| | | | |  | | By Matt Friedman | | Presented by |  | | | Good Monday morning! There’s about 23 hours to go before polls open in what is truly a historic New Jersey primary contest. It’s not historic because of the campaigns being run. The big one effectively ended in late March when Tammy Murphy dropped out of the Senate race. Of course we’ll be watching House primaries, especially the Rob Menendez-Ravi Bhalla-KyleJasey race in District 8 and the Herb Conaway-Carol Murphy (and several others) race in District 3. Sorry if I’m stating the obvious, but what’s historic about this primary — the Democratic one, anyway — is that there is no county line. And so we’ll have at least some opportunity to see how much of the advantage that New Jersey Democratic organizations have had over the decades is due to the design of our ballots, or whether it was more their and organizational advantages. I think the race that will most test the power of an established Democratic organization against an outside challenger isn’t a House race, but the Passaic County sheriff Democratic primary brought about by the late Richard Berdnick’s suicide. That’s because there’s no incumbent running, and Thomas Adamo, the candidate with the establishment Democrats’ support, has less money and name recognition than his opponent, former Sheriff and Paterson police director Jerry Speziale. Have New Jersey’s vaunted Democratic machines built their power through superior organization and patronage networks, or have they withered from being able to depend year after year on the advantage they had the moment voters looked at their ballots? Perhaps we'll soon see. But this election won't tell us everything. A big question that remains unanswered is whether more candidates will run knowing they won't have have to compete against the line. And because the line was struck down after the filing deadline, we won't know until the next election — assuming the line is as dead as most think it is in the federal court case. Read more about it here. TIPS? FEEDBACK? Email me at MFriedman@politico.com. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I get when you have a frustrating episode you want to look for someone to blame. But there’s no state regulation that prevents law enforcement officers from doing their job.” — Attorney General Matt Platkin on the rowdy teens down the shore HAPPY BIRTHDAY: John McKeon, Terence Grado WHERE’S MURPHY? — No public schedule
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SPEECHING AND DEBATING — Menendez told top USDA official to ‘stop interfering’ with company accused of offering bribes, by POLITICO’s Daniel Han: In May 2019, a senior official at the USDA was told by his then-chief-of-staff that Sen. Bob Menendez would call his personal cell phone in around an hour. The agriculture official, Ted McKinney, had been trying to get Egyptian officials to reverse their decision to grant a new company a monopoly certifying halal meat exported to that country. That decision, he recalled from the witness stand of Menendez’s corruption trial Friday, was “very unusual” and could hurt American beef interests. McKinney said that he would “never forget the words” Menendez told him during the brief call: “Stop interfering with my constituent.” The call is a key account that prosecutors cited in their case against Menendez, who is accused of receiving bribes to benefit New Jersey businesspeople and the Egyptian government. … He felt that Menendez was trying to get him to “stand down” in pushing back against the certification monopoly …
“He's allowed to advocate to a federal agency on behalf of a company that is a constituent,” Menendez attorney Avi Weitzman said during his opening statements. “And he's even allowed to yell at a federal employee. None of that is illegal. It's his constitutionally protected role.” —“‘I have a favor to ask.’ Trove of texts, voicemails shows plot to bribe Sen. Bob Menendez, feds say”
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ERROR FLYNN — “NJ Legislators say stemming 'abuse' of records requests drives OPRA 'reform',” by The Record’s Katie Sobko: “In the moments before the New Jersey Assembly voted on a bill that would gut access to public records, Assemblymember Victoria Flynn spoke about a small town in her district that is often inundated with requests for public records. The borough of Keyport, she said, has received 250 requests so far this year, and it is costing taxpayers for the clerk to address those requests, which are legally available under the state’s Open Public Records Act law. ‘If you walked into Keyport and looked at the clerk’s office, you’d want to cry,’ Flynn said during the vote that took place earlier this month. … Keyport, a Monmouth County town with about 7,000 residents, received a total of 335 requests in 2023, according to records obtained through OPRA. Yet critics of the bill — which now waits on Gov. Phil Murphy to decide its fate — say it does nothing to help relieve the burden on local clerks. … Neither the mayor nor the clerk in Keyport responded to questions about how the bill will benefit the borough.”
