By Matt Friedman

Presented by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey

Well, that was unexpected.

Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill appeared poised to replace his wife, Alixon Collazos-Gill, as the Assembly nominee in the 27th District, but that changed just as Democratic committee members at West Orange High School voted on it.

Not long after the convention’s scheduled start time, New Jersey Globe and NJ Advance Media reported that Collazos-Gill would remain as the nominee and that her husband would not, in fact, run. I confirmed it with Gill last night.

Why did this happen? Gill told me that it was always his wife's decision to drop out, and that she changed her mind about it and chose to run. He bristled at the suggestion that dropping out was not her decision.

Gill’s impending replacement of his wife was really not well-received with a lot of people I talked to, for many reasons, including the idea of a woman of color dropping out to be replaced by her white husband. See the quote of the day below for another reason. Did our story from Monday about the subpoena asking questions about Gill’s business play a role? I doubt it helped, but I never got the sense talking to people that it imperiled Gill’s prospects for this seat in any serious way. "It didn't," Gill told me

Assemblymember John McKeon, as expected, will be the Democratic nominee for the Senate seat being vacated after 42 years by Dick Codey, and Livingston Councilmember Rosaura Bagolie will run for the other seat.

TIPS? FEEDBACK? Email me at [email protected].

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Why should Democratic voters believe their votes matter when entire slates of nominees are being replaced by party officials through backroom deals in the dead of August?” — New Jersey Working Families Party Director Antoinette Miles on District 27

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Michele Siekerka, Maura DeNicola, Miranda Helck, Mike Burns, the album Born to Run. Saturday for Bob Torricelli, Michael Illions. Sunday for Bruce Weekes

WHERE’S MURPHY? In Neptune to sign legislation “strengthening protections for veterans.”

PROGRAMMING NOTE — New Jersey Playbook will not be publishing from Aug. 28 through Sept. 4. We’ll be back to our normal schedule on Tuesday, Sept. 5.

 

YES, NEW JERSEY, THERE IS A CENTRAL JERSEY — “Central Jersey exists, period,” Gov. Phil Murphy said Thursday as he signed the bill I first wrote about here that directs the New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism to promote Central Jersey and to redraw the state’s tourism map ‘to create a ‘Central Jersey’ region comprised, at a minimum of the counties of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset.” “It’s a pleasure to be in a place that finally formally exists and you knew it existed all your life,” said Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, who’s from Woodbridge. The bill’s two main sponsors, state Sen. Andrew Swicker (D-Middlesex) and Assemblymember Roy Freiman (D-Somerset), happen to be in competitive reelection races this year. So perhaps they’re trying to stir up some Central Jersey pride. “New Jersey is more than just the shore,” Freiman said.

A message from Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey:

Horizon has been building healthy communities across New Jersey for 90 years. Last year, we partnered with 255 community organizations across the state to tackle food insecurity, address opioid abuse, and expand mental health access to NJ residents who need it most. New Jersey isn’t just our home, it’s who we are and all we do. Horizon is here for you.

SOUTH JERSEY DEMS EXPAND PHANTOM CANDIDATE PROGRAM TO GENERAL ELECTIONS — “Democrat challenging Testa is ghosting the campaign,” by The Press of Atlantic City’s Bill Barlow: “Charles Laspata, a union electrician from Millville, filed petitions in the spring to challenge Republican incumbent Michael Testa for his 1st Legislative District Senate seat. It does not sound like he’s done much about the campaign since then. Democratic leaders in Cape May and Cumberland counties say they have not heard from Laspata, and attempts to contact the candidate through email, social media and by phone have been unsuccessful. ‘We haven’t had any contact with him,’ said S. Harvey Roach, chairman of the leadership committee for Cape May County Democrats … He has no campaign website of his own, and there is little activity on his personal Facebook page. The website of New Jersey’s Election Law Enforcement Commission does not show any of the required campaign finance forms have been filed for the primary election.”

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SENATORIAL DISCOURTESY — “Will NJ's judicial vacancy crisis extend beyond the fall election? It looks like it,” by The Record’s Katie Sobko: “In the days and weeks leading up to the New Jersey Legislature’s summer recess, much attention was paid to the state of the judiciary. During multiple committee sessions in June, 15 Superior Court judges and a new member of the state Supreme Court were appointed. As the session wrapped, lawmakers said they would likely reconvene over the summer to consider more appointments. No special sessions were called, though, and the calendar doesn’t bode well for the coming weeks and months, either. There are no legislative sessions currently on the books, and with all 120 seats in Trenton on the ballot in November, lawmakers may not be back until after that.”

