Van Drew criticizes Murphy for continuing out-of-state trip after N.J. earthquake
Save Jersey
“So I think he  could have taken maybe even 12 hours out to come back to New Jersey. Our folks in New Jersey really had to look to New York – to New York officials – and what they were saying,” Van Drew  continued. “Even though the actual earthquake was centered in Lebanon, New Jersey, in the northwestern part of the state.”
 

Gov Murphy’s Ceasefire Call Shocks NJ Jewish Community
Jewish Link
Gov. Phil Murphy’s unexpected March 27 statement supporting a ceasefire in Gaza has “disappointed and             saddened” New Jersey’s Jewish community and prompted a response  from the Jewish Federations of New Jersey that more than 70  synagogues, organizations and institutions have signed.
 

After  securing New Jersey Senate nomination, Andy Kim calls for permanent cease-fire
Jewish Insider
The Senate  candidate had previously rejected such calls as he courted support  from Jewish and pro-Israel voters, many of whom favored Bob Menendez and Tammy Murphy
 

As White House Stands by Embattled Judicial Nominee, Democrats Jump Ship
Town Hall
When it comes  to opposition from what Jean-Pierre decries as "hateful  forces," there have been concerns about Mangi's association as a board advisor with the Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR) at Rutgers Law School...An increasing amount of police groups are opposed to Mangi's nomination as well, especially as a group Mangi was also a board member for, the  Alliance of Families For Justice, referred to cop killers as "freedom fighters."...Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who             passionately argued in favor of Mangi from the Senate floor, was             among those who claimed critics are opposed because the nominee is             Muslim.
 

J&J’s  Duato: New Jersey needs to do more to support business community
ROI-NJ
Duato,             speaking last week at the ReNew Jersey Business Summit &             Expo, said the company was “disappointed” with the proposal to             increase taxes — and said the state needs to do more to help             innovative companies or risk losing more of them to other states.             Duato spoke against Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed Corporate             Transit Fee, which will make the state’s largest companies pay an             additional 2.5% tax, to be used as a permanent funding source for             New Jersey Transit.
 

Bidenomics  backlash: New Jersey's Latino families feeling the pinch
NorthJersey.com
Here in New Jersey, where 22% of the population is Latino, the failure of  Bidenomics is real. Since Biden took office, inflation             has cost New Jersey residents tens of thousands of dollars. The             average American household needs $11,400 more a year just             to maintain the same living standards they had in 2021.
 

New Jersey  National Guard To Guard 6 Gigawatts Of Offshore Wind
CleanTechnica
Finding room             for new energy infrastructure along the crowded, cluttered,             overdeveloped oceanfront of New Jersey is a tough row to hoe, but             one key site holds some promise. That is the 168-acre National             Guard Training Center, located in the coastal community of Sea             Girt, in Monmouth County...Also located there are the National             Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey and the 154th Water Purification             Company, which is responsible for procuring local, potable water in             bulk during emergencies. 

Alex Wilkes
alex@njgop.org
     Communications Director, NJGOP 

Congressman Chris Smith, proudly representing New Jersey's 4th District in the United States House of Representatives, endorses Dr. Rajesh Mohan as the Republican Candidate for New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District. "I am proud to endorse Dr. Rajesh Mohan's candidacy for the United States Congress."

This endorsement is a testament to the shared values of exceptional leadership, dedication, and vision for serving the people of New Jersey that both Congressman Smith and Dr. Mohan embody.

Dr. Mohan has an exemplary public service record and a steadfast commitment to addressing all Americans' pressing issues. He commends Dr. Mohan for his compassionate approach and emphasizes his unwavering dedication to putting service before self and improving the well-being of his fellow citizens.

Dr. Mohan's stance on key issues includes border security, healthcare affordability, and safeguarding vital programs like Medicare and Social Security. Dr. Mohan is committed to promoting economic growth, reducing bureaucratic hurdles, and preserving jobs in New Jersey and nationwide.

Dr. Rajesh Mohan expressed his profound gratitude for Congressman Smith's endorsement, "I am deeply honored to receive Congressman Smith's endorsement and support. "I am committed to serving with diligence and integrity for all New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District residents."

