New Jerseyans aren’t always civil, but it’s still possible for a liberal Democrat and a conservative Republican to have a rational and pleasant conversation about politics in the state. Dan Bryan is a former senior advisor to Gov. Phil Murphy and is now the owner of his own public affairs firm, and Alex Wilkes is an attorney and former executive director of America Rising PAC who advises Republican candidates in New Jersey and across the nation, including the New Jersey GOP. She is currently the campaign manager for Curtis Bashaw’s U.S. Senate race. Dan and Alex are both experienced strategists who are currently in the room where high-level decisions are made. They will get together weekly with New Jersey Globe editor David Wildstein to discuss politics and issues.
Donald Payne, a good, decent, humble man, died this week after nearly twelve years in Congress. What will his legacy be?
Alex Wilkes: Congressman Payne obviously had a long career in public life, but something that has always stuck out to me is his early days as a toll collector. It was a good job, but one that can be, quite literally, thankless. Even though his father was a Congressman, he started out in life collecting fares and greeting travelers. With EZ-pass and automation, it’s easy to forget sometimes, but these truly feel like hallmarks of a bygone era. Congressman Payne’s life was sadly cut too short, and it serves as yet another reminder of the personal touch mine and Dan’s generation stand to lose in the future. May he rest in peace.
Dan Bryan: Congressman Payne had quite a legacy to follow. His father was a trailblazer and an icon – it takes a special character to step up and fill his shoes. But Congressman Payne didn’t shy away, creating space of his own to fight for Newark and deliver for his constituents.
Of the many things I’ve learned about Congressman Payne this week (if only we celebrated the living like we do the dead…), I loved hearing that he lived on the same street his entire life. To me, it takes more courage to put down roots and commit to contributing to your community than it does to travel the world. Congressman Payne and his father will long be remembered for their contributions to public service in Newark and beyond.
It takes New Jersey five months to fill a congressional vacancy. What could possibly be the reason that’s acceptable to anyone?
Dan: Quite simply, there’s no reason it should take five months to fill a Congressional vacancy. Though I know there are roughly one million other priorities to sort through, this is something the Legislature and the Governor should look at modernizing. With a R+5 Congress, it has never been more important to
Alex: First, the line, now the congressional vacancies: just how many novel New Jersey political inefficiencies are we trying to upend this year, David?
But to answer your question: yes, we can surely find a better way to serve taxpayers than having them wait almost half the year before having representation again in Washington (as futile as that might be…).
Ras Baraka says he doesn’t want to be a congressman. He wants to be governor. Is that a smart move for him?
Alex: No, he should take the congressional seat. It’s a safe district, so he wouldn’t even be in the same fundraising rat race as everyone else. It would be a good way for him to tidy up his strange, lukewarm rollout for Governor.
Dan: Who can blame him? Being in the halls of Congress has never been more miserable. Talk to any long time member, and they’ll recoil in disgust as they tell you “how bad it is” down in DC. They’ve never accomplished less, and morale has never been lower. Our national politics truly do feel broken, and I don’t blame anyone who would rather stay here and get things done in New Jersey rather than repeatedly bash their head against a marble column in the Capital.
Unfortunately, that means Washington is losing the potential service people like Ras Baraka, who would be a fantastic Congressman and a fighter for his constituents, to other jobs.
Steve Fulop is recruiting candidates for the State Assembly, County Commissioner, and municipal office and is pledging to spend $10 million on the effort. What’s your take on his plan?
Dan: I’ll begin by stating that I don’t know what his plans are here, so what follows is all speculation. I look forward to him laying out specifics, which he’s been pretty good about thus far.
It’s never a bad thing to recruit more New Jerseyans to public service, especially if that means challenging Republicans and engaging in what Governor Murphy likes to call the “50 State Strategy,” fielding competitive candidates in all 40 legislative districts. So if that’s what this is, we should all be for it.
But if he’s planning to primary popular Democratic incumbents throughout the state, I will remain dubious about both the intention and the viability.
Democrats in Trenton have a phenomenal record over these past six years – fully funding the pension, fully funding schools, enacting progressive policies that lift up the neediest among us, the boldest gun safety laws in the country, affordability measures, and an economy that’s outperforming our region after lagging behind for so long. Things aren’t perfect, of course, and never will be. We can all point to just as many problems that still exist and haven’t yet been fixed, or call out the missteps along the way.
But Governor Murphy remains hugely popular with Democrats, with favorability and approval ratings that approach 90%. I think part of that is how voters feel about him personally, but another part is what he has been able to accomplish with Democratic majorities in the Assembly and State Senate. And remember, voters just sent historic majorites back to Trenton last fall, increasing their numbers in the midterm of a second term Democratic administration. There is far more data to show us that voters approve of the Governor and his allies in the Legislature than otherwise.
Again, any increased participation in our political process is a good thing. I hope that the focus will remain on defeating Republicans and their extreme right-wing agenda, rather than taking down fellow Democrats.
Alex: This sounds to me like his “the line blew up” Plan B. With more limited resources as compared to some of the other contenders, Fulop needs to spend his money wisely. Someone like Gottheimer can drown him out for weeks on New York and Philly broadcast, so the Mayor is going to have to look for some grassroots support. Ingratiating himself with local electeds is a place to start.