MEANWHILE IN ANOTHER MONMOUTH COUNTY TOWN — “Council calls on governor to veto OPRA bill,” by Star News Grou’s Kieran Sullivan: “At the … May 22 meeting, the council’s agenda contained an item that would have enabled them to vote on a resolution that called for ‘the modernization of OPRA and the swift passage of S-2930/A-4045.’ … In conjunction with the public outcry about the proposed OPRA modernization during that meeting, members of the borough council followed suit and condemned the proposed resolution. Prior to the meeting the council prepared statements and an amended resolution calling upon the governor to veto the proposed bill. … The amended resolution states, ‘Despite its flaws, current OPRA regulations provide invaluable transparency rights and protections to our citizens, which are the foundation of strong and effective democracy, and assures that their government is fair, efficient and working for the greater good.’” —“NJ should improve property-tax relief process, task force recommends” —“Proposed New Jersey Online gaming tax hike is the one with potential to rock industry” —“A revamped ballot design jumpstarts democracy in New Jersey”
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HOOKED ON A FEALTY — NJ Republicans mostly stick with Trump after guilty verdict, with one notably silent, by POLITICO’s Dustin Racioppi: Most New Jersey Republicans running for Congress and governor are standing firmly behind former President Donald Trump after he was found guilty Thursday in a hush money case. One Republican was notably silent, though: First-term Rep. Tom Kean Jr., who is defending his seat in the state's only competitive House race and reportedly endorsed Trump for reelection hours before a Manhattan jury found him guilty on all 34 counts. Republicans around the state echoed what quickly became standard party reaction to the verdict, calling it a politicized case that made a mockery of the country's justice system.
—Moran: “Yes, this guilty verdict could sink Trump. And Tom Kean Jr., too” KIM CAMPAIGN WONDERS WHY CANDIDATE STOPPED SIGNING DONORS’ CHECKS — “Kim not endorsing in Democratic primaries,” by New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “The weekend before Election Day, U.S. Senate candidate Andy Kim is shutting down rumors that he’s taking sides in Democratic primaries in big and small races across the state. ‘We want to be clear that Representative Kim has not endorsed in any competitive primary for the June election,’ his campaign said in a social media post on Saturday. ‘Any insinuation otherwise is incorrect and should be dismissed. The Congressman looks forward to working with Dems to win in November.’ The statement came after some Democratic candidates tied themselves to Kim in a way that created local confusion.”
| | | | A message from Amazon:   | | | ULTIMATE FAWNING CHAMPIONSHIP — “Trump is the main event at UFC 302: Down but not out, he bathes in cheers at Prudential Center,” by NJ Advance Media’s Kevin Manahan and Kevin Armstrong: “Welcome to New Jersey’s sport of appeals. Two days after 12 Manhattan jurors convicted him on all 34 counts in his hush-money and election-interference trial, Donald Trump found thousands in Newark willing to let him off the hook. … [T]he former president was bathed in cheers as he appeared at the Prudential Center — home of the NHL Devils and Seton Hall basketball — to watch the UFC 302 card, which featured a lightweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier on Saturday night. Trump entered the arena at 10 p.m. to a standing ovation.” WHAT ABOUT ROB? — “Gov. Murphy backs Rep. Menendez at West New York GOTV rally with HCDO mainstays,” by Hudson County View’s Daniel Ulloa: “Gov. Phil Murphy (D) backed U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez (D-8) for a second term at a West New York get out the vote (GOTV) rally with several Hudson County Democratic Organization mainstays [Sunday] morning … State Senator (D-33)/Union City Mayor Brian Stack, one of Menendez’s earliest backers, also took the podium during the roughly 20-minute program .… After the rally, Murphy, Sires, and Menendez both made themselves available to the media for a few minutes, with the governor calling it ‘hugely important” to get the vote out this election cycle in Latino communities such as North Hudson.’” —Gottheimer: “Crisis pregnancy centers: a masterclass in deceptive marketing” —“As voters consider their White House choice, is Jan. 6 a factor?” —“Women’s rights, foreign affairs are top issues for primary voters” —“All you need to know about N.J. primary Tuesday, including fight to replace indicted U.S. Senator”
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MAGA MEN — “Democratic candidates for sheriff affix each other with MAGA star,” by InsiderNJ’s Fred Snowflack: “So, who’s the best Democrat running for Passaic County sheriff? That is what next week’s primary between Thomas Adamo, who is endorsed by the Passaic County Democratic Committee, and Jerry Speziale, a former sheriff, is about. But then again, judging from some of the campaigning, the question is: Which candidate is actually not a Republican? … So many Republican primaries revolve around who is the ‘real’ conservative, or perhaps, who is not a RINO. In Passaic, Democrats are playing that game – in reverse. The county’s Democratic committee has a social media section devoted to ‘MAGA Jerry.’ … Team Speziale is, not surprisingly, playing the same game. In recent days, it has discovered Facebook posts that show Adamo liking – according to Speziale – calls for police officers to vote Republican and also liking a post claiming that Joe Biden and Phil Murphy are ‘destroying this state & our country’ and that a ‘red wave’ is coming soon.”