Quraishi agrees with Kim that county lines represent irreparable harm to candidates

By Joey Fox, March 29 2024 12:06 pm

New Jersey Globe

In a monumental decision released today, U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi struck down the county organizational line, the ballot design system that forms the core of New Jersey political power, in this year’s elections.

The suit against the line had been filed by Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown), who is running for U.S. Senate, and two congressional candidates, Sarah Schoengood and Carolyn Rush. They argued that the line, which groups party-endorsed candidates together on primary ballots, represents irreparable harm to their campaigns, necessitating a preliminary injunction to eliminate it.

Quraishi’s decision agrees with them in no uncertain terms.

“The integrity of the democratic process for a primary election is at stake and the remedy Plaintiffs are seeking is extraordinary,” Quraishi wrote. “Mandatory injunctive relief is reserved only for the most unusual cases. Plaintiffs’ burden on this Motion is therefore particularly heavy. Nevertheless, the Court finds, based on this record, that Plaintiffs have met their burden and that this is the rare instance when mandatory relief is warranted.”

Quraishi’s decision specifically applies to this year’s primary; while his opinion clearly points towards a belief that the overall county line system is unconstitutional, it’s still something of an open question what will happen to the line in future years. It will impact all elections on the ballot this year, from Senate to county committee, mandating an office-block ballot across the board.

The case is not over yet, though. The county clerks named as defendants in the case are likely to appeal to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and could ask for a stay on Quraishi’s decision while the potentially lengthy appeals process plays out.

“With ballots required to be printed in one week and voting starting in 20 days, many county clerks have significant concerns about the feasibility of compliance with the Court’s order,” said Jack Carbone on behalf of defense counsel. “Counsel are evaluating their options to appeal.”

But if Quraishi’s opinion stands, it would be a genuine earthquake in New Jersey politics. County political parties have long relied on the line to give their preferred candidates a substantial edge and scare off any potential challengers; without it, they will have to radically adjust their methods for promoting candidates and winning elections.

The effects could be felt in many of this year’s races. Even though the filing deadline has already passed, preventing any new candidates from entering this June’s primary contests, there are a number of races where multiple credible candidates have filed – and today’s decision gives those running without party support a significantly greater shot at victory.

In his 49-page decision, Quraishi steadily works through the arguments put forth by both the plaintiffs and the defendants, finding in virtually every case that the plaintiffs had the evidence squarely on their side.

The chief arguments put forward by Kim, Schoengood, and Rush were that the county line gives an unfair advantage to certain candidates, interferes with their First Amendment rights to free association, and violates the Constitution’s Elections Clause, which limits the ability of states to influence elections for federal offices. Quraishi largely agreed with the plaintiffs on each point.

“Plaintiffs’ evidence is sufficient to make their showing of a likelihood they will succeed in establishing that the Bracketing Structure and ballot placement is improperly influencing primary election outcomes by virtue of the layout on the primary ballots,” Quraishi wrote.

Their reasoning holds true, Quraishi said, even though First Lady Tammy Murphy has ended her campaign for Senate. (Murphy had been set to run on the county line in many counties across the state, but when she withdrew from the race, most of those lines went to Kim instead, which the defendants argued nullified much of Kim’s argument.)

“Defendants’ arguments that the changed political landscape has eliminated Kim’s associational harm is specious at best,” Quraishi wrote. “The Court reiterates that Kim’s harms are not alleviated because his main opponent withdrew from the election. Kim’s harms, like Schoengood and Rush’s, are real and immediate whether or not they are on the county line or not.”

As for the clerks’ complaints that Kim filed the lawsuit too late in the cycle – and that preparing entirely new primary ballots in time for the June 4 election represents an undue burden – Quraishi dismissed them wholesale, saying that the defendants failed to prove that the harm of preparing new ballots outweighed the harm the continuation of the current system.

“The Court finds that the harm Plaintiffs would suffer absent an injunction well exceeds the harm that Defendants would suffer should the Court grant the injunction,” Quraishi wrote. “Plaintiffs have put forth credible evidence not only that their constitutional rights are violated by the present ballot design used in New Jersey, which is used in no other state in the country … but that Defendants would suffer minimal harm in implementing the ballot design requested by Plaintiffs.”

