Ranked-choice voting proposed in N.J. Presented by Pre-K Our Way

Good Wednesday morning!

You’ve probably heard of ranked-choice voting, in which voters rank their choices on a ballot and the results work kind of like an instant run-off.


Well, the effort has landed here in New Jersey. Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker (D-Middlesex), fresh off making the bog turtle the official state reptile, on Monday introduced a bill to convert New Jersey into a ranked-choice voting state.

There’s a bunch of things that would have to happen first. We’d need new voting machines, for one. And we’d have to amend the state constitution if we want to rank our choices for governor. Oh, and there’s the small matter of getting political bosses to agree to something that would probably decrease their power.

But it’s at least an interesting idea, if very unlikely to happen. Read more about it here.

DAYS SINCE MURPHY-ALIGNED GROUP INTENTIONALLY BLEW OFF SELF-IMPOSED DEADLINE TO DISCLOSE ITS DONORS: 79

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Charles Green: “My name is, my name is I’m the warden of the Essex County correction facility… I’m the warden of the Essex County Correctional Facility.”

Cop: “It’s in your best interest to stop telling us that you’re the warden of the Essex County [Correctional Facility], ok?”

— From bodycam video of Green’s DUI arrest. Green also handed the county identification card with his position on it unsolicited to the first cop who pulled him over. Watch the video here

WHERE’S MURPHY — Holding a press conference on the “New Jersey Innovation Evergreen Fund” at 11a.m. in North Brunswick (My apologies for being off by an hour for Murphy’s press conference on Tuesday).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Democratic consultant Adam Silverstein, Newark Housing Authority’s Victor Cirilo, CIG’s Gerry Gibbs, Watson Coleman aide Petra Gaskin





WHAT TRENTON MADE



IN THE WEEDS — “Stile: In push for legal weed, time for Governor Murphy to flex his political muscle,” by The Record’s Charles Stile: “Gov. Phil Murphy invoked Hillary Clinton's famous translation of an African proverb on Monday as he described his plan to lock down votes for legalizing recreational marijuana. "It's going to take a village on this one,'' Murphy told reporters in Fort Lee. It's not entirely surprising to hear Murphy cite the title of Clinton's book about the communal nurturing of children -- he was one of Clinton's top tier fundraisers in 2016. Yet, this isn't really time for the Kumbayah, feel-good language, but for the brass tacks talk of the smoke-filled backrooms of Trenton lore. This is crunch time for the long-delayed drive to legalize weed, which is expected to yield $40 million in revenue next year and potentially hundreds of millions for a cash-starved state budget in years to come. But as it stands, the proverbial caucus room is clouded with acrid billows of pot smoke, leaving supporters, fence-sitters and foes colliding in confusion and seeking leadership. Murphy's point is that he's not going to reach the promised land of passage by himself. It is going to take help from his powerful and bitter rival, Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, to whip up the needed 21 votes in the Senate and 41 in the Assembly.” Read more here

PERHAPS THIS COULD SWAY SARLO ON LEGAL WEED — “Zoning board document confirms: Krispy Kreme is coming to East Rutherford” Read more here

YOU HAD AL ALVAREZ THERE AND DIDN’T EVEN ASK HIM ABOUT IT — Legislative leaders weigh requests for expanded SDA inquiry, by POLITICO's Ryan Hutchins: Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have been calling on the Legislative Select Oversight Committee to expand its inquiring into the Schools Development Authority, potentially prolonging a scandal that has come to dog Gov. Phil Murphy. On Tuesday, two Republican senators wrote a letter formally asking the Democratic chairs of the panel to expand the inquiry into the SDA. Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, the committee’s co-chair, said she had also received similar requests from Democratic lawmakers. “I think we will have to have a meeting with our leadership to discuss their request and the request I put into leadership based upon requests from members of the Senate Democratic Caucus,” Weinberg said. “I have not gotten an answer.” Read more here

—“Delgado-Polanco tells Democrats she did nothing wrong, won’t apologize” Read more here

VIVEK GARIPALLI SURE SEEMS TO LIKE SHELL COMPANIES — SCI: CarePoint owners used shell companies to extract $157M from 3 hospitals, by POLITICO’s Sam Sutton: “The principal owners of CarePoint Health set up shell companies to pull more than $157 million in “management fees” from the three Hudson County hospitals they rescued from insolvency, according to a report from the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation. Between 2013 and 2016, Bayonne Medical Center, Christ Hospital in Jersey City and Hoboken University Medical Center paid annual amounts ranging from $6.3 million to $33.3 million to a pair of entities, IJKG and Sequoia Healthcare Management, that were controlled by the for-profit health system’s three principal owners — Vivek Garipalli, James Lawler and Jeffrey Mandler … IJKG collected the bulk of the fees — almost $99 million — from Bayonne Medical Center. Christ Hospital and Hoboken University Medical Center paid more than $58 million combined to Sequoia … In 2016, when CarePoint laid off about 90 employees, the three hospitals coughed up roughly $30 million to IJKG and Sequoia.” Read more here

