(upbeat music) - From NJ PBS Studios, this is NJ Spotlight News with Brianna Vannozzi.

- Good evening and thanks for joining us on this Wednesday night.

I'm Brianna Vannozzi.

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

The race is on for Governor Mikey Sherrill's vacant congressional seat.

We'll get you the latest on who's running in this crowded field.

Plus, we talk with Democratic Senator Vin Gopal about why he's calling for limits on certain powers of the governor, spurred by some of Governor Murphy's final acts in office.

Then later, for the first time in decades, New Jersey is overhauling its rules on charter schools, while lawmakers say more oversight is needed now.

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

Communities across New Jersey are continuing to stand against recent ice activities in the U.S.

Despite the 14-degree weather, more than 100 people stood outside Roxbury Town Hall on Tuesday evening to hold a candlelight vigil honoring Alex Pretty, an ICU nurse who was shot and killed by a federal agent in Minneapolis over the weekend.

People who attended brought artwork and signs highlighting Pretty's profession.

Community members also called on the Township Council to pass a moratorium on non-municipal detention facilities as a way to prevent ICE from opening a detention facility at a warehouse there in Roxbury.

Advocates say it mirrors an ordinance passed in Kansas City, Missouri, another city that's been included on a leaked list of locations where ICE plans to open a warehouse detention center.

The council an ordinance opposing the warehouse, but residents are calling for further action.

Residents in the township and its surrounding areas have come out in droves recently to protest that plan and their efforts have also gotten the support of New Jersey's congressional members including Cory Booker and Rob Menendez among others.

Also tonight, two major moves involving the state's largest health insurer will affect both workers and patients statewide.

The Verizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, an underwriter of NJ Spotlight News, says it plans to lay off nearly 5 percent of its U.S.

workforce, cutting 242 jobs by late April.

A spokesperson for Verizon points to rising medical costs and higher usage across its plans, saying the company has already cut expenses by hundreds of millions of dollars but still needs to restructure.

All impacted employees were notified this week, including workers at both the Newark and Hopewell headquarters.

But the move also follows a recent $100 million settlement with the state over alleged overbilling without admitting wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, a contract dispute is severing ties between Horizon New Jersey Health Plans and CVS Pharmacy.

Beginning April 30th, CVS Pharmacies will be out of network for more than 800,000 publicly insured kids and adults in the Medicaid and New Jersey Family Care programs here, unless, of course, they're willing to pay full price.

Both companies blame each other for failing to reach a deal on pricing, leaving patients to find new in-network pharmacies before that April deadline.

And a historic piece of Asbury Park could be slated for demo.

City officials say they're actively fighting a request by waterfront developer Madison Marquette to demolish the breezeway of the Asbury Park Casino building.

It's a nearly 100-year-old iconic landmark at the south end of the boardwalk.

Concerns surfaced this week after an "unsafe structure" notice was posted on the adjacent carousel building window.

The casino, built in 1929, has been closed to pedestrians since 2023 due to severe damage and deterioration caused by decades of exposure to wind, rain and salt air.

In a statement, the city's redevelopment council, Joseph Meretz-Ede, says this latest demolition request shows a troubling pattern of neglect, accusing Madison-Marquette of failing to maintain historic properties like Convention Hall and all the buildings on the boardwalk that it's owned for more than a decade.

The company has faced scrutiny in recent years for lack of upkeek and a perceived slow pace of redevelopment.

The city argues the developer has repeatedly breached that redevelopment agreement, but that legal language in the contract limits enforcement options.

Officials say no demolition permit will be issued without a certified engineering report exploring ways to repair the building first.

Madison Marquette did not return our request for comment.

And coming up, who are the frontrunners in the race for Governor Mikey Sherrill's congressional seat?

We'll take a look at the candidates and what's at stake 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.

Well early in-person voting begins tomorrow in the first congressional primary of the 2026 midterms right here in New Jersey with a special election to replace Governor Mikey Sherrill in District 11.

And it is a crowded field.

11 Democrats are vying for the nomination and will face off against Republican Joe Hathaway in the general election in April.

Spending in the race has ballooned to more than $7 million, with more than half of that coming from independent spending groups, as more cash is expected to flow into the race before it's over.

Candidates are vying to prove they're the best person to take on Donald Trump as concerns over immigration enforcement take center stage, while also delivering relief from the high cost of living here.