USE OF FORCE — “N.J. cop who shot 2 during high speed chase is sentenced to prison,” by NJ Advance Media’s Richard Cowen: “Superior Court judge on Friday sentenced ex-Newark cop Jovanny Crespo to consecutive prison sentences totaling 27 years in prison for shooting two men during a frenzied car chase through the city’s Central Ward in January 2019 that left one man dead and wounded the other. Citing the need to deter police officers from what he called a “shoot first, ask questions later” mentality, Judge Michael L. Ravin sentenced Crespo to 20 years for fatally shooting the driver in the car chase, Gregory Griffin and another seven years for wounding the passenger Andrew J. Dixon, both of Newark.” CHIP CITY — “Newark shelter residents hunt for jobs on computers refurbished by city youths,” by NJ Advance Media’s Steve Strunsky: “The refurbished PC at the Hope Village II transitional homeless shelter was hardly a gleaming new Mac. But the old Dell OptiPlex personal computer was good enough for Major Anthony, a resident of Hope II who used it to write a resume on Indeed.com that he hoped would help land him a job and put him back in a home of his own. The Dell that Anthony uses is one of eight computers installed at Hope II last week under a program that trains Newark kids to repair computers, smart phones, and other hardware for the dual purpose of making them available at no cost to people who need them while keeping the out of landfills. … The youth who furbished them were trained by a pair of Newark-based technology education firms, Avatarius and RampUp America, coordinated by the Newark Workforce Development Board, a federally funded panel appointed by Mayor Ras J. Baraka.” THE ENCUMBERED LAND — “Mayhem and chaos in Cumberland Democratic primary,” by New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “Over the last two years, Cumberland County has flipped to the Republicans, who now hold all seven county commissioner seats and occupy the sheriff and surrogate posts. The last-standing Democrat is County Clerk Celeste Riley, who faces a tough race for a third term. At the same time, there is a toxic split between two factions of her party going into the first modern-day lineless primary. … Democratic County Chairman Kevin McCann is fending off a renegade group that held its own meeting in March and voted — they claimed to have a quorum — to remove McCann." —“3 fire stations closing in [Winslow] as number of volunteers dwindles nationwide” —“Worried about youth crime, newark revives an 11 p.m. curfew” —“Wildwood says state attorney general wrong to place blame for Boardwalk chaos on city, police” —“Wildwood says 47 arrests made over Memorial Day weekend with more coming” —“Sussex County primary features 5-way GOP fight for commissioner and six local contests” —“Let’s talk about the Pompidou, but don’t abandon it or its funding | Opinion” —“Massive Hoboken Connect project to transform historic terminal is underway. It only took 20 years” —“11 arrests made after Camden County event disrupted by unruly teens, multiple fights”
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DISTURBING CASE OVER — “Christopher Gregor, known as treadmill dad, found guilty in 6-year-old son's death,” by USA Today’s Jonathan Limehouse and Kathleen Hopkins: “Christopher Gregor has been found guilty of the aggravated manslaughter of his 6-year-old son after jurors saw surveillance video showing the New Jersey father deliberately increasing the speed of a treadmill that the boy was running on. The verdict in the death of Corey Micciolo came Friday following a four-week trial in Ocean County Superior Court for Gregor, who was also charged with first-degree murder and child endangerment in March 2022. While the jury found Gregor guilty of aggravated manslaughter and child endangerment, they rejected the more serious murder charge against him.”
NICK CORASANITI BOOK — The New York Times’ Nick Corasaniti, who used to cover the Statehouse, has a book set to be released Tuesday about the Stone Pony that includes a forward from an up-and-coming local musician. Here’s a summary Corasaniti sent me: “I Don't Want to Go Home: An Oral History of The Stone Pony, with foreword by Bruce Springsteen The history of one of the country's most famous rock clubs -- and the rise, fall and rebirth of the town it called home -- as told by its most famous patrons, chronicled by New York Times reporter Nick Corasaniti. Interviews include Bruce Springsteen, Steve Van Zandt, Southside Johnny, members of the E Street Band and Asbury Jukes, the Ramones, the Jonas Brothers, Pearl Jam, the Kinks, Tom Morello, Kenny Chesney, Jack Antonoff, The Gaslight Anthem, the Bouncing Souls, the Lumineers, Russell Crowe and other legendary musicians, plus bouncers, bartenders, local bon vivants and politicos, including Govs. Chris Christie (who admitted to using a fake ID in a failed attempt to catch Springsteen one Pony night) and Phil Murphy.” —“After more than a month in drydock, the Battleship NJ sets date for Camden return” —“Nurse unions strike new deal with Englewood Health; Palisades still unresolved” —Opinion: “New Jersey's healthcare costs will soon plummet. Here's why” —“‘Flipside’ film is a remarkable mix of N.J. record store lore — and Uncle Floyd”
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