NJ GOP - Weekly Rundown - November 6, 2023
Happy Monday, New Jerseyans! Welcome to your one-stop-shop for Phil Murphy's sad presidential dreams, Dems in Disarray™, panicked midterm Democrats, and other goings on in the Garden State.
Tomorrow is Election Day and our opportunity to end some of the insanity you see below. Think your vote doesn't matter? Think again. In a low turnout year, some of these races may come down to just 1 or 2 votes. If you needed a sign to go out and change the direction of our state, this is it. Find your polling place here, turn in that vote-by-mail ballot sitting on your counter, and let's end the madness. Thanks for reading.
Can Republicans flip New Jersey’s state legislature from blue to red?
Fox News
Republicans may have a small advantage when it comes to turning out more monthly new voter registrations compared to Democrats. According to a recent poll by Stockton University, voters have a low approval rating for Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who is facing a federal indictment for alleged bribery and allegedly acting as a foreign agent...Biden's approval stands at only 38%, with a majority, 54%, expressing disapproval.
New Jersey GOP sues group boosting third-party candidates
New Jersey Monitor
The Republican suit, lodged in state Superior Court in Atlantic County, alleges Jersey Freedom, the independent expenditure group, failed to timely file some paperwork with the Election Law Enforcement Commission and sought to illegally shield donor and spending information from disclosure in its latest filing, a move the GOP claims is meant to hide the group’s ties to South Jersey Democrats. “We need to take a stand here as Americans and New Jerseyans. As Republicans, yes, but more importantly for the rule of law. This is just egregious,” Bob Hugin, the state Republican chairman, told reporters earlier this week. “We need to really stand firm here and make sure people are aware of it and stop this nonsense. It’s really bad for democracy.
N.J. is sending ANCHOR property tax rebate checks right before the election. Some pro-democracy watchdog groups question the timing
WHYY
Many Garden State residents began receiving money after Gov. Phil Murphy announced on Oct. 11 the second round of ANCHOR property tax relief payments. Some pro-democracy groups believe the timing was less than ideal. “The question here has to do with whether or not folks are feeling like the checks so close to election day is an issue,” said Jesse Burns, the executive director of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey.
New Jersey Republicans eye election gains despite uphill climb
The Hill
“The majority of voters have grown tired of total Democrat control in Trenton and agree with us on the issues that are top of mind for most residents: affordability, parents’ rights, and Murphy’s outrageous energy policies,” Velardi said. “All you need to do is look at the money they’re spending to see that Democrats know they’re in trouble and are scared like never before.”
Inherit the Wind | Zdan
Save Jersey
Orsted, the Danish company already signed as a tenant for that facility in Salem County known as the New Jersey Wind Port, pulled out of its commitment to build two massive wind farms 15 miles off the coast of Atlantic City. Orsted, by the way, is the only current tenant at the Wind Port. They signed a $25 million lease for “up to” two years. The state’s investment in the Wind Port? Half a billion dollars in taxpayer money.
Bob Menendez boasts he’s still briefed on nation’s secrets despite ‘foreign agent’ charge
New York Post
The embattled New Jersey Democrat who was indicted on federal corruption charges in September told New Jersey PBS’s Chatbox with David Cruz show “I still have all my intelligence credentials” and that he still attends regular briefings of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “I was not barred from going into an intelligence briefing,” he said when Cruz asked if he had been sidelined after his most recent indictment last month. “I still have all my intelligence credentials.”
Are Democrats about to hand First Lady Tammy Murphy a U.S. Senate seat?
New Jersey Monitor
But here’s what worries me: New Jersey has a long history of politicians who would rather be coronated than participate in a competitive primary. And Murphy’s presence at the very center of power in Trenton makes it likely that she and her husband, Gov. Phil Murphy, will wield their considerable influence to put a finger on the scales as she tries to succeed the indicted Sen. Bob Menendez.
Bucco, Testa Smack Murphy For Keeping Orsted News Secret
New Jersey Globe
“It is very disturbing that the Murphy administration knew about Orsted’s decision a week before an official announcement was made. This kind of unacceptable behavior is further evidence of Governor Murphy’s lack of transparency and his administration’s desire to keep the Legislature in the dark.”… The New Jersey Globe has confirmed that the Governor’s office was told last week that the project was in trouble. Democratic legislative leaders were notified on Tuesday morning, while Republicans learned about it from the New Jersey Globe.