Senior correspondent Joanna Gagas takes a look at the field of In just over a week, voters in the 11th congressional district will choose a Democratic candidate for the seat previously held by Governor Mikey Sherrill.

The primary election is next Thursday, February 5th, and there are currently 11 candidates vying for the position.

There are a lot of very qualified candidates running.

If you're a Democrat in this district, this is a wonderful opportunity to sit back for one moment and say, "We have a good bench.

We have a lot of people who are ambitious, who are smart, who have accomplished records."

Their choices include some well-known political players and some lesser-known names.

But with no time for polling in this lightning round special election, money and organizational support help indicate who might be taking the lead.

And four candidates stand out.

Former 7th District Congressman Tom Malinowski, Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, former Lieutenant Governor Tahisha Way, and Community and Union Organizer Analilia Mejia.

daylight between them on I'm running because every my life fighting for.

We'r right to vote safety in o and our access to healthc New Jersey and choosing b rent, their mortgage and and extend the Obamacare subsidies and tax credits so that our health insurance premiums don't go through the roof.

I would like to see an effort in the House and Senate to repeal some of the tariffs that have made everything more expensive.

I'd like to see some effort to restrain the President's ability to threaten to make war against our allies.

to restore the subsidies that have been cut to the ACA.

So we have the short-term issue of restoring those subsidies right away.

We have the long-term issue of what are we going to do about that, right?

Whether it's a single-payer option, Medicare for all, both of the things which I have been on the record supporting in the past.

We clearly have an energy crisis right now.

And third, Donald Trump yesterday again said that he's freezing all the funding for the Gateway Tunnel Project.

It is a $16 billion investment into our region.

My main focus is really going to be how do we ensure greater affordability for New Jerseyans in the 11th Congressional District.

How do we protect our Constitution?

How do we protect our constitutional rights and protections?

Defending the 14th Amendment, defending the First Amendment, ensuring that we have due process and equal protection for all New Jersey residents.

The candidates are working to secure major endorsements.

Malinowski has the backing of U.S.

Senator Andy Kim and currently leads in fundraising.

Gill has many prominent labor unions and high-profile Democrats, including former Governor Phil Murphy in his corner.

has several labor unions national progressives, lik whose campaign she worked of the Democratic Lieuten which has been pouring mon Each is making their case vote for them.

I was in th term when we had democrat only in the House, not in course, Trump was in the W House and we were able to do quite a bit.

I fear the potential loss of our democracy and this is a chance to get back into the house quickly in the middle of this emergency to put some of my experience to good use.

I am the only candidate right who has delivered to her constituents.

That means expanding early voting, vote by mail.

I've helped families keep up with rising utility costs.

I am also the only candidate in the race who has been sued by Donald Trump off of our elections, our democracy, and I've want as an organizer.

I h district are looking for can't just do one thing w be an organizer.

You can' and know your way around can't be quite frankly, j official from the distric of those things.

And I th end Rowan University's Be it all comes down to the efforts.

Everybody's got competitive in this race.

come down to how many peo call and say, hey buddy, out you and your family t in February and vote for out could be the differen a couple thousand votes nex for N. J. Spotlight News.

In the final days of his a Murphy issued a wave of p actions that have been dr from prosecutors and lawm of the aisle.

Among them, a Monmouth County woman c her two young Children in eligible for parole, alon other pardons involving people who are politically connected.

State Senator Vin Gopal says those cases cross a line and is now calling for limits on the governor's clemency powers.

Senator Gopal joins us now.

Senator, welcome.

Good to see you.

You and your running mates used some pretty strong language about this, that you were outraged, disgusted.

What about those decisions specifically crossed the line for you?

Good to see you too, Brianna.

I think it goes across the board.

You know, the governor is on his way out, does it at the last moment, so we don't even have an opportunity, you guys, the press don't even have an opportunity to ask questions or understand how they got there.

Specifically in this case where I live in the city of Long Branch where this mom was charged with burning her two kids alive, they didn't even give a heads up to the father.

I talked to the father.

They didn't even tell him or they didn't even hear his side of the story.

They didn't tell anyone.

And I think those are some of the challenges.

We've also seen news reports that people have been paid to give pardons to attain pardons.

And I want it.

I want folks to know this is not a partisan issue.

