Trump, ethics, NJ Transit and, yes, a millionaires tax. What Phil Murphy's speech means

Gov. Phil Murphy bounded onto the Assembly dais Tuesday, following the tried and true State of the State script used by his predecessors.

He patted himself on the back for his success — "I am proud to report that the state of our state is stronger and fairer than ever," he boasted — and vowed to usher in a new era of change.

So what did Murphy say, and what did it mean? Here are six takeaways from Tuesday's speech.

A call for ethics reform

The governor promised to propose a raft of ethics reforms in the coming weeks. Among his ideas: strengthen financial disclosure rules, toughen pay-to-play rules and "expand transparency,'' a feel-good slogan that's of the "fairer, stronger" variety.

The issue has bubbled up in recent months. A series of stories last year by USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey reporters served as a reminder of New Jersey's squishy-to-lame ethics and disclosure laws. The disclosure form filed each May provides only a scant glimpse of the legislator's earnings and potential conflicts, for example.

The grassroots activists who back Murphy have made changing the culture in Trenton a top priority. But it remains a long shot at best — legislators are rarely eager to pass laws that limit their earning power. Murphy also has few allies in the Legislature to champion his agenda.

The governor, however, can use the ethics reform as a way to draw contrasts with the Legislature. In Tuesday's speech, Murphy painted himself as an agent of change who is taking on the corrupt and calcified status quo of Trenton. That theme will be a useful foil to help burnish his brand as a progressive outsider.

The irony here is that Murphy's top lieutenants run a "dark money" operation financed by secret donors that promotes his message and agenda. (The group New Direction New Jersey did make a one-time disclosure of its donors and the amounts they gave last year, but there was no commitment to continue the practice.)

Murphy is hardly the only New Jersey politician boosted by a dark money group. Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, is also aligned with one.

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Tax hike: NJ Gov. Phil Murphy once again pitches tax hike on millionaires, targets Trenton 'culture'

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Reprising the millionaires tax

Murphy appears intent on pushing again for a tax hike on incomes of $1 million or higher. The idea has been twice rejected by the Democratic leaders who control the Legislature, and there is little chance that the governor will get his way this time around.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, says he fears that it would spur an exodus of affluent residents to tax shelter states, especially after President Donald Trump's 2017 tax cut law that also placed a $10,000 limit on state and local tax deductions.

And it will be harder for Murphy to make the case for a tax hike at a time when state revenue collections have surged beyond expectations.

But like the ethics reform, the "fight" for a millionaires tax — as Murphy called it Tuesday — is perhaps more important than the result. Again, he can cast himself as the avenging crusader for the middle class, tilting against deeply entrenched powers of Trenton.

In fact, shaking up the Trenton "culture" was the main theme of the speech. He returned to the theme of culture change eight times.

Opposing health and pension benefit reform

Murphy made it clear Tuesday that he will continue opposing any attempt to force public employees and teachers (or "educators," as he called them) to pay more for health and pension benefits.

Public employees, a bedrock Murphy constituency, are still haunted by the landmark "Chapter 78" reforms of 2011, which effectively reduced their take-home pay.

Sweeney, who has emerged as Murphy's chief political foe, has called for more benefit givebacks as part of his "Path to Progress" cost-cutting reforms. Sweeney has said he won't consider raising taxes unless those reforms are enacted. But Murphy, in so few words, said the "Path" is dead on arrival.

Any cost savings, he said, will be achieved through "partnership" negotiations, which unions prefer.

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Donald Trump remains a useful foil

There was a marked drop off in Murphy's Trump-bashing, an often-used tactic in his first year in office. Yet he could not resist attacking Trump as a menace to subsidized health care and to funding for reproductive rights.

"I’m proud we are fighting the Trump administration’s efforts to block women from receiving vital information critical for them to make important decisions," he said.

Murphy as #MeToo crusader?

Murphy, whose administration came under fire for its failure to heed a rape allegation by an employee, cast himself Tuesday as a #MeToo-era champion, vowing to attack the pervasive misogyny, sexism and abuse that have flourished for generations in Trenton politics.

"And I am calling on those who have stood idly by ... to start speaking up and speaking out whenever they witness injustice,'' he said.

The irony here is that top Murphy officials failed to speak up when staffer Katie Brennan charged that she had been raped by Al Alvarez, a campaign operative, in 2017. Alvarez has denied the allegation, but the episode became the focus of a contentious legislative investigation in 2018 and challenged Murphy's progressive, pro-feminist brand.

But the focus on sexual assault and abuse has shifted to wider New Jersey political culture in the wake of a recent NJ.com report, in which 20 women, most of them anonymously, recounted incidents of being groped, propositioned and even raped. Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, is forming an ad hoc committee to study the "toxic culture that women face in politics."

Tuesday's speech gave Murphy the opportunity to get out of his defensive crouch over the Brennan incident by vowing to press for change — even if most of the reform measures enacted recently are relatively minor.

"Misogyny is alive and well. But, together, we can change that,'' Murphy said. The strategy appeared to have worked, at least on Tuesday. His remarks received a standing ovation.

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Going on the offensive over NJ Transit woes

NJ Transit has bedeviled Murphy's tenure with chronic delays, engineer shortages and funding pressures. Murphy has said he will fix NJ Transit "if it kills me,'' and on Tuesday he promised soon to unveil a 10-year strategic plan and a five-year capital plan.

As a candidate, Murphy endorsed the idea of a funding stream exclusively "dedicated" to NJ Transit. He also did not rule out the possibility of enacting a new tax to finance the fund.

He didn't explicitly mention that idea but said he will have more to say about the transit agency's future in his budget address next month.

Charlie Stile is a veteran New Jersey political columnist. For unlimited access to his unique insights into New Jersey’s political power structure and his powerful watchdog work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: stile@northjersey.com Twitter: @politicalstile