Blue State Taxpayers May Pay The Price For Dems’ Wind Power Gamble
Daily Caller
Orsted is evaluating whether it will be able to get out of paying the state the $100 million performance security fee, a company spokesperson told Politico. That evaluation comes as S&P has indicated that it may decrease Orsted’s credit rating in light of the cancellations, according to Reuters.
Military Aid For Israel: NJ House Members Divided On GOP Proposal
Patch
Eight of New Jersey’s House members voted against the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, with four of their peers voting in its favor. The bill passed the full House by a margin of 226-196. Reps. Andy Kim, Robert Menendez Jr., Donald Norcross, Frank Pallone, Bill Pascrell Jr., Donald Payne Jr., Mikie Sherrill and Bonnie Watson Coleman voted “no” on the bill.
New Jersey Gov. spent nearly $1,000 on Taylor Swift concessions, records show
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Murphy’s office told Politico that the Democratic State Committee was originally expected to cover the stadium costs, but didn’t. When the state was left with the bill, it was paid through the governor’s $95,000 annual expense account, which may be used for official receptions, the official residence, and “other official expenses,” language from the budget says. It is not allowed for “personal purposes” and cannot supplement Murphy’s annual $175,000 salary. Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs executive, disclosed a taxable income of nearly $700,000 last year and made more than $5 million in 2021, tax records show.
Alex Wilkes | Communications Director
New Jersey Republican State Committee
Alex Wilkes
alex@njgop.org
Communications Director, NJGOP
Recent Articles
Op-Ed: Why Sen. Menendez may need a criminal tax lawyer
ANDREW SIDAMON-ERISTOFF | SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 | OPINION
The federal indictment of the senator, his wife and co-defendants raises civil and criminal tax liability issues
Sometimes it’s the little financial details that trip you up. Ask Al Capone.
On Sept. 22 the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York unsealed the indictment against Sen. Robert Menendez, his wife Nadine Menendez and three New Jersey businessmen for “participating in a years-long bribery scheme” in which Menendez and his wife allegedly accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes in exchange for Menendez’s agreement to use his official position to protect and enrich them and to benefit the government of Egypt. Menendez faces one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right.
That’s bad, but more may be coming: civil and criminal tax liability.
The indictment doesn’t specifically allege tax crimes, but it does assert that Menendez and his wife received bribes consisting of cash, gold bullion, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low- or no-show job, a new Mercedes convertible, home furnishings and “other things of value” from their co-defendants. In response, Menendez and his wife face a legal conundrum: how to characterize these things of value for tax purposes?
One approach would be to argue that there was no receipt and thus no tax consequence. Not coincidentally, Sen. Menendez, in a post-indictment statement to the press, claimed that the $480,000 in cash found in his home simply represents withdrawals from his savings account over some 30 years. Presumably, Sen. Menendez would not have made this claim without being confident that bank records and date information from serial numbers on the currency bills will back him up. But how will he explain the $70,000 in cash found in Ms. Menendez’s safe deposit box and the fact that some of the envelopes holding the cash are linked through DNA and/or fingerprints to a co-defendant? Moreover, this “no receipt” argument may be tougher to make in connection with the other things of value listed in the indictment, such as the payments made by the co-defendants toward the Mercedes convertible and Ms. Menendez’s home mortgage.
Distinct tax consequences
Assuming it can be proven that they did indeed receive things of value, the Menendezes will be obliged to choose whether the receipt of these things constitutes taxable compensation, a loan or a gift. Each carries distinct tax consequences.
Menendez could maintain that he and his wife received the things of value as compensation for services rendered. The facts alleged in the indictment suggest that would be a stretch: Is it normal to receive gold bars as compensation? In any case, the Menendezes could easily preempt speculation by disclosing their tax returns for the relevant years, as the senator voluntarily did when up for reelection in 2012 and 2018. But what happens if those returns don’t include those items of income? (Awkwardly, per the indictment, Menendez did not disclose car payments, gold or cash in the relevant calendar year on his annual Senate financial disclosure form.) Menendez would either have to concede that the stuff he and his wife received was not compensation or admit that he underreported income and filed false tax returns, statements and documents — serious tax offenses.