I'm equally critical of if it's Murphy or what Donald Trump has done at the national level where Wall Street journals reported up to three to four million dollars to pay to get a pardon or even when Joe Biden pardoned his own son after telling everyone he's not going to.

I believe this is a representative democracy not a monarchy and we need to look at how pardons are being used.

So what kind of limits do you want to see on that clemency power.

Because I mean as you mentioned it's it's been used.

Governor Murphy that is did put some new procedures in place around it that hadn't been there.

But it was pretty much understood that it was those who knew someone who would have the upper hand for all those years.

What do you want to see change.

It seems like that has accelerated and I've had groups like the ACLU reach out to me and say no this is a legitimate part and this is a legitimate part.

The problem is when you have anything that's not that that's been done financially then you know- it makes the whole system not legitimate.

So one thing it is immediately I think either some kind of disclosure- either you register somewhere for a lobbyist comes and meets with me or meets with the front office- if you're getting paid money to lobby the governor's office for the governor him or herself to.

To get a pardon for somebody I think you that should be the public has a right to know that.

I'm not I'm actually in favor of an outright ban but if we can't get that then I think you need to register somehow.

Two, I think you shouldn't be able to do pardons on your way out of office.

I feel like if you're gonna if a governor is gonna do that pardon process there needs to be a legitimate process.

There needs to be outreach to the victim, the victim's family members.

There needs to be an allowance for them to provide feedback and actually have that public transparency.

And I think that's a really important thing.

I think that's a really important thing.

>> I think everything is on the table right now.

I've spoken to judiciary chairman, senator Brian stock who is very open to all this and was equally outraged as well as some of my colleagues across the aisle like senator duck steinhardt who is also exploring legislation.

I think we recognize that this is an issue that is I think that the jury had not even reached a conclusion or the judge hadn't even ruled on the governor pardon.

Basically, why have a jury?

Why go through that process?

Why go through that entire -- we've had assistant prosecutors who work on a case for seven, eight years, and it all gets undone just like that.

I do just think that we need some markers here in the sand to help make this a cleaner process.

Yeah, in that case, Jacob Harris, the jury was convening that morning rendering a verdict on what was a fatal hit and run, but that verdict was ultimately moot because the pardon sort of coincided with it.

I mean, I guess that lends to what you're saying about the public trust and the ability for the public to have some insight into how these choices, these decisions are being made.

Yeah.

And the fact that he doesn't, and then he's gone.

Nobody can ask him any questions.

How did you reach that conclusion?

What did this mother do for 30 years that you feel that after burning her kids, which the court case at the time was, it was almost overwhelmingly for the death penalty, but it was not unanimous.

So she didn't get the death penalty that every investigator and everyone said that she was guilty.

You know, I, I just, I don't understand.

So it's the timing it's all of it.

And then how to, when I was talking to the father of those kids for him to find out in a news article and not even find out from the administration and this is somebody in our community that a lot of people know it really just really put knots in my stomach.

And so I guess how do you balance what the ACLU brought up right.

That sort of need to correct wrongful or excessive sentences with this need for accountability for transparency.

Is there a happy medium there.

I've talked to the ACLU and they feel strongly the politicians should do this I just respectfully disagree with them I'm okay with a third party doing this I'm okay with making sure there is that a governor can't do this at the end of their term maybe they only are able to do it up until the third year so if they do that something like this that they have to be some transparency.

In the process that there should be some kind of time period where they go back and forth with the public allow allow folks to write letters and actually do this the right way I just think we can get to a place where we're not touching these constitutional rights but at the same time do this my question is what about for the person that can't afford a high-powered lobbyist or consultant that's close to the governor to get them off on a part.

And who's representing those people?

And the ACLU does feel strongly about this case in Long Bridge, but I have an entire city, an entire constituent that does not feel that way, that we're actually here in the '90s.

I talked to dozens of investigators, officers, reporters, neighbors during that period of the 1990s.

Not one has said they've heard from any organization, including the governor's office or ACLU.

I read every article from the '90s in the Asbury Park Press on that in depth, and I just question what was done on the other side.

They questioned some of the changes in fire science.

So if the argument was that there needed to be a new trial, that's one thing, but that's not what was happening here.

They're arguing ultimately to let her -- allow her for parole, and did it in just a very, >> State Senator Vin Gopal, thank you as always for talking with us.

