Good Monday morning!

It’s almost 2024, which means it’s time to talk about 2025. Former Senate President Stephen Sweeney will probably make his all-but-already-existing Democratic campaign for governor official today. He enters a race Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop has had to himself for seven months now. So stay tuned for that, and all the other candidates to come.

Sweeney’s 2021 Senate loss was a huge blow, but I think he can come back from it. The problem is that the relationship between South Jersey Democrats and the most powerful of their northerly counterparts has really soured in recent years. And Sweeney’s never been a darling of progressives. But you can’t dismiss his candidacy, especially if you have a consolidated South Jersey and a balkanized North. But I’ll end that analysis there, because as 2017 showed us, the political situation can change so fast that there’s really no point in speculating about odds this far out.

Let’s turn lame duck. Remember: This is one of those times of year that the Legislature tends to load up the agenda with long and complicated bills that only a few lobbyists really understand. Naturally, I think we can expect at least some attempts at tinkering of the pension system.

I’m hearing there’s a real push for a bill that would allow elected officials to retire from a different public job they hold and receive their pensions while continuing to receive their salaries. The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Joe Cryan (D-Union), was written to help Elizabeth councilmember Nelson Gonzalez, a program coordinator with the New Jersey Department of Children and Families, who wants to retire so he can collect a pension based on his $119,000 salary and $43,000 for his council job.

Gonzalez has worked for the state for 38 years, and he would have been able to retire and collect a pension before a 2011 law banned the practice. I’m not saying this is the kind of self-dealing we saw with the Get Dana Redd a Better Pension Act of 2018. But hopefully it will get a real hearing and won’t just be shoved through without debate.

There’s also a new bill that caught my eye that looks to benefit county prosecutors by allowing them to receive pension credits for their time as law clerks. The bill is sponsored entirely by Hudson County legislators, which immediately made me suspect it was written to favor that county’s prosecutor, Esther Suarez, who’s been a county counsel, judge and county prosecutor since 2015. But I imagine most if not all county prosecutors clerked early at some point. Suarez declined to comment, referring the matter to the new prosecutor of the County Prosecutors Association, Bergen County’s Mark Musella. I didn’t hear from him Friday.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Truscha Quatrone, Benjamin Brickner, Ken Knops, Maya Krishna-Rogers

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I’ve heard from a lot of people that say what they’ve seen in terms of the first lady’s campaign so far, it’s just business-as-usual for Jersey politics, which — especially in the aftermath of the indictment of Menendez — it’s not sitting well with a lot of people.” — U.S. Rep. Andy Kim in an interview with POLITICO .

WHERE’S MURPHY? — In Trenton at 11:30 a.m. for a menorah lighting ceremony, then New Brunswick at 2 p.m. for a Bell Labs press conference.

A RECIPE FOR DISASTER TO SATE THE APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION — “Recipe for disaster. N.J. tax revenues shrinking as leaders push big spending,” by NJ Advance Media’s Derek Hall: “Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy is about two months away from delivering his seventh state budget address, and the fiscal outlook looks far worse than it has over the past two years. Federal stimulus that delivered a boost to New Jersey’s economy in the wake of COVID-19 has dwindled. State tax collections are on the decline and changes to New Jersey’s tax code that are set to take effect in January could send revenues tumbling even further. The New Jersey Treasury Department’s monthly update for October showed total tax collections for the current fiscal year that began July 1 down more than $450 million, or 4%, when compared with the previous year. ‘The latest Treasury report shows exactly what budget experts have warned: The state will need more revenue to balance its books and pay for the public investments that keep our communities running,’ said Peter Chen, senior policy analyst with New Jersey Policy Perspective.”

MEDICAL HERBS THAT AREN’T NAMED CONAWAY— “NJ legal weed is flying off the shelves — but there’s a catch,” by The Asbury Park Press’ Mike Davis: “More than $206 million was spent on cannabis in New Jersey in the third quarter of 2023, with almost $177 million going towards recreational purchases, according to statistics released by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission on Thursday. Medical marijuana, which until April 2022 was the only kind of legal cannabis available in New Jersey, has become a smaller and smaller part of the market since then. In the third quarter, medical marijuana patients spent just about $29 million — less than half of the amount spent in the third quarter last year … New Jersey dispensaries are required to offer extra benefits to medical marijuana patients, such as patient-only hours and parking, designated checkout lanes and even separate menus and product inventory. But the financial benefits are minimal.”

—“NJ Senate begins to move to fill state’s judicial vacancies in effort to stem crisis”

—“Are warehouses helping or hurting N.J. towns? New law would give local officials money to find out”

—“Another boat is abandoned at Jersey Shore. It’s ‘becoming an epidemic,’ captain says”

WHAT ABOUT BOB? — “The Senate Ethics Committee hasn’t moved on Bob Menendez. This may be why,” by The Record’s Charles Stile: “The U.S. House of Representatives swiftly dislodged the disgraced George Santos from office with a rare, bipartisan ratification of disgust … If the House, constantly engulfed in partisan warfare, can pull this off, why hasn’t the Senate taken any similar action toward New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, accused of serving as a clandestine agent of the Egyptian government who was compensated with bribes? … So where is the Senate’s internal ethics watchdog? Why hasn’t it moved to crack down on — or expel — one of its own legally challenged members, who already dodged a separate, tawdry corruption case five years ago? Secrecy and tradition help explain why.”

ZDEMOCRACY — “Alex Zdan mulling U.S. Senate bid,” by New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “Former News 12 reporter Alex Zdan is contemplating a run for the Republican nomination for a U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey, giving the GOP an option of a face recognizable to rank-and-file voters as they seek to flip a seat held by Democrats since 1959. ‘I’m actively considering a run for U.S. Senate,’ Zdan told the New Jersey Globe. ‘We need a senator who stands up for New Jersey: not for themselves. We can’t replace Bob Menendez’s corruption with Phil and Tammy Murphy’s nepotism. We need a new generation of fiscally conservative, liberty-oriented leaders in Washington.’ … A Senate race could allow Zdan, 38, to drop the objectivity of his career in journalism and speak out on issues of concern to him.”

SHE DOES KNOW JACK — “Melinda Ciattarelli testing the waters for 2024 U.S. Senate run,” by Save Jersey’s Matt Rooney: “Save Jersey has learned that Melinda Ciattarelli (R-Hillsborough) is seriously weighing and actively exploring a run for the GOP Senate nomination. ‘She’s chatted with close friends and two county chairs, and she’s planning to make phone calls over the next couple of weeks,’ confirmed Steve Kush, a veteran Republican operative as well as a friend and advisor to Ciattarelli. Ciattarelli is best known to the general electorate as the wife of Jack Ciattarelli, a now three-time candidate for governor and the 2021 GOP nominee. The pair announced their separation in June 2023. Kush told Save Jersey that Melinda’s ‘decisions are about her and no one else’s campaign.’”

NORMAL PEOPLE DON’T WEAR THOSE SUITS — “Trump, Van Drew, and ‘normal people like us,’” by InsiderNJ’s Fred Snowflack: “The south Jersey congressman has gone from a Democrat, albeit a conservative one, to a full-blown MAGA-Republican in a bit more than three years. That interpretation, while true for some time, was reconfirmed Friday when Van Drew said he was asked by Donald Trump to head the 2024 Trump campaign in New Jersey … it was a bit jarring to listen to Van Drew talking about his reelection plans on social media. He spoke darkly of ‘criminals’ taking over and added the following observation: ;Normal people – like us – are treated as second class citizens.’ This is Trump-like rhetoric at its ‘best.’ So much of the MAGA-movement focuses on an “us versus them” philosophy, or perhaps, it’s the ‘normal people’ against everyone else.”

—Moran: “Tammy Murphy has been a Republican most of her life. Shouldn’t she explain that?”

—“NJ bear hunt in December on highest pace in six years, but extension still seems likely”

—“Hearing set for former Trump club employee who wants to be free of sex harassment gag order”

CARTOON BREAK — “Menendez can’t take the hint,” by Drew Shenemn

SHARED SERVICES — “Toms River Regional superintendent says absorbing Seaside school could restore $26M in aid,” by The Asbury Park Press’ Amanda Oglesby: “Toms River Regional Superintendent Michael Citta urged the school board and community to support a prospective referendum that would wrap Seaside Heights’ students and staff into the regional school district and thereby restore millions of dollars in state funding cuts. On Friday evening, the nine-member school board met in Toms River High School North, where they voted 7 to 2 to approve a request for a referendum from New Jersey Acting Education Commissioner Angelica Allen-McMillan. If the request is approved, voters in Toms River, Beachwood, South Toms River and Pine Beach would decide whether to incorporate Seaside Heights into the Toms River Regional School District … [Citt] said that adding Seaside Heights to the four-municipality regional school district would bring millions of dollars in state aid back to the district, which has faced millions of dollars in cuts from Trenton.”