The couple might assert that the things of value they received were a loan and thus not taxable. Indeed, they may already be advancing this argument. According to the indictment, following the execution of search warrants on the Menendez home in June 2022, Nadine Menendez wrote a $21,000 check to a co-defendant who had been making payments on her Mercedes convertible with a memo line reading “personal loan.” Maybe Ms. Menendez can produce documentation to substantiate the car payments as a loan, but she and her husband may find it a bit more challenging to argue that the other stuff, such as gold bars or home furnishings, were loans. Moreover, even if it accepted the depiction of the car or mortgage payments as made in connection with a loan, based on the facts in the indictment, the IRS might well assert that the co-defendants forgave a portion of any such loan, generating taxable income to the Menendezes.
Gifts, maybe, but complicated
Finally, the Menendezes could claim that the things of value they received were gifts. This is their best scenario since the receipt of a gift is not taxable. But there are complications.
First, donors of gifts are liable to pay tax on the value of any gift that exceeds the annual gift tax exclusion amount ($16,000 in 2022, the relevant year). In this case, the donors are the three co-defendants, and some of the transferred things of value (e.g., the gold bars) appear to have exceeded $16,000 in value. If the co-defendants did not in fact pay applicable gift tax — a not unreasonable assumption, and easily checked — they might object to any attempt to characterize the transfers as gifts since it would expose them to civil tax penalties. But if they weren’t gifts, what were they?
Second, the IRS is aware that some taxpayers will try to mischaracterize income as gifts and therefore is fairly strict in defining a gift as “the transfer of property by one individual to another while receiving nothing, or less than full value, in return … whether or not the donor intends the transfer to be a gift.” Here, the alleged facts suggest that it would be difficult to argue that the co-defendants received “nothing in return,” even if they claim that it was their intention to make gifts.
Third and finally, Senate Rule 35 generally prohibits the receipt of gifts unless an exception applies. The only reasonably applicable exception in this case is for gifts “given on the basis of personal friendship, unless there is reason to believe that the gift was provided because of the individual’s official position and not because of the personal friendship.” Although the indictment suggests that Sen. Menendez and his co-defendants were indeed friendly, the rule also provides that senators must obtain written approval from the Select Committee on Ethics before accepting any gift given on the basis of personal friendship that exceeds $250. Query: Did Sen. Menendez request and receive such approval? If not, how could he claim that he received gifts for tax purposes without admitting that he violated the Senate’s rules?
Al Capone reportedly once boasted that “they can’t collect legal taxes from illegal money.” Sen. Menendez would be well advised to remember that Capone was ultimately jailed for tax evasion.
____________________________________________
Tricks of the Trade: The Trenton Tax Trap | Elias
July 8, 2023 Adam J. Elias Taxes 0
From its inception, the senior tax credit plan introduced earlier this month by Democrats in the Legislature has been called several things, from reverse robin hood, to smoke and mirrors, election year politics at its worst, or simply nothing more than a trick to give Trenton lawmakers a victory lap in their districts as they recess for summer and campaign for reelection in November.
Reasonable minds can differ on whether the plan is good policy, but here is a question worth asking our representatives: is the plan even enforceable? Not at all.
The New Jersey Constitution limits the powers of the Governor and State Legislature to spend our tax dollars in two ways: The Appropriations Clause and the Debt Limitation Clause. The Appropriations Clause allows the Legislature to submit an appropriations bill to the Governor reflecting a “negotiated” budget for the upcoming fiscal year, with a balance of enough revenue to cover the wish list of expenses outlined in the bill. Our government cannot set aside a specific dollar amount for future budget years and tie the hands of future legislators who may find themselves dealing with unanticipated economic setbacks like a recession, or a pandemic.
The Debt Limitation Clause requires any newly proposed state debt amounting to more than 1% of the year’s budget to be submitted directly to the voters by referendum. By applying both of these principles to the Democrat StayNJ plan, specifically how the plan is supposed to be funded with annual increasing sums of hundreds of millions of dollars set aside in a “lockbox,” it is clear that the tax relief plan is nothing more than a pinky promise to set aside money “subject to” the State Treasurer’s approval and can be broken as early as next year’s budget season, well before the delayed start date of January 2026 as the next Governor is getting settled in at Drumthwacket.
This is the same reason why many state workers will never see their pensions, or at least as much of it as anticipated. In 1997, Governor Whitman suspended the State’s contribution to the pension funds in exchange for granting public employees a “non-forfeitable” right to their pensions, which was meaningless.