THE KIDS AREN’T ALRIGHT — “The lasting effects of lockdowns Fights, weapons, and unruly kids. Inside the mounting misbehavior crisis at N.J. schools,” by NJ Advance Media’s Tina Kelley: “Across New Jersey this school year, three teens were arrested after an afterschool fight involving guns, a sixth grader stabbed a fifth grader, and violence marred the state’s high school basketball season, with four teams banned from the playoffs for fighting. Fights, viral recordings of fights, bullying, and a large increase in students caught with weapons in school reflect a broader trend in student misbehavior, education experts say, attributing it to missed social interactions and development when the coronavirus closed schools for months. The pressure has been building since students returned to the classroom after the pandemic. In 2021-22, the year with the most recent figures, the state’s School Performance Reports logged 1,372 weapons offenses, mostly involving knives. That’s a 48% increase from the 2018-19 school year, the last full one before the pandemic. There were 13,451 incidents of violence, a 9% rise. The state also saw a 12% increase in confirmed bullying-related incidents and a 10% increase in the number of days students missed school due to suspensions.”

—Two GOP senators look to intervene in school parental notification cases

—“Trump to attend fundraiser for Giuliani next month amid legal battles” 

—Snowflack: “The NJEA, martians, and the Republican prez debate” 

NJ POLITICS ONLY HAS ROOM FOR ONE VIGILANTE, AND SHE’S IN GLOUCESTER COUNTY — “N.J. mayor pursued stolen vehicle that crashed, killing 2, lawsuit says,” by Kevin Shea for NJ.com: “The mayor of Princeton was behind the wheel of a vehicle that engaged a fleeing stolen car in late 2021 which eventually crashed in town, killing a teenage suspect and an innocent motorist, a recent lawsuit filing alleges. Mayor Mark Freda activated a blue emergency light in his vehicle during the pursuit or chase, the suit charges … Freda is also a 45-year member of the Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad, for which he currently serves as president. In one of those roles, Freda was involved in the pursuit or chase of a vehicle on Nov. 7, 2021 that crossed into oncoming traffic on Princeton-Kingstown Road and killed driver Jodi Marcou, 61, of South Brunswick. The driver of the stolen vehicle, 15-year-old Damajia Jenay “Majia” Horner, of Newark, also died in the collision. (An unidentified 14-year-old passenger from Newark was critically injured and survived.) The allegation is in a lawsuit filed on behalf of Marcou’s husband David Marcou, who is suing the town, the estate of Horner and several others. Freda was added in July to the suit, filed in Middlesex County, records show”

HOWELL — “Howell considers changing transgender student policy as tension grows between parents,” by MyCentralJersy’s Amanda Oglesby: “Viktor Velstra said he couldn't stay silent. Velstra, 42, is one of several area residents who voiced their concerns to the Board of Education Wednesday. Howell is the latest Monmouth County school district to consider altering its policies surrounding transgender students — an issue that is roiling county parents and already has invited lawsuits from State Attorney General Matthew Platkin. Veltstra, who is a transgender nonbinary man, said his youngest child came out at age 8 and by age 10 began presenting as male in school. While his child was fully supported at home through that journey, other students are not so lucky, he said. ‘We have a family member who is also LGBTQ, also in the Monmouth County area, who was outed to their parents — who are not supportive — against their will by a school official,’ said Veltstra. ‘And it has done incredibly detrimental things to that child." The child then ran away from home multiple times by the age of 12, he said.’”

A message from Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey:

DOH!-ERTY — “Atlantic City Housing Authority now considered 'troubled' by HUD,” by The Press of Atlantic City’s Michelle Brunetti Post: “The Atlantic City Housing Authority is now considered a ‘troubled’ authority by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Executive Director Matt Doherty said at Thursday’s board meeting. ‘The internal financial controls of the authority are broken,’ Doherty said. ‘The singular source of the problem is with procurement and our current QPA (qualified purchasing agent) of record Jerry Volpe.’ Doherty said Volpe, an authority contractor with Governance and Fiscal Affairs LLC, has been the authority's QPA for about a year and failed to issue requests for proposals in a timely manner to hire an auditor … Volpe, who is at the meeting, was asked by a board member the reason for the delay in advertising for an auditor, but before he could answer, board attorney Rich DeLucry stopped the discussion and the board went into executive session.”

HE’S NOT DOWN WITH OCC — “Former Ocean County College president resigns as $150K part-time consultant,” by The Asbury Park Press Erik Larsen: “Former Ocean County College President Jon H. Larson has resigned as a $150,000 salaried part-time consultant, less than two months after he signed a contract with the Board of Trustees to stay on for up to the next two years in that role, the administration announced Thursday. The appointment had sparked controversy as it was formalized the same day in June that the community college was warned that its accreditation may be in jeopardy in the future, due to insufficient evidence the institution had met certain standards as to how it is governed and administered. Larson’s new role — in which he was to ‘average’ work weeks of 20 hours — also was made without consideration as to whether the new president, Pamela Monaco, wanted her longtime predecessor to stay on as a senior aide to her.”