Kim himself did not need a victory in today’s ruling to win his race for Senate; without Murphy in the race, he was the frontrunner regardless of whether the lines stayed in place or not. But in a statement, he said he was nonetheless thrilled with Quraishi’s decision.

“Today’s decision is a victory for a fairer, more democratic politics in New Jersey,” he said. “It’s a victory built from the incredible grassroots work of activists across our state who saw an undemocratic system marginalizing the voices of voters, and worked tirelessly to fix it.”

This story was substantially updated at 12:52 p.m. with more information, and updated again at 2:33 p.m. with a statement from Carbone.

By Jim Hᴏft Feb. 21, 2024 8:30 am197 Comments 

Ten residents of Mercer County, New Jersey, have taken their grievances to the Superior Court, alleging severe voter disenfranchisement due to a series of errors linked to Dominion Voting Systems and the handling of the 2022 and 2023 elections.

On February 14th, the group lodged a hefty 360-page complaint, laden with evidence, detailing the systematic failures that stripped them of their fundamental voting rights.

The complaint, accessible at Wefer Law Offices, exposes the extent of the mishaps that occurred during the recent elections.

The lawsuit highlights that in 2022, a crucial technical error by Dominion Voting Systems rendered all tabulators inoperable when they failed to update ballot IDs after the County made changes to the ballot layout. This significant oversight was initially kept from the public by County officials and only surfaced following public insistence on an explanatory hearing.

 The complaint paints a chaotic scene on election day, exacerbated by subsequent egregious handling and counting of ballots. The plaintiffs argue that these actions infringed upon the civil, statutory, and constitutional rights of the voters of Mercer County, thereby invalidating the election results. 

See Full Article

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/02/exclusive-mercer-county-nj-residents-file-lawsuit-against/

ANDREW SIDAMON-ERISTOFF |FEBRUARY 1, 2024 | OPINION

 A rough comparison to New York state provides some useful insight

In a few weeks Gov. Phil Murphy will unveil his proposed budget for the next state fiscal year. Although we’ll have to wait for details, it’s reasonable to anticipate that Murphy’s 2025 budget will top his $53.1 billion proposal for 2024. Journalists and pundits will almost certainly point out that the governor has proposed yet another “record” for state spending, while some legislators and advocates will just as certainly decry the proposed budget’s “underinvestment” in critical services such as urban school aid, health care, or NJ Transit. New Jerseyans who pay attention to such matters will once again be justified in wondering what it all really means.

By any measure, $53+ billion is a huge amount of money, but huge in relation to what? For context, let’s undertake a rough comparison to our neighboring state of New York. Sneak preview: the results won’t be dispositive or particularly satisfying, but they will provide some useful insight into the financial and political dynamics of state budget making.

For the sake of simplicity, we’ll compare the two states’ budgets as proposed (not as adopted or amended) for the current fiscal year as generally reported in the press and debated in the two states’ legislatures — what I will call “headline budgets.” Purists will note that New York’s fiscal year begins on April 1 while New Jersey’s begins on July 1.

For fiscal 2024, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed spending $227 billion while Gov. Murphy proposed spending $53.1 billion. After correcting for estimated population as of July 1, 2023 (19.57 million in New York and 9.29 million in New Jersey), New York planned to spend about $11,599 per resident while New Jersey planned to spend about $5,716. Due to rounding, all numbers are approximations and valid only for comparative purposes.

Does this imply that New Jersey is relatively frugal or, by contrast, that New York is wildly profligate? No. The two states have very different approaches to displaying budget information. Notably, New York’s headline number includes spending supported by bond proceeds, federal funds, and dedicated funds, while New Jersey’s headline budget only includes spending supported by state revenues, surplus fund balances, and a relatively small open space reserve fund.

To reach a credible apples-to-apples comparison, we’ll need to make a series of adjustments to the two states’ headline budgets.

First,  New York’s headline budget includes $14.5 billion in capital spending supported by bonds or federal funds, whereas New Jersey’s does not. Logically, a fair comparison would require either subtracting this spending from New York’s headline number or increasing New Jersey’s headline number by its anticipated spending supported by bonds or federal funds. Since New Jersey doesn’t publish a consolidated capital budget proposal as such, that number isn’t readily available, so we’ll go ahead and subtract $14.5 billion from New York’s headline number, leaving $212.5 billion, or $10,858 per resident.

