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♪ ♪ ♪ >> Mike yes and Jack's first faceoff and we will take you there.

It is ""Reporters Roundtable" and I'm David cruz and meet the panel.

The editor at N.J. monitor and the State House reporter for N.J. and insider N.J. and hear from the panel.

But let's look at the unofficial kickoff of the governors' race.

Speeches before the New Jersey business and industry association.

This is what they had to say to the members and to us and this segment produced by Brendan Smith.

>> How did you do today?

>> Based on what I'm being told.

>> As a C.P.A.

and former business owner.

>> I want today's the people of New Jersey and future people of New Jersey to feel confident they can achieve the American dream right here in New Jersey.

Unfortunately, concern about your education, concern about finding the job of your dreams and starting a family, raising a family, starting a business, retiring comfortably are causing fear.

>> How do you think you did today and do you think you need to build some bridges to the business community in the State?

>> A lot of the people in this room I have been working with for years and I want to continue to build out.

And jm running now for governor because I love this State but I know the challenges and I know the people here and the families.

I know we are ready to chart a different path forward here.

We need to take bold action to make our State more affordable by lowering the housing, cost of utilities and health care and reduce bureaucratic barriers and red tape and lead on innovative ideas and answer only to the people of New Jersey.

>> In my opinion, this administration hasn't been pro-business and doesn't celebrate the business community.

The first thing I will do on day one, we are bringing our State workers back to work.

Try getting someone on the phone or your issue resolved.

This Government serves our citizens and one million businesses, small, medium and large if we are at work working on your behalf.

>> We continue to leave a huge amount of economic growth on the table because we impose too many barriers on the business community and make it difficult to grow and succeed.

>> I will reduce the size and cost of State Government.

The only way out to grow our economy.

>> I want to bring a level of collaboration and cooperation between our business community that we have not seen in recent times.

And I will build a robust action center that works with owners of all sized businesses to cut through red tape and make it easier to set up shop here.

>> I will lower the business tax 1% over a year with six years to get even with Pennsylvania.

>> I am worried to committing because we have to flex when it comes to Washington.

Right now I'm fighting against a bill that is going to attack and harm New Jersey and see what happens.

>> The press release criticizing and standing up to Donald trump's executive orders he said mike yes never criticized bill Murphy.

>> I'm clear what I am different from bill Murphy.

And the House benefits plan that has real problems.

I have always been an independent voice.

I think that is pretty well known.

I stood up to the President of the United States.

I think that's ridiculous.

>> Something else we need to do here in New Jersey and I'm going to be aggressive.

The suburbs that many of us live are magnificent but they are not the engines of economic growth.

Thriving vibrant cities are the engines of economic growth and ours are not.

Are there pockets of vibrancy?

You bet there are.

I want people to live in places like Newark, trenton and Atlantic city again.

>> Are you going to be the Republican that becomes the urban governor of New Jersey?

>> Making our cities and places where people want to achieve the American dream.

>> I'm cutting through red tape to build more homes including more commercial conversions and transit on the parted development and I will build more solar on State properties and streamline the permitting process to lower energy prices.

>> I'm not opposed to solar but go where we can produce the greatest amount of like that in the most cost effective way to get rates down.

Listen, I don't mean to stay partisan but it's therapeutic for me to get it off our chest.

To send a $1,000 check is insulting.

So we are not doing that kind of thing.

I'm sick and tired of them taking their money out of your right hand and putting it in your left-hand pocket.

>> The State that is going to own the innovation and that is New Jersey.

In the near term, we are pushing solar.

New Jersey has only gone up by 20% by solar.

The average across the country is 150%.

The thing I like about that, too, not only the cheapest form of energy but something we can use as an end run around P.G.M.

and their messed up market.

But long-term if we meet our energy needs we need to move into nuclear.

>> I call for the resignation who sit on the b pmp u who have blundered by betting it all on wind, listen, I don't have my head in the sand on the signals that mother earth is sending us.

This is the wrong aploamp.

It was pie in the sky.

It was never going to meet the forecasted demand of like that.

We are going to expand our ability to produce like that from natural gas and lifting the moratorium on our existing generation plants.

I will bring three, four more online and expand our nuclear footprint in south jersey.

>> We need a long-term plan to get to our energy goals and hold P.G.M.

accountable and I'm frustrated.

We have seen other governors -- And where are you right now?

>> I can't promise I will agree with you but I absolutely pledge I will hear you and engage in thoughtful conversations.

It's going to take all of us working together building broad coalitions to chart a new path forward for our State.

We need a better balance when it comes to regulations.

We are overregulated.

We can lessen it without screwing the consumer.

>> We have a long list of challenges to tackle as a State.

It's going to take the right kind of leader and someone who isn't afraid to go against the status quo.

>> Do you think she has some work to do to reach out not only to Democrats but centrists and Republicans.

>> That's for people to decide.

I'm connecting with the voters.

>> What did you think of the Army parade this weekend?

>> I didn't see it.

>> I love a good gag will and see how pushy Freddie is and charlie appears out of nowhere.

Panel, good to see you all.

Welcome.

It's the kickoff of the governors' race.

First impressions, Terrence, you have been away so I don't know if you saw the speeches this week, but you have covered these primaries extensively, what is your impression coming out of the gate from both candidates.

Is there a narrative they are trying to put out there?

>> I think they are putting out a change narrative and Jack seems a little more sincere.

And Mikie Sherrill has criticized some of the outcome of policies of Murphy's and Jack's saying she has blamed him.

I know they have to do this because they are running for governor but they act like the assembly speaker of the Senate like he is the most powerful person in the Senate and can get their policies done without him.

>> This is going to get done in a vacuum.

The legislature -- let me get to you Fred, you were there pushy as always in the gag will.

Compare and contrast the candidates.

He's a this and she's a that.

>> Actually, I was respectful.

I think the themes are pretty easy to see.

Jack is much more equipped and much better on New Jersey issues.

He grew up here and lived up here all his life and Mikie did not and Jack's campaign, Jack knows a lot about zoning and school funding and housing and Mikie does not.

Mikie is not going to agree with that but Jack is trying to get that across.

>> Picking up on what Terrence referenced in his comments having to deal with the legislature.

If you remember in the early days of the Murphy administration they were floundering in trying to establish relationships with the legislature and brought in George to straighten that all out.

How are they going to do in that regard?

>> You have to think if it gets that way, Jack may have an advantage because he mab in the legislature.

Mikie has been in Congress.

There is an overlap there.

I think this election, Mikie's theme in the primary has been we Democrats have to stop Donald trump and fight back.

And that is only effective in the primary.

It's debate able if that will be successful in the general election.

>> They both met with reporters for a couple of minutes afterwards.

You were there.

How did they do in that setting.

Either one adept dealing with this press mob?

>> It is important to mention we did have the largest presence there and like -- kind of like the old press world days.

But typically when you speak to both of these candidates, what becomes very clear is that, you know, Jack has been running for office for roughly the past decade, and so a lot of the talking points he has are things he has been rehearsing with the pleas Corps for roughly 10 years.

And we all know that.

Mikie Sherrill is considered somewhat of a new commodity on the local press Corps level.

You talk about shrinking resources and it's not in D.C. as much but when we do cover D.C., the people we were in contact with was Menendez and booker.

And now it's a local game and as far as they deal with the press locally, Jack has been dealing with the press Corps on the local level more than the opponent.

>> Fred suggested that she lacks a little jersey k rmp eg.

People have been saying that to me.

Do you get a sense of that?

>> Well, I can tell you what I observed.

And what I observed is that when Jack went up to the podium, he didn't have a notebook.

He was basically not necessarily shooting from the hip, but it was very, very well rehearsed.

>> No prepared text.

>> Yeah.

No prepared text.

But he still gave the speech and made his points and made them basically from memory.

And then you go ahead and look at the audience, there was no one in the audience playing on their phone or social media.

Everyone was engaged.

When Mikie Sherrill took the stage, there was attention on her, but there were some people on the crowd that got on their smartphones that seemed to have less attention toward what was being said.

There were a couple of very small stumbles made by her during the speech where she quickly got back on point.

When your opponent's delivery is flawless, sometimes those smaller mistakes can be all the more paid attention to especially in a crowd like that.

The average voter would probably not understand, maybe about 40%, 50% what Jack was saying.

These are policy wonks and people that like details.

And Jack was reciting the equivalent of -- you would have thought the guy came from a think tank.

>> It was definitely a home game for him, that's for sure.

Former Governor Christie Whitman and State's first female governor came out for Mikie Sherrill.

And we say it every two and four years, does a Wittman endorsement help but do voters have little memory of her even as the EPA commissioner?

>> Most voters do not have enough of a memory of her to PATter.

>> Fred, do endorsements really matter?

Can you point to one endorsement, even the Donald trump endorsement that has had an an impact on a race?

>> No.

It's part of the political game.

If they say I'm endorsed by five council menace someone else as three council member in Hanover township.