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ALLEGEDLY TREATING WORKERS LIKE GARBAGE (LITERALLY)— “LIUNA rallies at Jersey City’s One Journal Square after ‘bizarre’ response to worker injury,” by Hudson County View’s Daniel Ulloa: “The LIUNA union protested against the Kushner Companies-owned One Journal Square construction site after a worker was injured and it allegedly took over an hour for an ambulance to be called … In this instance, they alleged that instead of getting immediate medical attention from EMS, employees from Kushner Cos. used a trash container to move the injured worker. ‘That might sound bizarre because it is. Not only was he taken off the job in a trash can, but he was held on the job for almost an hour before the ambulance came. They moved him even though he broken ribs, possible internal injuries with internal bleeding,’ LIUNA Eastern Region Chief of Staff Bernard Callegari said.”

IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THE URGENCY — “How much would you pay for a dump? In Sayreville, it's $20 million,” by MyCentralJersey’s Susan Loyer: “The borough's former landfill, a former Superfund site, may be sold for $20 million. The Borough Council introduced an ordinance Aug. 21 to enter into a purchase agreement with CP MD Jernee Mill Road LLC for the sale of the Sayreville Landfill No. 3, on the west side of Jernee Mill Road at the intersection of Red Oak Lane, provided all governmental approvals are obtained. The public hearing and final vote on the sale is scheduled for the Sept. 11 Borough Council meeting.”

—“Lakewood won't see school aid changes until at least 2024, state says” 

—“'We don't need to be patient anymore': Asbury Park schools chief shows off improvements” 

—“Zatiti Moody and other Paterson principals ‘blindsided’ by transfers. Here's why” 

—“Joyce Pratt to run for Atlantic County executive against incumbent Levinson” 

DEI ANOTHER DAY — “Rutgers poll shows skepticism, political divide over workplace diversity efforts in NJ,” by The Record’s Daniel Munoz: “Amid national debates on corporate diversity programs, a new survey shows that the efforts remain controversial among New Jerseyans, with workers divided along partisan and racial lines. The poll, conducted by New Jersey-based Taft Communications and the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers, found that 42% of adult employees in the state consider a ‘diverse representation of genders, races, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, ages and people of all types of abilities’ to be ‘essential’ in the workplace. It found that 56% of respondents felt that such diversity either wasn’t essential or was not important at all.”

OLD HABITS — “Sisterly Love: Caldwell nuns have lived for a century, and been friends nearly as long,” by The Record’s Deena Yellin: “They've been nuns for nearly nine decades. And they've been best friends for almost as long. Fellow sisters Mary Amelia Cetera and Gerardine Mueller — 100 and 101 respectively — are the oldest nuns at the 140-year-old Sisters of Saint Dominic, a Congregation of Dominican Sisters in Caldwell … Cetera boasted about her talented best friend. ‘She creates beautiful art, and we're all proud of her,’ she exclaimed, grinning at Mueller who smiled sheepishly. Mueller in turn, said her best friend is admired far and wide as an educator who has touched many lives. As they prepare for their birthdays, the centenarians of the Dominical Sisters know exactly how they will celebrate: with heaping bowls of ice cream. Mueller, who turns 102 next month favors vanilla, while Cetera, whose 101st birthday is in November, prefers chocolate.”

THE KITTIES OF FURLINGTON COUNTY — “Meet Leo, the TikTok famous cat who lives inside a South Jersey Home Depot,” by The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Beatrice Forman: “Leo is a stray cat who was adopted by the staff at the Home Depot inside the East Gate shopping center in Mount Laurel in summer 2022, according to store manager John Vazquez. ‘We knew instantly this was his new home,’ Vazquez told The Inquirer. ‘He is unlike any other cat.’ Vazquez said Leo has always “loved people and attention,” but his outgoing personality reached new levels when Jeff Simkpins, a Mount Laurel resident and commercial floorer, started chronicling Leo’s adventures among the aisles of tools and paint chips on a TikTok account called @cat_dad_2020 in June.”

—“Thanks to this musician and his 7 albums, you have now heard of 'Jersey Swamp Rock'”  

—“N.J. group helps man wrongfully convicted of murder get his name cleared” 

—“Message in a bottle from Ireland washes up on a Jersey Shore beach” 

—“NorthJersey.com and The Record name Regan Apo as general manager” 

A message from Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey:

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey has been New Jersey’s health insurer for 90 years offering quality, affordable health plans. We make health care simple by having every hospital in the state in our network. And, we have a long history of helping address the most pressing health issues our members - and our state - face daily.

We partner with local organizations to help them make a difference in the health of our communities. Last year, we supported 255 community-based organizations to address the physical, mental, and social needs of our members - such as food insecurity, mental health, safe housing, and scholarships to support the next generation of doctors and dentists who come from historically underserved communities.

At Horizon, we’re working to create a healthier New Jersey for everyone. We are Horizon. We are New Jersey.

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