Second, to achieve rough parity with New York we’ll need to gross up New Jersey’s budget by $32 billion to account for $21.8 billion in anticipated federal revenue, $6.5 billion in dedicated revenues, $0.2 billion in revolving fund revenue, and $3.5 billion in Special Transportation Fund revenue. This brings New Jersey’s adjusted number to $85.1 billion, or $9,160 per resident.

In sum, after making these adjustments and assuming that revenues and spending are more or less equal, we have a rough apples-to-apples comparison showing that New York state spends about 19% more per resident.

What’s the bottom line? No matter how you score it, New York state’s budget is bigger than New Jersey’s. Yet this state-level comparison is of limited value since it doesn’t take into account the fact that the two states apportion key functions and associated spending to different levels of government. For example, New York requires its localities to fund about 20% of the combined state and local cost of its Medicaid program; New Jersey does not require a local contribution. Conversely, unlike New York, the state of New Jersey is responsible for employer contributions to teachers’ pension plans and the burden of school employees’ post-retirement medical benefits.

For what it’s worth, we can correct for differences in the apportionment of spending by comparing combined state and local spending estimates compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau. The latest available data indicates that state and local general expenditures per capita in fiscal 2021 were $15,899 in New York and $11,267 in New Jersey, about 29% less. This comparison is undoubtedly heavily impacted by the fact that New York City’s annual budget ($107 billion in fiscal 2024) exceeds that of most states.

From a strictly state-level political perspective, it’s appropriate to compare spending supported by state revenues because of the connection to state tax burdens. New York forecast $136.9 billion in state taxes and miscellaneous receipts for 2024 compared to New Jersey’s $53.8 billion in Schedule 1 state revenues. Assuming these buckets are similar, New York thus planned to raise about $6,995 in state funds per resident while New Jersey planned to raise $5,791, 17% less. However, as New Jersey’s anticipated receipts ($53.8 billion) exceeded proposed appropriations ($53.1 billion), it would be fair to calculate that New Jersey’s planned spending supported by state revenue was $5,716 per person, about 18% less than New York’s.

From a management perspective, however, I would argue that the appropriate comparison should include federal funds as well as state funds since state governments should be accountable for how they administer programs that spend federal dollars alongside state funds. After all, state taxpayers are also federal taxpayers.

Adding federal funds to New Jersey’s headline budget revealed that New Jersey anticipated  $21.8 billion ($2,347 per resident) in federal support in 2024 versus New York’s $80.1 billion ($4,093 per resident) in anticipated federal operating aid. Unless my math is wildly incorrect, this is an astonishing differential that bears much greater scrutiny and analysis.

My hunch is that New Jersey’s headline budgets have traditionally excluded federal funds for two reasons. First, no governor has wanted to waste political capital explaining a nominal year-over-year headline increase on the order of 50%. What would be the reaction if Gov. Murphy were to propose a federal funds-inclusive budget of more than $75 billion for fiscal 2025? Probably no big deal, but why go looking for trouble?

Second, and more importantly, the traditional focus on state revenue-supported spending enhances the New Jersey governor’s executive power by confining most of the Legislature’s budget-related attention to that portion of state spending, thus consigning the spending of federal dollars and dedicated revenues — about 35% of total annual spending — to relative obscurity. In politics, framing the debate is key.

Federal dollars can also distort the politics of state budget policymaking. In periods of expansion, state policymakers tend to favor programs supported by matching federal funds, since they offer more services or program impact per state dollar invested. It’s not by accident that most states including New York and New Jersey took advantage of the 2010 Affordable Care Act’s higher federal match to expand Medicaid coverage. Similarly, in periods of retrenchment, the availability of federal matching funds tends to shield those programs from budget cuts. For a given amount of state dollar savings, cutting a federally supported program has a larger service or program impact than cutting a state-supported program. Over time, this dynamic effectively cedes a significant portion of state budget priority setting to national policymakers.

