Gov. Phil Murphy is demanding that some of the political appointees on the Economic Development Authority board resign, saying it is a moment to "turn the page" at an agency that approved nearly $11 billion in tax breaks that the state comptroller said lacked adequate controls and oversight.

But it appears Murphy is not trying to turn the full page in his unsuccessful bid to remake the troubled agency's board.

Since Murphy took office in January 2018, all of the authority's members — including Murphy's Democratic Cabinet members and appointees chosen by Democratic legislative leaders — voted in lockstep with the Republican appointees he wants to resign on every occasion to approve 37 projects, according to a NorthJersey.com and USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey analysis.

Those projects were approved for the Grow NJ and Economic Redevelopment and Growth programs — the two main incentives now at the center of a policy dispute that has mushroomed into a political war among Democrats. The infighting has taken priority over any discussion of what the state may do once the incentives expire next month. And Murphy's other top priority for the year, legalizing recreational marijuana, has been sidelined to 2020 amid a lack of consensus within the party.

The tax breaks, which were primarily used by former Gov. Chris Christie, are the focus of an investigation by a task force Murphy hired following the comptroller's damning report of how they were administered. His fellow Democrats who lead the Legislature — and who passed the legislation creating the incentives — have said in response they will conduct their own investigations. The attorney general has also said his office is examining the tax breaks.

The incentives approved under Murphy totaled $470 million, according to the analysis of Economic Development Authority documents. That's separate from the nearly $11 billion awarded since 2005 that are under investigation, but the voting record does not seem to align with the logic behind Murphy's attempt to restock the board with like-minded leaders.

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Darryl Isherwood, a spokesman for Murphy, said the resignations were not sought as punishment but that the governor "felt then and continues to feel that it is important to have his own appointees on the board."

Isherwood added that "the extent of the issues with these awards did not surface until January with the issuance of the comptroller’s report. More issues have come to light in recent weeks with the findings of the task force."

But even since the comptroller's report in January, not much has changed with the incentives. All members in attendance since then voted to approve each of the seven projects presented to the board, a total of close to $79 million worth of tax incentives.

Murphy said earlier this month that although the authority has a "very important role" to play, he wanted the gubernatorial appointees to step down.

"It was a moment to turn the page. The other folks who chose not to resign, they did what they got to do and we're going to do what we've got to do. And all options are on the table," Murphy said.

One of those options is to veto the board's minutes, which would nullify any action the board had taken at its meeting. Murphy has not taken that step.

The board is made up of eight public members: four chosen by the governor and four chosen by the Assembly speaker and Senate president. It also includes three alternates and five "ex-officio" members — Cabinet officials representing the current administration.

The board does not act in isolation. Each application is reviewed in at least two staff meetings that are attended by a deputy attorney general, "where eligibility and difficult issues are discussed and resolved before it is presented to the full NJEDA Board," Tim Sullivan, the authority's chief executive officer, wrote in response to the comptroller's report.

Dozens of activists have been pushing for weeks for all public board members to resign. For 90 minutes last week, they ripped into the board and shouted at appointees to step down.

"The public has lost faith in this board. We said that last month and this story has just gotten worse. We, the taxpayers of New Jersey, need more transparency into the actions of this board," said Margaret Illis, co-founder of the grassroots organization NJ7 Forward.

All but one of the governor's appointees who were put on the board by Christie have defied Murphy's request. The former chairman, Laurence Downes, resigned in April, saying that Murphy had "expressed his belief that in the current climate, a new board will be more effective to carry out the EDA’s mission."

Downes was replaced by Kevin Quinn, Murphy's only selection to the board so far.

Quinn joins a board whose members have been there since the Christie administration and voted in favor of the tax breaks being scrutinized at Murphy's direction. He acknowledged in an interview that he is stepping into a "tense" situation, but his goal is to maintain an atmosphere of collegiality with the board, particularly those who have refused to resign.

Quinn had a series of phone calls with most of the board members, he said in an interview, that "to date have been very positive and I have not felt an animosity or awkwardness."

Christie's appointees are Lou Goetting, Christie's former deputy chief of staff; Bill Layton, a lobbyist and former business partner of Murphy's previous chief of staff, Peter Cammarano; John Lutz, a lawyer and financier to Christie's presidential campaign; and Tom Scrivo, former chief counsel to the Christie administration.

The other board members, who were appointed by Democratic leaders, are vice chairman Charles Sarlo, the brother of Sen. Paul Sarlo; Phil Alagia, who is chief of staff to Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo; Fred Dumont, a union worker; and Massiel Medina Ferrara, Hudson County's planning director.

Christie has suggested Murphy's push to remove some board members, but not all, is hypocritical.

"If Larry Downes did something wrong, so did Charlie Sarlo. And maybe you don’t want to fire him because his brother happens to be the chairman of the Senate budget committee. So did Phil Alagia, but maybe you don’t want to fire Phil because he’s chief of staff to the county executive of the largest county in the state. Maybe you don’t want to do it to Fred Dumont because he’s the appointee of the Senate president," Christie said last month.

"So lets understand what this is: Governor Soundbite has latched onto something that he wants to kill and he’s doing it in a patently dishonest way," he said.

Murphy's Cabinet members that automatically assume positions on the board include Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio; Banking and Insurance Commissioner Marlene Caride; Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo; and Environmental Protection Commissioner Catherine McCabe.

All four Cabinet members, appointed to their positions by Murphy, voted to approve each of the 37 tax breaks they considered since Murphy took office, except in the case of a Grow NJ application for Cross River Bank, in which Caride recused herself because her agency regulates the state-chartered bank.

The largest of the tax breaks since Murphy took office went to Teva Pharmaceuticals — $40 million over 10 years. Teva was one of multiple pharmaceutical companies accused in a multi-state lawsuit of colluding to fix prices in generic medication.

When Teva announced its plans last summer to consolidate its United States headquarters in Parsippany-Troy Hills, Murphy said he was "thrilled to expand our welcome to Teva."

“The presence of global life sciences companies like Teva Pharmaceuticals is critical to New Jersey’s ability to strengthen a thriving innovation ecosystem,” he said.