After Democrat Governors McGreevey, Codey and Corzine continued to suspend these payments with the blessing of a Democrat-controlled Legislature, Chapter 78 was enacted in 2011, phasing in the State’s obligation to fund the pensions for the first time in 15 years. While beach bum Chris Christie is often blamed for “screwing public workers” and taking more out of their pockets, voters should remember that it was the Democrat-controlled Legislature—the same folks promising senior tax relief—that voted to increase employee contributions in exchange for a “contractual right” to the State funding their pensions.
The New Jersey Supreme Court later ruled in 2015 that any such contract would violate both the Appropriations Clause and the Debt Limitation Clause and likewise amounts to another pinky promise by Democrats.
Herein lies the Trenton tax trap. Governor Murphy has followed through on that promise for the past six years. But for how long (if ever) can the State deliver on promises to our public employees AND our seniors? It is unsustainable, that is, without breaking another promise to the rest of New Jersey: more taxes.
It may be worthwhile to start considering whether the “Next New Jersey” needs the next New Jersey Constitutional Convention to overhaul the status quo. A Constitution that lays out protections for public employee pension benefits and/or senior property tax cuts, both of which can already be found in other states. A Constitution that restructures our State obligations and ties school funding to alternative, more equitable revenue sources like income taxes, as proposed every year for the past five years by Republican lawmakers. Most importantly, a Constitution that provides for a full-time legislature subject to reasonable term limits, spending its time wisely solving our State’s ever worsening problems rather than staving off retirement until the next pay raise.
In the meantime, with just four months left to go for an election with all 120 seats in the Legislature on the ballot, voters must give major consideration to a desperately needed overhaul of the Statehouse roster.
Testa obliterates Ørsted bailout on ‘Fox & Friends’
Testa obliterates Ørsted bailout on ‘Fox & Friends’ (savejersey.com)
A $2 billion wind farm bailout cleared the New Jersey legislature last week, one which isn’t only corrupt but guaranteed to increase energy costs rather than lower them.
On Wednesday, State Senator Mike Testa Jr. (R-1) joined Fox & Friends to explain why throwing billions at a foreign company is an indefensibly stupid idea.
Pappas Says Zwicker Overreaches on
State Control of Local Libraries
Urges Age-appropriate Books
Decided Locally with Parental Involvement
May 22, 2023
Branchburg – Mike Pappas, candidate for New Jersey State Senate, today offered comments regarding Sen. Andrew Zwicker’s sponsorship of legislation that would directly connect State funding for public libraries and School District libraries to traditionally local decision making.
“Andrew Zwicker wants to sensationalize this into a conversation about book banning. I am not advocating banning books. However, there should be age-appropriate standards that are decided locally with the vital input from parents. The legitimate concerns of many parents, local educators and librarians could be summarily dismissed if Andrew Zwicker has his way. He seems to have determined that parents and local communities are incapable of making decisions that are in the best interests of their children and students,” said Pappas.
“The public policy advocated by a national library organization has been offered as the leading authority to be followed. I am sure this group has important professional perspectives but parental responsibility and parental rights should be supported and not negated,” stated Pappas.
“Parents should be given every opportunity to be involved in the education of their children and the State government should not take the heavy-handed approach that Mr. Zwicker wants. He is trying to confuse the issue and divert attention away from his extreme position that places greater control in the hands of State government that is insulated from parents and communities,” said Pappas.
“I urge Andrew Zwicker to step forward and join me in respecting and supporting parental responsibility. I urge him to support age-appropriate books and educational materials for school-age children. Grammar school-age children, such as first and second graders, are not taught algebra or geometry, they are taught basic arithmetic such as addition and subtraction. This should hold true for all educational materials,” concluded Pappas.
# # #
Michael Pappas
Candidate for New Jersey State Senate
P.O. Box 5016, North Branch, NJ 08876
District 16
Pappas Highlights $13 Million Impact to South Brunswick School District Due to Andrew Zwicker’s Inaction
May 15, 2023
Branchburg – Mike Pappas, candidate for New Jersey State Senate, today issued the following statement concerning impact to the South Brunswick School District:
“When Andrew Zwicker was given the chance to vote to restore full funding for school districts due to the S2 school funding formulas, he abstained from voting – twice! When given the chance to vote to use some of the State’s $10 billion budget surplus, his decisions to abstain on March 10 and 30, 2023, are prompting these scenarios in school districts throughout New Jersey.
The South Brunswick School District, his hometown, is reported to expect a $13 million shortfall,” said Pappas.