GROFF MISCONDUCT — “Employee of law firm seeking to block mayor’s re-election leaves racist, terroristic threat,” by New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “An employee of a law firm seeking to block Penns Grove Mayor LaDaena Thomas from being certified as the winner of last month’s election left a racist, terroristic voicemail for the borough’s police director … The call came from John Groff of the Lento Law Group in February 2021 after learning that Thomas intended to replace them as borough solicitor for unethical behavior … The firm now represents Republican Louis Pasquale, who appears to have lost the election to Thomas, who ran as a write-in candidate. Relying merely on the representation of the Lento Law Group, Superior Court Judge Benjamin Morgan ordered election officials not to certify the election and set a hearing for December 12 … Groff, the law firm’s administrator, has an extensive rap sheet that includes as many as eight convictions of various offenses.”

FUTURE DISTRICT 36 GOP ASSEMBLY RECRUIT — “A Mount Laurel man was sentenced to 8 years in prison in a racial intimidation case caught on viral video,” by The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Melanie Burney: “A Mount Laurel man who stalked and harassed his Black neighbors in a viral rant and challenged them to “come see me” was sentenced Friday to eight years in prison after tearfully pleading for a lighter term. Edward C. Mathews, 47, must serve at least four years before he will be eligible for parole under the sentence imposed by Superior Court Judge Gerard H. Breland. He pleaded guilty in October to four counts of bias intimidation and a drug charge under an agreement with the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office. In a case that made national headlines, Mathews was accused of harassing neighbors in the Essex Place condominium association in Mount Laurel. Authorities said he called Black residents ‘monkeys,’ put feces on their property, sent threatening emails and letters, and shot BB pellets at their cars.”

—“Oakland mayoral vote recount changes numbers, but not outcome”

—“He stalked his ‘soulmate'; she lives in fear: Sea Bright ex-cop sentenced to prison”

—“Recount of votes finished in Passaic County election. See if the results changed”

—“Kearny council appoints da Silva to succeed Doyle as new 3rd Ward council member”

—“‘Walking on eggshells’: Jersey City Muslim community suffering fallout from war thousands of miles away”

TAR BEACH — “Source of mysterious tar balls along Jersey Shore was oil facility spill, investigators say,” by NJ Advance Media’s Chris Sheldon: “The pollution originated from a spill that happened during a transfer at an oil facility on the evening of Nov. 22, in Bayonne, and Vane Brothers Company, as represented by Gallagher Marine Systems, has been identified as the responsible party, according to a statement from the Coast Guard. The week after the spill, tar balls were discovered on Jersey Shore beaches from Sea Bright to Asbury Park … Vane Brothers Company will assume response efforts and ensure that any potential impacts to the environment and public are mitigated, authorities said.”

BIOLOGICAL WHARVFARE — “Shipworms ravaged wooden sailing ships for eons. Now they’re destroying NJ, NY wharves,” by The Record’s Coleen Wilson: “Among the biggest threats facing the commercial wharves lining Newark Bay and New York Harbor can hardly be seen — yet the resulting destruction to Port Authority infrastructure is of epic proportions. This living menace has many aliases: marine borer, shipworm and, most recently, naked clam. These underwater bivalves are wreaking havoc on the timber pilings that support the wharves overseen by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. So the agency’s board recently approved $180 million over five years to replace or fortify 1,700 of nearly 100,000 support beams deemed a priority … The marine borers have only returned to the harbors of New York and New Jersey in the last 10 years or so — and, ironically, it’s because of the improved water quality caused by the Clean Water Act of 1972.”

—“Nurses, doctor slashed in face in NJ pediatric ICU”

—“Battleship New Jersey to be towed to dry dock early next year for maintenance”