What’s the big takeaway? Be cautious in evaluating and comparing state budgets. They defy easy comparison because they are not islands unto themselves. States are important but still only a part of a much larger fiscal system that includes federal and local government taxing and spending. Nonetheless, state policymakers have choices in how they present their budgets. Be mindful that those choices, in turn, have an important impact in framing the debate and assigning political accountability.

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. 

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.   

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.

July 5, 2023 Matt Rooney

 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.

Party-backed Republicans win 14th legislative district primary

Elias, Gilmartin overcome off-the-line challenge from Shah

By Joey Fox, June 06 2023 9:26 pm

The Republican organizational candidates for two Assembly seats in the 14th legislative district, Adam Elias and former Hightstown Councilwoman Skye Gilmartin, have won their Republican primary against challenger Bina Shah, the New Jersey Globe projects.

As of 9:25 p.m. and with only mail-in ballots reported, Elias and Gilmartin have 46% and 45% of the vote, respectively, while Shah has just 8%.

Shah, who was one of the district’s Republican Assembly nominees in both 2019 and 2021, attempted to get the county line this year but was rebuffed. Undeterred, she filed to run off-the-line anyways, but she never raised much money or drew attention to her campaign.

Elias and Gilmartin, alongside Senate candidate Patricia Johnson, will now confront a difficult general election in the Democratic-leaning district. Though Republicans began the cycle with hopes of competing in tough districts like the 14th, the district’s Democratic slate – State Sen. Linda Greenstein (D-Plainsboro), Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo (D-Hamilton), and Tennille McCoy – appears to be in a strong position to win.

___________________________________

MCRC March 16, 2023 Candidate Nomination Convention

An epic evening was held in Hamilton, Mercer County, New Jersey last evening where the Mercer County Republican Delegates selected their 2023 Candidates.  It is my pleasure and privilege to announce the following outstanding Mercer GOP 2023 endorsed candidates for our June 2023 Primary:      

Candidates for LD 16:  
Michael Pappas  -  Senate
Ross Traphagen  - Assembly     
Grace Zhang -  Assembly

Candidates for LD 15:
Roger Locandro    -  Senate
Michael Hurtado  -  Assembly

Candidates for LD 14:
Pat Johnson  - Senate
Adam Elias  - Assembly
Skye Gilmartin - Assembly

Mercer County:
Bryan "Bucky" Boccanfuso  For Sheriff
Joseph Stillwell  -   Commissioner
Denise Turner    -   Commissioner 

Respectfully yours,
Lisa Richford, Chair
MCRC
P.O. Box 10535
Hamilton, NJ 08650
609-954-6273
lisa@lisarichford.com

Campaign Update from Marty Flynn Hamilton Candidate for Mayor 

March was an incredibly successful month for our campaign team. I received the nomination to be Hamilton's Republican Mayoral candidate from the Hamilton Township Republican Committee, along with my running mates Michael Chianese & Gino Melone for Council.

Our team knocked on doors along the St. Patrick's Day Parade route, secured an overwhelming amount of signatures to get on the ballot, and built out our team. 

We had a wildly positive reception at the St. Patrick's Day Parade, meeting new faces and neighbors from around the town, giving out almost 3,000 stickers, and putting out dozens of lawn signs.

Our campaign had our first KICKOFF event at the Hibernians. Over 125+ supporters and friends attended our first event, kicking off our fundraising efforts in a big way.

And we are regularly attending community events in town, supporting our fellow Hamiltonians and our community.

We are just getting started - there is plenty of work to be done. Thank you to everyone for lending a hand or donating to make our efforts a success. We are very excited for all April will bring & we look forward to seeing you all on the campaign trail. 

Every dollar will make the difference in this race. We need your help. Please consider making a donation HERE -  Support - Friends of Marty Flynn (anedot.com) 

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 t

 Your tax dollars hard at work.

The New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller has released a report revealing Mercer County paid almost $4.5 million in penalties and interest for delinquent tax filings and payments between 2018 and 2021.

According to the report, the Democratic-controlled county's Finance Department regularly failed to make adequate and timely payroll tax payments to both the Internal Revenue Service as well as the New Jersey Division of Taxation.

Read More: New report: Mercer County NJ wasted millions in taxpayer dollars | https://nj1015.com/new-report-finds-mercer-county-nj-wasted-millions-of-taxpayer-dollars/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral