♪ ♪ >> From NJ PBS Studios, this is "NJ Spotlight News" with Briana Vannozzi.

>> Good evening and thanks for joining us on this Thursday.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

Tonight, a few stories we'll get into later in the broadcast.

We talk with Jersey City Mayor-elect James Solomon about how running against the political machine scored him a major victory in Tuesday's election.

Then, as lawmakers move to scale back the powers of New Jersey's top watchdog, we dig deeper into the agency's role and the kind of corruption it uncovers.

And later, Tammy Murphy reflects on her legacy as First Lady and what's next as she and the governor near the end of their tenure.

But first, a few of today's top headlines.

A public school in Monmouth County is turning into a political battleground after it was announced this week that U.S.

Education Secretary Lyndon McMahon is heading to Cedar Drive Middle School in Colts Neck on Friday.

It's all part of the Trump Administration's America 250 Civics Push, marking the nation's 250th birthday.

That effort includes conservative partners like Turning Point USA, Moms for Liberty, and the Christian School Hillsdale College.

Parents in the district are circulating a petition to cancel the assembly, saying schools should be politically and religiously neutral.

With some warning they'll keep their kids home out of concern they'll be exposed to partisan messaging.

But district leaders insist the program isn't political.

It will include an assembly, classroom visits from the secretary, and smaller roundtable discussions with the local board of ed.

Critics point to other partners involved, like the America First Policy Institute and PragerU, that will be distributing resources to the school.

PragerU is a conservative advocacy group that came under fire last summer for creating a video for kids that some said rationalized slavery.

The visit comes on the heels of a recently adopted Parental Bill of Rights policy by the district that drew criticism from LGBTQ and other advocates who say it will hurt gay and transgender kids.

With some parents posting online they'll use that same policy to justify attending tomorrow's event.

Also tonight, the nation's longest ever Starbucks strike is growing and several New Jersey stores are now on the front lines.

Workers at unionized locations in Ledgwood, Persippany, Pennington and Rockaway joined what organizers call the Red Cup Rebellion, an open-ended strike over allegations of unfair labor practices by the global coffee giant.

Statewide, baristas say they're fed up with what they call union-busting tactics, understaffing and unpredictable schedules.

They're calling on Starbucks to return to the bargaining table with a contract that boosts pay, increases hours and addresses what some federal officials say are hundreds of unresolved labor violations.

Nationwide, the strike now includes about 3,000 baristas from 145 stores.

Hundreds of thousands of customers have signed a "no contract, no coffee" pledge vowing not to buy Starbucks while workers are striking.

The escalation comes just after New York City announced a landmark more than $38 million settlement with the company over scheduling violations.

For New Jersey, customers and organizers say they'll likely see picket lines outside those locations in North and Central Jersey.

The movement, they say, won't end until the deal is reached.

And masking requirements are back at some of New Jersey's largest health systems.

Hackensack Meridian Health and its 18 hospitals within the network is asking visitors to wear a mask when coming to see patients, citing rising cases of COVID flu and RSV.

Now the policy took effect December 1st.

Masks will be provided at hospital entrances and staff will enforce the rules through at least January when winter respiratory virus activity starts to slow.

RWJ Barnabas Health, an underwriter of NJ Spotlight News, is also reinstating masking in its 14 hospitals.

Mandating face coverings for employees providing direct patient care for visitors when they're with patients and staff.

The CDC is also asking for a mask mandate in its 14 hospitals.

Mandating face coverings for employees, providing direct patient care for visitors when they're with patients and for patients when they leave their rooms.

State surveillance shows hospitalizations climbing even though visits to the emergency department remain relatively low.

Support for the medical report is provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

Coming up, we talk with Jersey City Mayor-Elect James Solomon on his major victory and plans for leading New Jersey's second largest city.

That's next.

Major funding for NJ Spotlight News is provided in part by NJM Insurance Group, serving the insurance needs of residents and businesses for more than 100 years.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, and by the PSCG Foundation.

- Well, Jersey City voters delivered a decisive message this week, electing City Council Member James Solomon as the next mayor, defeating former Governor Jim McGreevy in a nationally watched runoff race with nearly 70% of the vote.

Solomon ran and won on a central promise to make Jersey City more affordable as rent prices climb and a budget shortfall threatens higher taxes.

But he also vowed to take on special interests and the political machine, all while standing up to the federal government.

So how will he do it?

Joining me now is Jersey City's Mayor-Elect James Solomon.

James, Mayor-Elect, congratulations to you, first of all.

A landslide victory, which you called a progressive win.

What does that mean to you and to the voters who duly elected you?

- Briana, thank you for having me, and obviously thank you to everyone in Jersey City for their votes and support.

You know, for me, what it means is first and foremost, a focus on affordability.

We must deliver a city government that is serving the interests of working people, that is actively working every day to make life in Jersey City more affordable, not to allow billionaires, corporations, and real estate developers to profit.

So for me, that is number one.

The most important thing is to deliver a more affordable city for everyone.

But I also was clear about my progressive values.

I didn't shy away from talking about the need for us to stand up to the sort of wannabe authoritarian in Washington, D.C.

And you know I don't think anyone running for office should be shy from who they are and what they believe.

And I was very vocal about that and was obviously very proud to win nearly 70 percent of the vote here in Jersey City.

You know this contest I don't have to see tell you was viewed really as a race between the powerful Hudson County Democratic Machine which had initially backed your opponent Governor former Governor McGreevy but dropped its support during the runoff and then the progressive base which you represent the City Council also elected two Democratic Socialists now to serve on that.

What do you think this signals about the broader landscape happening in Jersey City now?

Yeah, voters want change.

The old status quo, the old folks in power, they haven't delivered.

They haven't delivered a more affordable city.

If you lived in Jersey City, your property taxes have gone up, your rent's gone up, and your city services have declined.

That's not a great place to be.

So voters are looking for change.

But I think the thing with us here as progressives, all the new nine members of the City Council, we have to deliver.

Right.

Voters voted for us because they want something different.

But you gotta actually make their lives better.

You know, I was comparing it to Donald Trump.

He went right on a promise of lowering prices.

But then his core policy proposal tariffs made prices higher.

That's the opposite of what voters are looking for.

And I think we're going to do the opposite of what he did.

We're going to actually deliver a more affordable city.

So what does that actually look like?

Are new taxes off the table?

I mean, how do you find savings and new revenues without going back to taxpayers?

Yeah.

So first, we are going to make developers and corporations pay their fair share.

We're going to audit every tax break that's been given out to every big developer in Jersey City.

We're going to audit billion dollar corporations that aren't paying what they owe, literally not a new tax, just paying what their tax bill says.

We have a payroll tax here in Jersey City.

But we are also going to make tough decisions.

We understand that increases in property taxes are driving families out of Jersey City.

I've made a promise to stabilize that.

We're going to be talking to the governor elect and others on how we can ensure we have stable more affordable Jersey City.

Obviously it's great that Governor-Elect Sherrill ran on a promise of affordability.

So we're going to be aligned in delivering on that for people in Jersey City.

It's interesting right.

Because Mayor Fulop has touted the development that's really reshaped the city as a boon both as a housing boon but also as an economic boon jobs etc.

And in your plan to take on those very developers how do you sort of play nice with them because it is happening.

A lot of this construction is already in the works or has been done.

How do you play nice with them while also carrying out these audits and coming to them to as you say pay their fair share.

Yeah we're going to say to these developers is you've got to build for the whole community.

So we're not against you building.

But when you build you must build genuinely affordable.

You must include apartments that working folks can afford.

Rents at a thousand a month rents at fifteen hundred a month rents at two thousand a month.

Then those rents yes are subsidized by the higher luxury rates that are being charged.

Now I think most developers are going to keep building.

They follow the rules.

They understand that you know the government sets the guidelines.

You make them clear and consistent and then you go from there.

What I think is going to change is some of the developers that operate you know outside the law that cut corners that think they can get away with whatever they want.

You know those guys are going to find a much tougher city administration to work under.

And I think they're going to have to change their business model or they're not going to keep building in Jersey City.

So I think we can work with the guys who understand that their job is to build for everybody and you know create some change for those who only go for themselves.

What about for working with members of the city council who may not be on board with some of these ideas or some of the more progressive ideals that you embrace.

You yourself were at odds with Mayor Fulop quite a bit during your time on the council.

How do you make that relationship work in order to carry out these plans.

So I think what I'm proud of is being able to work with anybody.

I don't care.

You know Republican Democratic Socialist moderate centrist.

We're going to work together.

And I think we're going to find what our shared values are what our shared ideas are and advance those.

And that is the job of any any executive any leader.

And look Mayor Fulop and I had our fights.

We also worked together on things.

And I think that's going to be my approach as mayor is find those areas of common agreement because that's what people of Jersey demand.

Right.

They didn't vote for us for whatever you know didn't vote for us to get engaged in any kind of ego driven personal feuds.

They voted for us to make their lives better.

And that involves working with everybody no matter what their ideology.

Have you heard from him by the way from Mayor Fuller as he reached out to you.

Absolutely.

Mayor gave me a gracious phone call offered all his help on the transition and I'm very grateful for any advice that he gave you that you can share with us that you plan to heed as you prepare to take office.

So we're having a longer sit down where he's going to share all that advice with me.

But he very graciously offered to share all that.

We're just scheduling the longer sit down.

I want to just ask you about these two new city council members the Democratic Socialists which at least from what we know of are the first Democratic Socialists elected to office in New Jersey potentially ever.

What type of form do you think that will take when you all come together to talk about these policies.

Yeah.

So I mean Jake Afros and Ward D. Joe Brooks and Ward B. These are people who care deeply about Jersey City.

They care deeply about making Jersey City more affordable.

And so we're going to agree on a lot.

And I think we're going to find those areas of agreement and push to make sure their residents in the West Side and in the Heights have a more affordable city to live in.

Obviously we're not going to agree on everything.

I'm not a Democratic socialist but like anything you have you know I don't agree with myself every day.

So we're going to find a strong working relationship.

And the thing I know both about Jake and Joel is these are two men who care deeply about people.

And I think you're going to see that as they govern.

Jersey City's new mayor elect James Solomon.

Thank you so much for coming on.

We hope it's the first of lots of conversations to come.

Can't wait to come back.

Thank you for the wonderful journalism you guys do at NJ Spotlight.

In a ruling on Monday a state appellate court's findings reinforced the work being done by the New Jersey Comptroller's Office after it found that Hudson County leaders violated the law when they awarded a multi-million dollar prison services contract for the correctional center there, without public notice or open public bidding as is required.

The ruling comes as lawmakers are moving to scale back the powers of that office, the state comptroller, a plan critics warn could upend New Jersey's entire watchdog structure.

As the controversy swirls, we're taking a deeper look tonight at all of the state's oversight agencies and the corruption they're tasked with rooting out.

Our senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan joins us now with more as part of our Under the Dome series coverage.

Brenda, what can you tell us?

Well, hey Briana.

So, New Jersey's got a lot of watchdogs, but that kind of goes along with its reputation for corruption.

A couple of reporters called it the Soprano State and its mob ties to illegal gambling that prompted lawmakers here to create the State Commission of Investigation, or SCI, in 1968.

Mike Davis with the Asbury Park Press did a deep dive.

I mean, the SCI was born out of this great scandal in the late 60s when Life magazine reported that the mob had really infiltrated just about all levels of government in New Jersey.

And they put together this commission of investigation that was supposed to be the phrase they use is the watchdog of the entire system of itself.

Now the SCI built a reputation as a powerhouse that rooted out waste, fraud, abuse and corruption.

But lately, not so much.

It hasn't produced any reports this year and its former executive director resigned after Davis and his colleague reported she lived in Maryland and had another full-time job.

But the SCI's got a new exec, Bruce Keller.

During a Senate Government Committee hearing on Monday, he praised a controversial bill that would beef up his watchdog agency, which he called a gem.

Investigations is 100 percent of the SCI's work.

And the SCI does it with former prosecutors and deeply experienced state and federally trained investigators.

And we're adding even more in the months ahead.

I think from talking to him, he wants SCI to be the glory.

Go back to the glory days when he was growing up, when the SCI was really this like really scary, sterling organization that like if you were somebody looking to take a bribe, if you got a subpoena from the SCI, you would just lower up immediately.

You would have chills down your spine.

I think his intentions are pure about making the SCI this really big, scary watchdog again.

JUDY WOODRUFF: But restoring the SCI would come at the expense of another New Jersey watchdog, according to that bill, S.

4924.

Sponsored by Senate President Nick Scatari, it'd effectively gut Jersey's Office of the State Comptroller, strip it of its power to issue subpoenas.

New Jersey first appointed a comptroller to pay civil war debts in 1865, but the position evolved to target financial misconduct and corruption.

Former Governor John Corzine, who appointed New Jersey's first modern comptroller in 2007, recently told Politico the office should be strengthened.

I very strongly feel that it should be independent of the governor and the legislature and it ought to stand alone as a watchdog.

And if you put good people in there, good things happen.

Now the comptroller this year filed 25 reports compared to zero by the SCI.

The company has stalled its Jersey's Medicaid program and clawed back more than $100 million in fraud and overpayments last year alone.

But it also targets local government malfeasance, nursing home abuse and corrupt influences.

And our investigation of police officers who let drivers go even when there was suspected drunk driving and they were going over 100 miles an hour simply because of who they were or who they know and what card they had in their wallet.

That was Kevin Walsh, the acting state comptroller, acting because he's gored a lot of sacred cows and made a lot of enemies by going after the politically well-connected.

One of his reports targeted a Union County manager who formerly served as Ciattelli's chief of staff, and others directed at a company headed by South Jersey power broker George Norcross, an ally of Senator Jim Beach, who chaired the committee hearing and has deliberately blocked Walsh from getting confirmed.

SEN.

JIM BEACH (R-SC): You could have held a hearing on my nomination, but for six years have chosen not to.

So, yep, the comptroller's got critics.

And it's true, its mission sometimes overlaps with the SCI's.

In fact, Jersey's also got ombudsman, plus an alphabet soup of overlapping watchdogs.

The SCI, the OSC, OPIA, which is the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, that investigates election crimes and misconduct by law enforcement.

Then there's ELEC, the Election Law Enforcement Commission, which enforces campaign and finance laws.

Are there too many watchdogs?

Well, good government attorney C.J.

Griffin says definitely not, adding this new bill really aims to defang one specific watchdog, the comptroller.

C.J.

GRIFFIN, Former U.S.

Attorney for the U.S.

Congressional District of California, "It's really just about not wanting this particular person who's been very effective at holding politicians and government contractors accountable, they don't want him to have that power anymore.

And because the statute doesn't allow him to be fired just because they don't like him, he can only be fired for cause.

The way they want to do it is just say, OK, we're going to deprive you of the one tool that allows you to do your job, subpoena power.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Now, the bill's sponsor, Senate President Nick Scatari, argues it will eliminate duplication, streamline investigations and strengthen accountability and transparency.

But the bill actually revives and adds yet another watchdog to the SCI, the inspector general.

The original IGs had been folded into the comptroller's office back in 2010.

JOANNA GAGIS, Former SCI Inspector General: I think more watchdogs is better than fewer watchdogs, all that sort of stuff.

This is just not a genuine attempt to do any of that.

So that's one issue, like the bill itself.

And then the other is just, like you said, the process.

The process is not right.

Don't cram a bill through lame duck like this.

Don't bully committee members into passing a bill through committee when they say they have reservations about it.

You have a number of watchdog agencies that are -- they're all looking at the same broad idea of corruption, of waste and fraud in the S.C.I.

case of organized crime.

And I think there's a world in which you can have plenty of watchdogs that are covering all of this sort of stuff.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And New Jersey's watchdog agencies currently coordinate their missions.

But Davis says Qatari's bill could constrain the comptroller to audits of Medicaid procurements and vendor contracts, curtailing his wider investigations into some of those sacred cows.

It really just comes down to a lot of powerful people awarding a lot of very lucrative contracts to their very powerful friends.

And a lot of that work would be taken over by the SCI.

What Kevin Walsh has said is, basically, there are plenty of active investigations that would essentially be stopped in their tracks and taken over by the SCI to some degree.

Interesting, Bren.

Question for you, though.

Where does the governor-elect stand on this?

And would she keep Walsh on as comptroller if it doesn't get taken away completely, that is?

Well, Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill has stated that she is a champion of transparency, she's against corruption, she applauds watchdogs, but she won't take a position on this bill.

Kevin Walsh's term will expire with this administration and it will be up to Sherrill to decide who fills the office, Briana.

Alright, Senior Correspondent Brenda Flanagan for us.

Brenda, great reporting.

- Thank you.

- "Under the Dome" is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

- Finally tonight, New Jersey is just months away from hosting one of the biggest sporting events on the planet, the FIFA World Cup.

And among those who've been closest to the preparations is First Lady Tammy Murphy, who's chairing the local host committee and helping to steer everything from security and transportation to fan festivals.

With the final draw happening this week and questions about her own political future still lingering, our senior correspondent Joanna Gagis sat down with the First Lady to talk about all of that and more.

Take a look.

The FIFA World Cup, you are the chair of the board of directors for that.

What has it taken for you to try to get this state ready for the World Cup to come here next summer?

First of all, everyone should come.

There's a place for everyone.

The stadium itself, which is MetLife, which will be turned into the New York/New Jersey Stadium with no signage, that is -- all 80,000 seats will be taken.

But we have fan fests coming all over the region.

Liberty State Park is tremendously exciting, because we're going to have a fan fest there for all 39 days of the tournament.

Fan Fest bring together music and videos.

We're going to have 22 large screens backdrop of Ellis Island Statue of Liberty New York City food fun entertainment and a lot of like minded souls.

And that will be very easy to get into.

But as chair of the board I will tell you there are really four things that I'm focused on.

First and foremost is security.

Transportation would be secondarily.

The economic impact is obviously going to be tremendous not just for New Jersey but for New York for the entire region.

And then the fan experience.

And every day we're working as best we can to tackle all four of those.

And there are scores of people across New York New York and New Jersey who are working on this literally every single day.

You and the governor are heading out later today.

We're taping this on Thursday December 4th.

You are heading out later today where there's going to be the final draw tomorrow morning.

Yes.

What could that mean for New Jersey.

How does that all shake out for us.

So the final draw.

Really excited about this.

We've been anticipating this date which is December 5th for a long time.

This will take place at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.

There's a lot of special guests who've been announced who are going to be drawing some of the balls to figure out which venue will host which teams.

And I understand that the president's going to be there and Tom Brady is going to be there just to name a few.

Yeah.

Yeah.

There's a lot.

There's a lot of fun people who are in there.

But the fact of the matter is obviously we hope that we have some of the really popular teams playing for us.

There's no question that if you have any of you know Germany or Brazil or you know the UK or France I mean there's a lot of there's a lot of super important teams in here that we would really love to have play in New Jersey.

I know you say you're running through the tape.

We've heard it from the governor a whole lot.

But have you had a minute to stop and think what do you hope your legacy is.

What do you hope collectively the Murphy administration legacy is and your own.

Listen I haven't to be honest with you.

I know on a day to day basis all I have tried to do is is uplift anyone who needs a helping hand.

And I would say if you looked at my little office we are a little bit like the catcher's mitt behind the governor's office.

And when I say that I mean that if there's something that doesn't fit squarely into the governor's office if someone has a request or a challenge and it doesn't no one really knows what to do with it.

our hand up and say yes, we'll take it on and it can be anything just today.

A woman reached out who's trying to help get some legislation passed in the area of fentanyl.

There's others who reach out and it could be anything from, you know, something to do with the dog catcher to environmental issues to film digital and TV.

I mean, it just runs the gamut.

So my hope is that everyone knows that we've tried our best to make New Jersey stronger and fairer and that's all we've been trying to do every day.

Well thank you so much for taking the time to sit with us, talk with us.

Thank you for everything you've done on behalf of mothers and babies across the state.

You can watch the full conversation with First Lady Tammy Murphy about her work with Nurture NJ, what the World Cup tournament means for the state, and what comes next for her and Governor Murphy in a special edition of NJ Spotlight News tomorrow night.

That's going to do it for us for now.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

For the entire team at NJ Spotlight News, thanks for being with us.

We'll see you right back here tomorrow.

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