Stuff in the ‘Political Spending and Influence’ Category
NJEA All-In for Murphy Again Because Murphy Has Delivered for NJ’s Most Powerful Special Interest
Posted OnOctober 29, 2020 byNJEA Secretary-Treasurer Steve Beatty said it all about the NJEA’s endorsement of Gov. Murphy for re-election: “There is no governor in the nation who has worked as closely and collaboratively with public employee unions than Gov. Murphy.” Another way to put it is: special interests dominate New Jersey politics all the way to the very…Read More
We Don’t Have $55 Million for Body-Cams but We Do Have $4.7 Billion for Our Broken, Unreformed Pension System
Posted OnOctober 20, 2020 byNorthJersey.com reported that Gov. Murphy has conditionally vetoed a bill that mandated body-cameras for all uniformed police because the source of funds – civil forfeiture proceeds – is too small. All in, the body-cams would cost about $55 million. The legislature passed the bill by wide margins and the governor called the cameras a “wise…Read More
Public Sector Union Pals Pay Gov. Murphy Back with New Direction’s TV Ads
Posted OnOctober 15, 2020 byAs reported in InsiderNJ, Super PAC New Direction New Jersey (NDNJ) has cut a new ad touting Gov. Murphy’s COVID response and his recovery plans. Sunlight just wants to remind NJ citizens that NDNJ is 80% funded by the public sector unions (70% by the NJEA). Just a little more back-scratching between Murphy and his…Read More
Gov. Murphy: “Labor is at the table in New Jersey unlike any other state in America, and that will always continue to be the case.”
Posted OnOctober 6, 2020 byWell, there you have it from an excellent report by NJ101.5: a perfect, one-sentence description of NJ’s political status quo, delivered by our state’s top elected officer. Gov. Murphy was elected with the strenuous support of the public sector unions – a.k.a, our most powerful special interests – and continues to work hand-in-hand with them…Read More
Star-Ledger’s Moran: “More taxes, more spending, more borrowing! It’s party time in Trenton!”
Posted OnSeptember 28, 2020 byThe Star-Ledger’s Tom Moran’s title succinctly captures NJ’s FY2021 COVID budget. Moran notes that despite the negative impact of COVID, spending will be increased 4%. NJ citizens and businesses are tightening their belts, but not our special-interest-friendly state government. Gov. Murphy and his legislative allies are also making a $4.7 billion pension payment – as…Read More
NJSpotlight Headline Says It All: “NJ lawmakers find millions for pet projects in budget that borrows billions, raises taxes”
Posted OnSeptember 24, 2020 byJon Reitmeyer hits the nail on the head in his NJSpotlight article. Despite past words to the contrary, Gov. Murphy is acting as if nothing has changed with COVID. Government spending and payrolls certainly haven’t changed. A record $4.7 billion is pouring into an unreformed and broken public pension system. Throwing (our) good money…Read More
NJ Debt Worst in America (Again), but Gov. Murphy Is Borrowing $4.5 billion More
Posted OnSeptember 23, 2020 byTruth in Accounting came out with its “Financial State of the States 2020,” an annual report on how much debt-per-taxpayer each state owes. New Jersey once again ranked DEAD LAST in the nation for the SEVENTH STRAIGHT YEAR. Each NJ taxpayer owes a jaw-dropping $57,900 – which is $5,900 more than broke Illinois, the state…Read More
Thanks, Governor! NJEA-Funded New Direction Repays the Favors with a $1.25 Million Ad Campaign
Posted OnSeptember 22, 2020 byNJLeftBehind nails it. In a timely piece today, Laura Waters makes the connection between the NJEA going 7-for-7 on Gov. Murphy’s budget and recently signed legislation and a $1.25 million TV campaign by New Direction New Jersey, the Super PAC that is 70%-funded by the NJEA. There’s a whole lot of back-scratching going on between…Read More
New Jersey Governance in the Middle of a Pandemic: Run by and for Special Interests
Posted OnSeptember 16, 2020 byThe NJEA’s investments are paying off. New Jersey’s most powerful special interest has had a great recent run with Governor Murphy. As is well known, the NJEA was “all-in” for Phil Murphy when he ran for governor and strongly boosted his candidacy. Since Murphy’s election, the NJEA and its public-sector union allies have pumped…Read More
The NJEA Hits the Trifecta with Murphy’s Budget; the Rest of NJ, Not So Much
Posted OnAugust 26, 2020 byGovernor Murphy presented a nine-month FY2021 budget yesterday that props up state government spending by issuing bonds and raising taxes. As analyzed by NJ Spotlight’s Jon Reitmeyer, there is virtually no state government belt-tightening: state spending will “still top $40 billion for a traditional 12-month fiscal year … even as he is projecting steep revenue…Read More