyer says the governor listen to his demands to ensure marijuana legalization includes reparations for black communities. And to release prisoners at risk of getting Cove it. These are all things that definitely are not popular with white voters but were necessary from a justice standpoint, Boyer hopes the governor won't do what many a Democrat has done before and take the black vote for granted. Even if Murphy doesn't he faces a different peril. Come November. Mike do Heym, The Republican strategist, says the governor's performance during the pandemic will only go so far. It's not about what people think right now is. What are people gonna be thinking in September, October November about the state of the economy, and it's the unemployment is very high. You know, that will be a problem for Governor Murphy. If it's steadily coming down, that would be another plus for Governor Murphy. New Jersey's current unemployment rate is hovering at 10%. About the same as it was when Jon Corzine was running for re election. Nancy.