While the filing date to run for Congress in 2022 is still months away and the primary in New Jersey beyond that, the fields for both parties are taking shape. The six districts in the North-JerseyNews.com coverage area are held by Democrats. National Republicans believe the path to regain the House goes through New Jersey this Fall, with eyes on defeating Reps. Josh Gottheimer, Mikie Sherrill and Tom Malinowski. North Jersey will have at least one new member as Rep. Albio Sires announced that he was retiring and would not seek re-election in 2022. North-JerseyNews.com
Passaic County Republicans awarded the organization line to Paul DeGroot for the 11th Congressional District. DeGroot, a political newcomer and former assistant Passaic County Prosecutor, defeated six Republican candidates—and one possible candidate, Assemblywoman Aura Dunn (R-25)—in his bid to take on Rep. Mikie Sherrill. Investment banker Frank Pallotta will again have the Passaic GOP line for his rematch against Rep. Josh Gottheimer in the 5th district and Billy Prempeh defeated realtor Patrick Quinn to run against Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. in the 9th. New Jersey Globe
Former Senate President Steve Sweeney has filed a lawsuit to challenge his ouster from the commission charged with redrawing state legislative district boundaries. Sweeney’s complaint charges that state Democratic Chair LeRoy Jones did not have the authority to remove him as one of the Apportionment Commission’s five Democratic members and replace him with Belmar resident Laura Matos. “The New Jersey Constitution does not provide for the removal of a member of the Commission once appointed,” the lawsuit reads. Additionally, the lawsuit charges breach of contract, stating that Sweeney signed an agreement that he would vote with the other four Democratic members of the commission as a bloc and that “the agreement does not permit removal from the Commission in absence of a violation of its terms.” PoliticoNJ
The same day political consultant Sean Caddle pleaded guilty in a murder-for-hire plot, he was meeting with FBI agents in connection with an ongoing undercover operation that has yet to become public, his attorney said. “He’s signed on as a cooperating witness,” his attorney, Edwin J. Jacobs, told U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez in Newark during a plea proceeding this week. “I don’t want to place a lot of detail on this record. I will simply leave it at this: As recently as today, he has been working, collaborating, with the FBI in developing an important investigation.” Federal officials have not disclosed any details of that investigation. NJ.com
President Joe Biden along with Congressional Democrats and Republicans got poor grades for the the handling of the economy, according to a newly released poll by Monmouth University. President Biden garnered his lowest approval rating to date in Monmouth University polls over the past year, with only 39% approving of the job he’s doing and just 30% of respondents feel President Biden is very concerned with looking out for the economic well-being of average Americans. At the same time 23% of poll respondents said Democrats in Congress are very concerned with looking out for the economic well-being of average Americans—but still higher than the 20% who responded that saw Republicans were very concerned. North-JerseyNews.com
Employers spent 4% more on compensation last year, an increase not seen since 2001, as they competed for workers in a tight labor market. Economists caution that there are numerous factors contributing to high inflation during the pandemic, but labor costs are a significant contributor to rising prices. The current tight labor market is encouraging many workers with bargaining power to switch jobs and demand more pay, raising the risk of a destabilizing inflation dynamic known as a wage-price spiral. The Wall Street Journal
President Joe Biden “reaffirmed the readiness of the United States along with its allies and partners to respond decisively” if Russia launched a military incursion in a phone call on Jan. 27 with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky The Ukrainian leader, whose government has sought to project calm in the face of American warnings that a Russian attack is imminent, thanked the U.S. for mobilizing allies to deter aggression from Moscow but pointed to prospects of a diplomatic resolution—including an agreement this week with Russia to return to a cease-fire in a long-simmering conflict between Ukrainian troops and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. The New York Times
State lawmakers advanced a package of bills aimed at reducing property taxes in New Jersey, taking the first step toward delivering on promises legislators on both sides of the aisle have been making in recent months to make the state more affordable. The state Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee on Jan. 27 unanimously approved six bills that largely target New Jersey’s inflated property taxes and provide financial relief to renters and homeowners. “I appreciate that some of my Democrat colleagues now seem willing to work with Republicans who have long sought to address the affordability concerns of New Jerseyans,” said State Sen. Holly Schepisi (R-39). “It’ll take a bipartisan effort to convince the Murphy Administration that a wholesale shift in tax policy is desperately needed to turn the Garden State around.” NJ.com
The number of new COVID-19 cases is down nearly 30,000 from its peak three weeks ago. The state reported 5,993 total new PCR cases on Jan. 27, the second time the number has been under 6,000 for one day since Dec. 15, 2021. Daily new cases peaked at 33,459 on Jan. 7. Another key metric continues to descend as well with hospitalization statewide at 3,723. Patients in the hospital that have tested for COVID plateaued at 6,089 on Jan. 11, a decline of almost 40%. It is the ninth day in a row that hospitalization were lower from the day before. North-JerseyNews.com
Mount Olive Mayor Rob Greenbaum is asking Gov. Phil Murphy to reconsider his school mask mandate. Council members discussed their opposition to the state mask mandate in schools and considered passing a resolution to oppose it. Greenbaum said he was not in favor of the resolution, and instead suggested sending a letter to Murphy to explain the local situation. “A resolution, which is nonbinding, from a town council, when it’s really a school issue, is not the right way,” Greenbaum said. “The letter that I sent was intended to let the governor know that there was a large segment of residents in town who felt that he should reconsider his decision to mandate masks in school.” The Daily Record
State Sen. Edward Durr (R-3) introduced a new bill that would require schools to get approval from parents before mandating masks. Durr argues since the FDA classifies masks as medical devices, no minor should be required to wear one without a parent or guardian’s consent. News12 New Jersey
Bayonne, Guttenberg and North Bergen will return to their regular, in-person school schedules next week. Bayonne and North Bergen have been allowing students to opt for remote learning in recent weeks and Guttenberg has been open on a half-day schedule only, due to the Winter spike in coronavirus cases related to the Omicron variant. On Jan. 31, Guttenberg will return to full day learning and all Bayonne and North Bergen students will return Feb. 1. The Jersey Journal
The Murphy Administration will replenish the federal funds taken from its COVID relief program for unauthorized immigrants and extend the program by one month through the end of February. Gov. Phil Murphy originally put $40 million into the Excluded New Jerseyans Fund, then added $10 million more last month but reallocated $34 million out of the fund at the end of December because it was unspent and would have reverted to the federal government. Under the new rules, individuals with annual household incomes of $55,000 or less, who live in New Jersey, are over 18 years old and were excluded from federal COVID stimulus payments and pandemic unemployment assistance can apply to the fund without additional documentation demonstrating COVID-related impacts. The program is primarily for immigrants not legally in the country but applies to people returning from the justice system and any other individuals otherwise excluded from pandemic-related financial help. NJ1015.com
Gov. Phil Murphy was in Paterson to announce new initiatives aimed at stemming the tide of violence. Murphy will allocate $8.2 million in grants from the American Rescue Plan for 25 anti-violence community groups around the state, along with $7 million for technology for police departments throughout New Jersey. The governor and his acting attorney general, Andrew Bruck, emphasized the importance of investing in community anti-violence groups while putting money into improving law enforcement. The police funding will cover the costs of integrating what currently are three distinct systems—acoustic gunshot detection devices, surveillance cameras and automatic license plate readers. The Record
Alongside plans to replace one of the most heavily used and oldest bridges in New Jersey, state officials unveiled their vision to add a new light rail connection between the Meadowlands and Secaucus Junction train station. As part of a $143.6 million federally-funded project to construct a new eastbound Route 3 bridge over the Hackensack River, the span will be built to hold a future light rail light that could allow for easier access to destinations at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, such as the American Dream megamall and MetLife Stadium. “We have a vision for the Secaucus Junction train station to make it a hub for those who wish to come and enjoy entertainment at American Dream, or a game at the stadium,” said NJDOT Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti. North-JerseyNews.com
An emergency meeting was called Jan. 26 by the Englewood Cliffs borough council to fire a special attorney. The resolution to dismiss special counsel Eric Bernstein and his firm, Eric M. Bernstein and Associates, came after Borough Council members had discovered that Mayor Mario Kranjac “sought to take action with respect to litigation,” including meeting with the litigants in the affordable housing legislation, and that action was “inconsistent with the direction and desires of the borough council.” Kranjac deemed the council meeting illegal and took issue with the resolution approved by the council that he said portrayed him in a “false light.” The Record
New Jersey may not meet a self-imposed deadline originally set for late February to open New Jersey’s legal cannabis consumer market. Jeff Brown, the executive director of the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission, said a number of factors are still in the way before the doors can open, including lack of municipal buy-in. More than 400 towns—about 71% of the state’s municipalities—have passed ordinances prohibiting cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, wholesale distribution, delivery, and dispensing. “There’s still a lot to be done,” said Brown. “Feb. 22 is not a concrete date to open. There is no firm commitment on timing of when recreational sales will begin.” New Jersey Monitor
Jersey City will spend more than $1 billion to upgrade the city’s drinking water system and improve its municipal combined sewer system under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency. The agreement, with the city’s Municipal Utilities Authority, is expected to significantly reduce the amount of pollution being discharged into the Hackensack River, Hudson River and Newark Bay, and benefit many Jersey City neighborhoods that face environmental justice challenges. Under the agreement, the the city promises to replace more than 12,000 lead drinking water pipes. The Jersey Journal
And finally…Blizzard warnings in place for parts of New Jersey with up to 18 inches of snow possible Saturday. News12 New Jersey
