O’Scanlon: “The Murphy Delay” on sports betting is “a historic blunder”

Senator Declan O’Scanlon called Governor Phil Murphy’s delay of sports betting in New Jersey, “The Murphy Delay,” a policy blunder of historic proportions in a blistering post on facebook this morning:

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Snapchat with Governor Murphy

Moments ago Governor Phil Murphy invited the twitterverse to get updated on his behind the scenes activities via Snapchat.

Add me on Snapchat for a behind the scenes look at our state government. pic.twitter.com/CbAZIV3hms

— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) June 8, 2018

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Murphy cancels his ‘Ask the Governor’ appearance on NJ Public Radio

Governor Phil Murphy chickened out of his Ask the Governor radio show this evening because he could not control the questions, according to a tweet by Nancy Solomon, Managing Editor of New Jersey Public Radio and WNYC.

#Askgovmurphy call in show is canceled. @GovMurphy refused to go on air if we stuck with plan to have Politico reporter @Linh_Tat on the show to ask questions. We wanted to focus on school funding. We refused. He canceled. @MattFriedmanNJ

— Nancy Solomon (@NancySolomon2) May 24, 2018

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What if Menendez resigns?

It’s not considered likely that Senator Bob Menendez will resign as a result of the bi-partisan admonishment he received from the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics.  NJ and Washington Democrats have become a much more forgiving people since Senator Bob Torricelli was forced out of office after his admonishment 16 years ago.

As Bret Stephens wrote in a Trump bashing piece in the NY Times yesterday, America’s standards have declined over the years.   Menendez’s admonishment for trading the power of his office for luxury travel and massive campaign contributions will likely blow over as the Democrats and their media partners continue their mission to destroy the Trump presidency.

But what if the Russian collusion with the Senate Ethics Committee works and Menendez decides to take a job running Dr. Salomon Melgen’s port security business in the Dominican Republic while looking over his luxury villa?

If Menendez resigns, Governor Phil Murphy gets to appoint someone to fill the vacancy until January. That person would run in Menendez’s place for a six year term in the November election. Who would Murphy choose? Read the rest of this entry »

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Hornik calls for Murphy administration to dramatically reform pension system

Gov Phil Murphy and Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik

Marlboro Mayor Jonathan Hornik today noted that the State of New Jersey historically shirks its obligations to the “chronically underfunded” pension system while local governments have been meeting their obligations.  Hornik’s comment came in a press release touting S&P Global Ratings reaffirming his township’s AAA bond rating.

S&P noted that while the Township continues to make its annually required pension contribution to the State of New Jersey, the State pension system is chronically underfunded. “Local government continues to pay its share, and historically the State has shirked its obligation,” stated the Mayor. “In the context of our review, S&P reiterated its concern regarding the long term health of the State system. I am hopeful that with a new Administration in Trenton, the State will take a more responsible approach to its stewardship of the pension system.”

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Governor Murphy has no public schedule today….

….that’s probably a good thing.  He was spotted at Bon Jovi’s concert in Newark last night.

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Facing anger and tears at town hall, Phil Murphy vows to fix N.J.’s school funding woes

The town hall crowd showed up Wednesday night in Willingboro to lambaste Gov. Phil Murphy over how New Jersey will dole out aid to public schools in his first state budget proposal. There was worry and anger. Some told Murphy he had let them down. One woman cried, and her 7-year-old son asked the Democratic governor… Read the rest of this entry »

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Will Phil Murphy veto giving police and fire unions control of their pensions?

The state Legislature passed legislation Monday handing control of the pension fund for New Jersey’s police and firefighters over to its members. But it’s uncertain whether the governor will sign the bill as is. Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, has concerns over the Democrat-backed bill that would spin off police and firefighter pensions from the broader… Read the rest of this entry »

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Murphy to hold telephone town hall

Governor Phil Murphy is holding a telephone town hall on Thursday evening, March 29, at 7PM, according to an announcement from the NJ Democratic Committee.   The call in number is 609-236-7033.

The announced topic is the governor’s budget address.

What would you like to tell the him?

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Governor Murphy’s 2019 Budget Address, as prepared for delivery

My fellow New Jerseyans.

I must begin by acknowledging the continued perseverance of the hundreds of thousands of residents impacted by the recent storms. Rest assured, we will not stop until every home is restored power, and we will get to the root of the problem. And, we thank the thousands of workers – including those from out-of-state – who have put in countless and tireless hours to fix downed wires.

Eight weeks ago today, I pledged to be a different type of governor. I pledged to create a stronger and fairer New Jersey that measured success not by what we could do for the few, but by what we could accomplish for all nine million of our residents. Read the rest of this entry »

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