FLASHBACK - “For-profit hospital owner is pro-Fulop super PAC's secret $1M donor” Read more here

SERENATY NOW! — “Ethics panel finds probable cause to investigate DiMaso,” by New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “The Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards today found probable cause to investigate an ethics complaint filed against Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso (R-Holmdel) by two of her colleagues. Two Monmouth County Democratic legislators, Eric Houghtaling (D-Neptune) and Joann Downey (D-Freehold), filed a complaint last July alleging that a robocall DiMaso recorded following their vote on the state budget violated the Truth-In-Caller ID Act when an automated dialing system was programmed to spoof their phone number as the originator of the robocall.” Read more here

—“NJ rules limit police from helping ICE are now in effect. Here's what it means for cops” Read more here

—“New Jersey officially recognizes Ramapoughs, Powhatan as American Indian tribes” Read more here

—“Pascrell-Currie tiff evident at St. Pat’s party in the Brownstone” Read more here





TRUMP ERA



COFFEE IS ACTUALLY A COMPOSITE CHARACTER OF SEVERAL BEVERAGES BOOKER HAS CONSUMED OVER MANY YEARS — “'Broke up with sleep': Cory Booker exposed as addicted to coffee jokes,” from The Guardian: “The US Democratic presidential hopeful Cory Booker has been exposed on Twitter for making the same joke – about loving coffee so much he is ‘dating it’ – almost every year for the past 10 years. The New Jersey senator has tweeted slight variations on the same phrase – that he has ‘broken up wit’ sleep and is now ‘dating coffee’ – 14 times over the past decade. The serial joke repeating was exposed in a thread from Anna Fitzpatrick. Cory Booker: Democratic senator announces presidential bid Read more In the tweets, Booker variously describes coffee as his ‘hot friend’ and a ‘hot, tall, delicious one’, and jokes that sleep is ‘serving him divorce papers’ due to his love affair with coffee.” Read more here

—“Booker makes first cut for Democratic presidential debates” Read more here

—“Booker, a former high school football star, says the sport should be made safer” Read more here

—Murphy warns surplus off limits as budget negotiations loom Read more here

—“Ex-prison guards can now patrol N.J. schools as armed police” Read more here

—“Jared Kushner’s dad secretly met Cory Booker in a stairwell while in halfway house: Book” Read more here

TWEET OF THE DAY: “Received a briefing from @GovMurphy on the marijuana legalization bill in NJ. Very impressed by the strong social justice components - expedited expungement, virtual expungement, and M/WBE prioritization. It's time to get this passed NJ!!!” — @TheRevAl





LOCAL



TRENTON: LET US TAKE FOR ONCE — ”Trenton seeks $10m a year to offset revenue lost on tax-exempt state buildings,” by NJ Spotlight’s John Reitmeyer: “Trenton’s mayor, a former state lawmaker, wants to bring back money to the state budget that once compensated the capital for having a large share of its real estate occupied by tax-exempt state-government buildings. Under a measure that cleared its first legislative hurdle in the State House yesterday and seems to be supported by Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration, the state would reinstate the category of ‘Trenton Capital City Aid’ in the annual budget and fund it with at least $10 million each year. The city would also receive a supplemental appropriation of $10 million before the current fiscal year runs out on June 30, according to the bill.” Read more here

VICE CITY — “Atlantic City may ban recreational marijuana sales as statewide legalization looms,” by The Press of Atlantic City’s Amanda Auble and David Danzis: “The seaside resort built on catering to people’s vices is set to take a hard line in the sand on legal recreational marijuana sales if the price isn’t right. Atlantic City’s governing body will introduce a resolution at Wednesday’s public meeting declaring that the World’s Playground will only authorize the sale and distribution of legal cannabis if the tax revenue is returned directly to the municipality or used by the state for property tax relief.” Read more here

BIGOTRY — “Jersey City BOE worker screams at Muslim woman to ‘go back to your f***ing country’” by The Hudson County View’s John Heinis: “In a vulgar rant caught on video, an unidentified employee of the Jersey City Board of Education told someone she was having a dispute with, a woman of Muslim faith, to ‘go back to your f***ing country,’ a school official told HCV. ‘She ridiculous, her retarded self,’ a woman with dark hair said as an unidentified woman was recording her on her cell phone camera … While the woman recording the video cannot be seen and does not say her name, Jersey City Board of Education President Sudhan Thomas said she is a person of Muslim faith. He added that the incident occurred on the morning of Wednesday, March 13th (he could not confirm where) and is under investigation, also noting that the woman has still not been identified by the school district.” Read more here

