Firm with 650 agents becomes the biggest independent in Northern California, with $5.5 billion in annual sales.

Did you miss the chaos? We’re just one week into the new Trump administration, and state officials here and all over were scrambling to understand a memo that ordered a sweeping freeze in federal funding. Democrats, listless since Donald Trump’s victory, seemed to have something to quickly unite under. Gov. Phil Murphy called an emergency Cabinet meeting. But once again Attorney General Matt Platkin gets to take the lead in New Jersey in fighting the Trump administration, joining the multi-state lawsuit against the freeze. Last night, a judge temporarily halted it. Just after President Trump won the election, Murphy made some friendly comments about him. ““He, after all, is a real estate guy, understands infrastructure,” Murphy said. But now U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, running for the Democratic nomination for governor, is saying this could even threaten Gateway funding. This aggressive move, questions of legality aside, shows how unlikely a kumbaya relationship is between New Jersey Democrats and Trump. Sen. Andy Kim had been a yes vote for Sean Duffy as secretary of Transportation, but decided to vote no yesterday, ci ting “this unconstitutional effort.” QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Much like Colonel Jessup did with the infamous flight in ‘A Few Good Men’, Townsquare simply made Spadea’s praise for Christie’s presidential campaign against President Trump disappear. It appears that neither Spadea nor Townsquare can handle the truth.” —Jack Ciattarelli attorney Mark Sheridan in his ELEC request for an investigation into alleged collusion between gubernatorial rival BIll Spadea and NJ 101.5, alleging the station removed from a Facebook Live segment Spadea’s praise of former Gov. Chris Christie’s presidential campaign against Donald Trump. FIVE GOVERNORS? WELL HE MUST BE INNOCENT — New Jersey’s George Norcross flexes clout with governors even under indictment, by POLITICO’s Daniel Han: Five New Jersey governors trekked down to South Jersey on Tuesday for a groundbreaking ceremony at the hospital where New Jersey Democratic power broker George Norcross serves as board chair — underscoring his clout even as he faces racketeering charges and a diminished statewide profile. The event on Tuesday was to officially mark the start of a $3 billion expansion of Cooper University Health Care, South Jersey’s only Level One Trauma Center. … But the political context could also not be ignored: Norcross, while hobbled by the criminal charges brought by Attorney General Matt Platkin, still carries considerable influence. Republican former Gov. Chris Christie, who signed the tax credits into law that is a key part of the Norcross indictment and is one of his closest allies, said he “would’ve never brought an indictment like this” when he was the state’s U.S. attorney. “My view: This indictment is a piece of garbage,” he told reporters after the event. “Part of the reason for my appearance here today is not just my friendship with George, but is to make clear to people who care about justice being done the right way in this state that this thing is baseless.” MATCHING FUNDS HAVE A VACCINE MANDATE — Ciattarelli seeks to block Spadea’s matching funds, by POLITICO’s Matt Friedman and Madison Fernandez: Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli is seeking to block public matching funds for rival Bill Spadea, a radio host who allegedly “conspired to create a shadow campaign” with his station. Ciattarelli, who is running against Spadea for the GOP nod to succeed term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy, filed a request for investigation with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission on Tuesday, arguing that NJ 101.5 and its owner, Townsquare Media, have made “unlawful excess expenditures” in support of Spadea’s campaign “estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.” … Spadea is stepping down from the show this week, with a campaign breakfast to mark his departure scheduled for Thursday. Spadea’s campaign said he has “fully complied” with the law. THE PORK HONOR ROLL — “Here is a classic NJ pork project. Will funding for similar projects happen in 2025?” by The Record’s Katie Sobko: “Middlesex County officials were joined by Gov. Phil Murphy for the groundbreaking of a new community sporting venue and student center at Middlesex College, the county’s community college, on Jan. 21. The project, years in the making, is a collaboration among Middlesex County government and the county’s improvement authority, the college and the Middlesex County Vo-Tech School District. So how much does it cost? And who paid for it? At least $193 million in state funding has been earmarked to fund a range of facilities upgrades — including the community venue and the student center, county officials said — on the Edison school’s campus. That funding has come from the last three state budgets, through a whopping 18 special line items and about $50 million in pandemic relief funds. In short, the Middlesex College facilities upgrades are a classic example of a New Jersey political staple: They are a pork project. ... State Sen. Declan O’Scanlon, the Monmouth County Republican who serves as the minority budget officer, requested a full accounting of ‘how much money the state has allocated to county capital projects in Edison over the past three years, including the sources of those funds and the authority under which those funds were allocated.’” CRY TO WASHINGTON — “NJ Chamber’s Walk to Washington returns after hiatus,” by NJBIZ’s Matthew Fazelpooler: “One of the state’s most notorious business and political events is back. After a five-year hiatus, the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce is once again hosting its Walk to Washington & 84th Congressional Reception. The event takes place Feb. 6-7.” Menendez and his two co-defendants also being sentenced Wednesday – New Jersey real estate developer Fred Daibes and Wael Hana, a businessperson with ties to the Egyptian government — have made clear they plan to appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and, from there, to the Supreme Court if necessary. They’ll try to relitigate a series of thorny legal issues that kept coming up during the trial, forcing Stein to rule on questions that the Supreme Court itself has perhaps not fully grappled with. Perhaps the most uncertain questions were about the boundaries of the “speech or debate” immunity that the Constitution gives to members of Congress. “This court surely believes it answered those questions correctly,” Menendez’s attorneys wrote to Stein this week. “But it can just as surely recognize that the Second Circuit could answer them the other way.” Indeed, history suggests Menendez’s chances are decent: of the 12 senators previously prosecuted, eight beat their charges either during trial or after trial THE DRONES —White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt read a presidential statement Tuesday to ostensibly clear up the confusion on the “drones” spotted around New Jersey since November. Here’s the statement: “After research and study, the drones that were flying over New Jersey were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons. Many of these drones were also hobbyists, recreational and private individuals that enjoy flying drones. In time it got worse due to curiosity. This was not the enemy.” Some questions: Does “authorized to be flown by the FAA,” mean that they were specifically authorized to fly by the FAA or just that any drones spotted were in compliance with FAA regulations? It sounds like the former, and most of the press covered it that way (save New Jersey resident and drone hobbyist Brian Stelter), but this could use clarification. What research were these drones conducting? Were they really responsible for a significant percentage of the thousands of drone sightings around New Jersey? What kind of drones were they? Research drones the size of SUVs? And why were they only spotted at night? While we await some further answers from the White House — and maybe that promised report — here’s my read on it. What Trump is saying, apart from the “research” part, isn’t much different from when the Biden administration said: That most of the sightings were “lawful, legal, commercial hobbyist and even law enforcement aircraft activity.” But the statement was worded in such a way that people can read into it what they’d like, while also containing an unspoken insinuation that the Biden administration had not been forthcoming. If you need proof of that, go look at social media. I’ve been skeptical about the alleged drones, even while acknowledging the unexplained military base incursions, but I’m willing to admit when I’m wrong. This, however, is unconvincing. Amazon has created more than 43,000 full- and part-time jobs in the state with free skills training programs and comprehensive benefits starting on day one. “When I was trying to choose between two jobs, my mom said: ‘It’s a job with Amazon. You’d be stupid to say no.’ I never looked back,” said Caleb, one of Amazon’s New Jersey-based employees. See the impact. AS DUTCHESS COUNTY EXECUTIVE HE OVERSAW A DOZEN BUS ROUTES — “Trump to name congestion pricing opponent Marc Molinaro to oversee transit,” by Gothamist’s : “A former Republican congressman from the Hudson Valley and opponent of congestion pricing is in line to lead the federal agency that oversees mass transit. Marc Molinaro has had discussions with Trump administration officials about leading the Federal Transit Administration, according to people familiar with the matter. Part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, the FTA oversees mass transit systems around the nation and disburses roughly $20 billion a year in grant funding. Molinaro has previously said he would be open to serving in the Trump administration … Final signoff for congestion pricing came from the Federal Highway Administration, another agency under the Department of Transportation’s umbrella. But Molinaro’s position at the FTA would work closely with top federal transportation officials and give him influence over grant awards, advocates said.” LONGER THAN THE JERSEY JOURNAL — “Hudson County’s Democratic machine still reigns. How long will its dynasty last?” by The Jersey Journal’s Teri West: “Sending a senator’s son to congress. Allowing mayors to handpick assembly candidates with no prior political experience. Keeping mayors in office for decades. For years, the Hudson County Democratic Organization’s bold electoral moves seemed to have no bounds. … The HCDO still wields enormous power, there’s no denying it, but its armor is rusting. Fractures among its members, the end of the ‘county line’ ballot design and continued progressive pushback have threatened its stability and strength, and how well it will be able to retain its electoral power is growing increasingly uncertain. With the closure of the newspaper Feb. 1, The Jersey Journal is taking a look at the future of politics in the county, which historically has been akin to a rock fight. The next few years will likely continue to test the HCDO, bringing more competitive primary races and perhaps the first victories in county or state offices for candidates challenging the machine.” HOUSING IS VERY AFFORDABLE … IN SIBERIA — “Wayne official likens affordable housing to socialism, says it’s ‘destroying suburbs’” by The Record’s Philip DeVcencentis: “A local councilman broke out into a rant last week about the effect of affordable housing on the state economy, drawing a parallel between the government mandate and Joseph Stalin’s reign in the former Soviet Union. Councilman Joseph Scuralli said at a public meeting that New Jersey has the worst business climate in the U.S., partly because of policies like affordable housing, which ‘destroy suburban towns.’ … Scuralli, a Republican who serves the 4th Ward, said the tidal wave of development is tantamount to ‘theft of the residents of this town.’ ‘You like putting leftists in charge of everything?’ he said during the six-minute rant. ‘This is the mess that you end up with. What did Stalin kill, 50 or 60 million people, in the name of socialism? This is what you get. This is disgusting — that our government and judges are destroying the suburbs.’” PUT A FORKIN THAT RAISE — “ACIT withholds raise from teacher over reading text using racial slur without context,” by The Press of Atlantic City’s Michelle Brunetti Post : “The Atlantic County Institute of Technology school board voted Monday night to withhold the 2025-26 incremental raise from a teacher who read a text that included a racial slur without warning students or providing a context for the word’s usage. … The incident was brought to the district’s attention by Charles Goodman, a community activist and education director for the Atlantic City branch of the NAACP. The board did not name the teacher, but Goodman said it was Tom Forkin, 62, of Atlantic City, who ran for mayor as a Republican in 2021.” RESPECT THE SANDWORMS — “Avalon man pleads guilty and gets a fine for illegal dune-scaping,” by The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Kevin Riordan: “A man who was cited by New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection last January after having leveled portions of the protected landscape around his Avalon home pleaded guilty to a municipal code violation Monday. Via Zoom, Vahan H. Gureghian told borough court Judge Andrew J. Cafiero that the removal of native vegetation and its replacement with sod was ‘inadvertent.’ In October 2023, DEP inspectors saw that a “lawn” had taken the place of 8,470 square feet of undeveloped ground where the state’s Coastal Area Facility Review Act restricts such alterations. As part of the plea agreement, Gureghian — who owns a company that manages charter schools — will pay a $2,000 fine, and donate $13,000 to the borough’s Environmental Trust Fund.”

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