Menendez: Norcross has always advocated for Camden

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez isn’t picking sides in a growing feud between Gov. Phil Murphy and George Norcross, but praised the South Jersey Democratic leader for his commitment to revitalizing the city of Camden.

The governor is currently waging a campaign against two of the Economic Development Authority’s tax incentive programs that have greatly benefited Camden, claiming they have been abused at the expense of New Jersey taxpayers.

“I don’t know the depth of what the investigative journalism is,” Menendez said. “All I know is that Camden has never had greater success in its renaissance than when George Norcross and the Norcross family have been involved in their commitment to Camden.”

On Thursday, the task force Murphy convened to investigate the EDA programs pointed to oddities in applications filed by four firms with ties to Norcross, including Cooper University Health Care.  Norcross is chairman of Cooper’s board of trustees.

Among other things, Cooper submitted an application that said none of the firm’s New Jersey jobs were in jeopardy and said the hospital system was still determining out-of-state locations to move to.

The hospital system received an award worth $40 million over 10 years, part of which was for keeping New Jersey jobs in the state.

“And I can tell, as a United States Senator, whenever George speaks to me, it’s about  Camden, it’s about Cooper Hospital, it’s about drawing businesses and jobs and public safety,” Menendez said. “That’s the one reality I know about. Whatever else is existing in terms of any questions about the tax program is something I really don’t know.”

Menendez said he had not read two investigative reports released Thursday, one by The New York Times and the other by Pro Publica, that found that Kevin Sheehan, an attorney with ties to Norcross, wrote parts of the incentive programs’ enabling legislation and that a majority of the award money granted for development projects in Camden went to firms with ties to Norcross.

Those reports were affirmed during the task force’s hearing Friday.

Menendez said Murphy was right to scrutinize the programs.

“I think that tax programs have to work, meaning that what you spend has to ultimately give an equal to, if not greater, return, and that’s something certainly the governor is totally right about looking at all of these programs and making a decision is the money that we’re spending giving us what we want in jobs and economic development,” Menendez said. “That’s a legitimate enterprise.”