Ciattarelli hits Murphy on response to commission’s SDA report

Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli wants Gov. Phil Murphy to say exactly which parts of a report issued by the State Commission of Investigation he disagrees with.

“Which conclusions do you disagree with, Governor? Based on what? And what, if anything, are you actually going to do to drain the patronage swamp you’ve created?” Ciattarelli said on Twitter. “Leadership is telling the truth and answering hard questions.”

On Monday, Murphy, without naming specifics, said he disagreed with some of the conclusions drawn by the commission’s report, which said Murphy’s administration was kept looped in on nepotistic hires at the Schools Development Authority under former CEO Lizette Delgado-Polanco.

Delgado-Polanco, a former Democratic State Committee vice chair, culled dozens of longtime authority staffers, replacing them with friends and family members who frequently lacked qualifications for their new jobs.

“Do you not agree now, @GovMurphy, that your handpicked CEO Delgado was unqualified by every measure?” the Republican candidate said. “Do you not agree that it was wrong for her to fire qualified staff and replace them with her family?”

Murphy declined to comment on the report more than once last week, saying he had not read it and praising Manny Da Silva, the new SDA CEO.

The commission’s report said Murphy’s administration invoked executive privilege when asked how Delgado-Polanco, a top Murphy ally before her political fortune turned sour, was picked for the position at the SDA.

Murphy declined to say why last week, and he also declined to say how she was chosen for the role.