Getting back to Christy Wittman, not that there is a lot of former governors that are millionaires, but there are women who, generally speaking, lean Republican or conservative and going to go with Mikie Sherrill.

There could be many women like christy Wittman and help her.

>> Five counsel men in par smp ni pmp inch e. We are in the final weeks of budget season and we are hearing that the budget may be voted on before June 30.

I saw others ask Sherrill about this that the nj bmp inch a. Sherrill is struck with this brught but Jack has the ability to trash, no?

>> Every candidate has the freedom to say what they want about the budget.

I think it's a matter of the route they are taking.

The Democratic candidate does have less room to trash someone from there party and no secret amongst the press Corps that many of the circle that surrounded Murphy in terms of advisory positions, some of those people are also around the Sherrill campaign.

Jack, like any Republican who would be running for this position has trashed the budget and the Republicans of trenton have trashed the budget and this was also a point that was being made by the candidates that applied themselves as progressives in the party.

>> What about that budget, Terrence.

Your team has been to these hearings and thank you for sticking to it, what's the sense that Democrats plan to get this budget done before June 30?

And what does it mean they get it done before June 30?

I'm suspicious of that.

>> They take July and August off.

And election, September, October and November off and want that one extra weekend.

They want to get that extra weekend, too.

Normal people with normal work schedules.

So when you take that into consideration, maybe they will get it done that Friday.

>> Your off days when you have an extra day on the weekend.

>> I wish I could do this.

>> Let me stay with you Terrence as we pivot to Delaney hall, a flash point.

Senator andy Kim who was on "Chatbox" said the fa shilt subject closed down and had been moving people out of there and he said the place is a dump and getting a billion dollars to run it but we are hearing from people on the ground that they are starting to see repopulation of Delaney.

This thing is going to continue, right?

>> For sure.

A lot of what's going on is shielded from public view, but it seems like it is not disputed that a small group of inmates help topple an entire wall so they could get out and sort of lends some credence that the mayor and city officials have been saying that geo group who owns this building opened it so quickly that it is not up to code.

If it's a jail, then that sort of -- should raise some concerns for folks.

>> Andy Kim told us that one of the walls was made of -- exterior wall was made of sheet rock and mesh.

>> Exactly what you would want for a prison.

>> Put you on the spot and feel free to pass, give me one Lieutenant governor pick for either candidate or for each candidate that might make people go, hmmm, interesting.

>> Fred.

>> I don't think I can pick a name now.

I'm sure Jack is going to pick a woman.

And does that mean Mikie Sherrill has to pick a man.

How about mora krmp a.

>> That would make people go -- >> Yes.

>> Beeny wim beerily because he told reporters that he would be interested in being Lieutenant governor and became a State Senator in January after defeating sumter in a contest for the seat and ended her political career.

And five minutes later he is saying, maybe I would want a promotion.

That would be it.

>> Fred kind of touched on this, a Republican male candidate picking a female candidate.

Do the Democrats have to pick a black candidate?

>> It has been said by people such as Newark mayor that the Democratic party is currently fractured.

I interviewed him on election night and he said the Democratic party is fractured and it's his belief that the Democratic party should reckon aisle with its progressive base before going after conservative voters.

The thing about this race, more often than not, Mikie Sherrill might have trouble with certain demographics.

And those demographics are going to be many of the same deem -- >> I'm running out of time.

You have to give me -- >> They took all the names, man.

Aisle throw one out there.

Troy singleton.

>> That one has been a popular name that was thrown.

Running out of here, Terrence, quick impression from all of you, Menendez as he heads off to prison, you covered him for many years, Terrence, reflections?

>> I don't know.

It feels sort of like Shakespeare, his fall from grace.

And yeah, it's a real -- I mean we haven't gotten to the segment but it's only in jersey moment.

>> Fred, it's doubly sad because he gave a lot of hope to people, immigrants, people of color in urban areas, he was a hero beyond a Senator and this kind of hurts a lot there, too, no?

>> Yes.

But someone growing up in Union City and Bob Menendez, he came up in politics by cozying up to the machine and in a sense this is inevitable.

>> In the end, he was just a corrupt politician, no?

>> Well, yeah, just a classic jersey story.

Classic jersey story.

>> Tremendous fall from grace.

I covered the Senator for a long time.

I met him when he was a assembly man.

And he often berated me at press conferences.

Guys, thank you very much.

That's "round table" for this week.

Thank you very much.

We are on bluesky and follow this at Davidcruz and found out what the rest of the team is up to you when you subscribe to the news.

For all the crew here at downtown Newark, thank you for watching and we'll see you next week.

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