“Paterson schools cutting more than 200 jobs, including 150 teachers,” by The Paterson Times’ Jayed Rahman: “Grappling with a large budget gap, the school district is looking to cut 209 positions, including 150 teachers, said superintendent Eileen Shafer on Monday night. 24 vice principals and 35 supervisors will be eliminated as well to close a $22 million budget shortfall. “Class size in every building will go up,” said Shafer.” Read more here

RICH PEOPLE PROBLEMS — “Attention, dogs: Bark at your owners’ peril,” by The New

New York Times’ Sarah Maslin Nir: “SADDLE RIVER, N.J. — This borough was once home to Richard Nixon, but its most notorious residents today are of a different breed. Two German shepherds and a Belgian shepherd, to be exact. The dogs, who live in a 20,000-square-foot mansion once owned by Russell Simmons, are at the center of the sort of neighbor-versus-neighbor dispute common in many neighborhoods: They bark, as dogs tend to do. Some might say they bark too much. But in this wealthy suburb — where estates are buffered by acres, privets and camera-mounted, remote-operated wrought iron gates — the dog barks at man (and most anything else) story has taken on far greater implications. Because of those three dogs, Saddle River — which, like many other municipalities, has an ordinance against excessive barking — is preparing to go even further: It is seeking to define what “excessive” means. The borough council will soon consider a new ordinance that would make it illegal for dogs to bark, howl or yelp for more than 20 minutes straight between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., or for 15 continuous minutes at any other time. Penalties” Read more here

AND MAYBE MUSSOLINI WOULD MAKE THE NJ TRANSIT TRAINS RUN ON TIME — “Hitler was a ‘good leader,’ guest speaker tells N.J. students. School says it won’t happen again,” by NJ Advance Media’s Rob Jennings: “School officials are expressing regret after a guest speaker displayed a picture of Adolf Hitler and described him as a ‘good leader’ with ‘bad moral character and intentions’ during a weekend presentation to Madison High School student athletes. Madison Superintendent Mark Schwarz did not identify the speaker in a letter co-signed by three other administrators and sent to parents on Sunday, but said his presentation was not screened in advance and was ‘unnecessarily provocative and insensitive.’” Read more here

— “Paterson: Power plant license may shape Great Falls for the next 40 years” Read more here

—“Essex County promises legal services to ICE detainees after violations found at jail” Read more here

—“[Sussex] Sheriff candidate suspended from job” Read more here

—Edelstein: “To upset Kelly Yaede, the math is simple for David Henderson: Trump + AOC” Read more here

—“‘Massive’ $120M budget shortfall is subject of special Jersey City BOE meeting” Read more here

—“Eliminating eminent domain on Leonia agenda” Read more here

—“Paterson cop found guilty of assault in off-duty shooting outside convenience store” Read more here





EVERYTHING ELSE

RUTGERS STRIKE — Rutgers faculty members authorize union to call a strike, by POLITICO’s Linh Tat: The bargaining unit representing full-time faculty and graduate employees at Rutgers University has its members’ blessing to call a strike if contract negotiations aren’t successful, union leaders said Tuesday. Eighty-eight percent of its members voted to authorize union leaders to call a strike, the group said. Should that occur, it would be the first strike by faculty and graduate employees in Rutgers’ 253-year history — and the first for tenured faculty at a Big 10 school, according to the labor organization … David Hughes, vice-president of Rutgers AAUP-AFT and the bargaining committee chair, said in an interview the union aims to restore public higher education in New Jersey by advocating for improved faculty-student ratios and tuition freezes for students, but the administration has refused to bargain on those issues, he said. Read more here

MALONEY'S BALONEY — “Referee barred from wrestling meets over dreadlocks controversy might sue officials,” by The Courier-Post’s Sheri Berkery: “The referee who faced a backlash after ordering a Buena Regional High School wrestler to cut his dreadlocks to avoid forfeiting a match, has filed a legal claim alleging defamation of character and emotional distress according to a tort notice obtained by the Courier Post. Wrestling official Alan Maloney filed a tort notice preserving his right to sue 12 possible defendants, including the Buena Regional School District, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Association, Buena athletic director David Albertson and Buena wrestling coach George Maxwell … The controversy erupted at a match against Absegami on Dec. 19 when Maloney told Buena wrestler Andrew Johnson to cover his dreadlocks with a hair cap — which Johnson did not have — or cut his hair. Otherwise, Johnson would have to forfeit the match.” Read more here

—“N.J. data broker tried to sell personal info on a million kids but didn’t tell state officials” Read more here



Follow us on Twitter Matt Friedman @mattfriedmannj