See attached article from South Brunswick Patch
south brunswick schools could be in financial jeopardy in 2024-25, saynofficials - Search (bing.com)
“When it mattered to his constituents, Andrew Zwicker was absent. He chose to ignore the needs of the people he actually represents in Trenton,” concluded Pappas.
# # #
Michael Pappas
Candidate for New Jersey State Senate
P.O. Box 5016, North Branch, NJ 08876
District 16
Governor Murphy: Do Your Damn Job and End the Rutgers Strike
April 13, 2023, 9:24 pm
New Jersey’s 14th legislative district is situated in close proximity to Rutgers University’s New Brunswick campus. Consequently, the current strike by Rutgers University employees is having a disproportionate impact on many families in the district with students just a few weeks away from concluding the spring semester or graduating college.
Today, Adam J. Elias, candidate for the General Assembly in the 14th legislative district, called on Governor Murphy to take more deliberate steps to end the strike and get faculty back to work with their students.
https://www.insidernj.com/press-release/governor-murphy-do-your-damn-job-and-end-the-rutgers-strike/
Tax Increase And Audit Demonstrate Need For New Leadership In Mercer County
The need to end single-party rule in Mercer County
HAMILTON TWP – Republican candidate for Mercer County Executive, Lisa Richford, said today that passage of a tax-increasing county budget last week and the expected release of an audit of county finances this evening demonstrate the need for new leadership in Mercer County government.
“Last week the County Board of Commissioners voted to raise our taxes and announced they will be releasing details of an audit of the county’s finances this evening.” Mercer County Executive candidate Lisa Richford said, “The thing is we should not be raising taxes on residents who are already among the highest taxed, 16th as a percentage of median income, in the nation.”
Richford continued, “Families are tightening their belts, our government should be doing the same. Instead they choose to point the finger of blame at the county’s former Chief Financial Officer. That’s not leadership!”
“Mercer County’s next Executive needs to understand that we cannot tax our way out of our problems, especially living in the era of Bidenomics.” Richford added, “Real leadership and transparency in the government’s budget process along with innovative ideas to solve our problems are what will win the day for the people of Mercer County.”
“The mere fact that we are looking forward to this evening’s release of an audit of county finances demonstrates the need to end single-party rule in Mercer County,” Richford said. “Mercer County’s column B team will end single-party rule and bring innovative leadership to Mercer County.”
14th District Republicans call to move up start date of StayNJ plan, say residents need relief now
By Ricky Suta, August 21 2023 11:48 am
The Republicans in the 14th legislative district unveiled their “StayNJ Today” plan, which would move the existing StayNJ plan’s start date from 2026 to 2024.
A 2026 start isn’t soon enough for State Senate candidate Patricia Johnson and Assembly candidates Adam Elias and Skye Gilmartin.
The plan, approved by the legislature and signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in June with bipartisan support, provides a 50% property tax credit for qualifying seniors, with accommodations to renters. Until StayNJ kicks in, the $250 tax rebate under the ANCHOR program remains in effect.
“The voters need representatives committed to taking action now while we have a $10 billion surplus, rather than making promises for a day that may never come,” Johnson said.
Although all but two Republicans in the legislature voted to pass the StayNJ plan, the delay in the program’s start date has been a concern among Republicans in the legislature since the legislation was first introduced.
“Republicans in both the Senate and Assembly moved to amend the bill to take effect now, and the Democrats rejected the amendment because they were never serious about helping our seniors in the first place,” said Elias.
State Sen. Linda Greenstein (D-Plainsboro) and Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo (D-Hamilton) voted for the StayNJ plan and will headline a town hall on the tax relief program this Wednesday in Monroe.
Site Content
Young Republicans in Hamilton Helping Bob Healey on November 6
Young Republicans in Hamilton Helping Bob Healey on November 6
Young Republicans in Hamilton Helping Bob Healey on November 6
Great Day in Hamilton, Bob Healey greeting large group of Young Republicans helping get the word out
Young Republicans in Hamilton Helping Bob Healey on November 6
Young Republicans in Hamilton Helping Bob Healey on November 6
Jack Ciattarelli joined the group at their lunch break.
Lisa Richford, Chair
Welcome
The Mercer County Republican Committee's mission is to promote conservative ideals of limited government, individual freedom and traditional American values by electing Republican leaders.
2020 is an important year to elect Republican leaders. Check out our site and get involved.