We appreciate it.

>> Thanks so much.

>> Well, after more than three decades, state leaders are rewriting the rules for charter schools, tightening oversight while also offering new flexibility for schools that perform well.

The bipartisan legislation, also signed just before Governor Murphy left office, comes in response to a litany of investigations into financial mismanagement and concerns over how taxpayer >> Thank you, Brie, for having me.

Yes, it's a big deal for sure.

sure.

And I think education advocates throughout the state have been calling for an update to the laws, including those in the charter school sector.

But for sure, the investigations done by our friends at NJ.com, and then followed by an investigation by the acting state comptroller under the Murphy administration, I think that all led to more pressure to update the laws.

And so what are the biggest changes these charter schools will see when it comes to transparency and oversight?

Yeah, so like I said, this is the first time that the laws have been updated in 30 years.

And so some of the updates are just coming up to speed with the requirements that public school districts already have, like providing user-friendly budgets.

And then I think there's also just more transparency overall.

Charter schools have to renew their applications on an annual basis.

They have to submit annual reports about how well they're doing or just the status of governance, fiscal and academics.

They submit that every year, but it's not easily accessible for the public on their websites or on the Department of Education website.

And so this, the updates require for those documents to be readily accessible for the public, as well as just strengthening the open public meetings rules that charter schools already, their boards of trustees already have to follow.

But I think the updates underscore notifying the public about big decisions on their contracts with school leaders.

A lot of the investigation centered around exorbitant salaries for school leaders.

And so I think a lot of the push was for charter schools to be held accountable for how much they're paying their school leaders.

I mean, it's worth noting, right, these are schools that use public money, but they're privately managed and the charter boards are not elected like we would see with public school boards.

Exactly.

And I think some stakeholders who are proponents of public education, they wanted to see things go a step further, as in electing the boards of trustees for charter schools.

But charter schools wanted to.

And I think the lawmakers involved and other advocates understand that part of being a charter school is to maintain that autonomy.

I wonder what charter leaders are telling you because this was sort of a rare instance where we saw union heads and charter had sort of come together and say yeah we back some changes here.

Yes.

Yeah.

You had the teachers union.

You had the charter schools all coming together and agreeing on the larger points of the legislation.

And it was a big deal from the teachers union folks that I talked to and the charter school folks that I talked to.

It's a big moment.

And a lot of them said that you're not really going to see this anywhere else in the country.

Just coming together and agreeing on more transparency, especially after these instances of "bad actors."

And so it is a major moment for education in New Jersey.

And one charter school leader said that he really feels that this moment means that we're no longer going to get stuck in the conversation of whether or not charter schools should exist, but how we can better improve the system for the future.

- Yeah, and we've certainly seen that growth.

It slowed during the last eight years under the Murphy administration.

Quickly though, I wonder, does the Department of Education can have the capacity to carry out what they're going to be tasked with?

Because a lot of this enforcement ultimately will fall on that department.

- For sure, a lot of this falls on the Department of Education and on the Education Commissioner.

And so that will be an important task for the incoming administration under Cheryl.

And some, it's been notable, it was mentioned in multiple committee hearings about this legislation before it became law that the Department of Education struggles with staffing support, especially in the charter school office.

So we'll see how the department handles that.

This is going to be an increased amount of demand, more reporting, more public documents.

So yeah, it remains to be seen.

All right.

You can check out Catherine Carrera's full story on this on our website, njspotlightnews.org.

Cat, thanks so much.

Thank you.

Before we leave you tonight, NJPBS is dropping its latest installment of Painting Community, a digital documentary series that tells the stories of the artists behind the murals we see in many of our neighborhoods, their vision behind them, and how their art brings communities together.

The latest episode takes us to New Brunswick and tells the story of artist Albertus Joseph and his mural depicting the racial divide between New Brunswick and North Brunswick in the 1970s.

It's the first in a series illustrating scenes from the community's shared history.

You can see his story and learn more about the painting community project at myNJPBS.org.

That's going to do it for us tonight.

I'm Brianna Vannozzi.

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

We'll see you right back here tomorrow.

New Jersey Education Association, making public schools great for every child.

And RWJBarnabas Health.

Let's be healthy together.

Look at these kids.

What do you see?

I see myself.

I became an ESL teacher to give my students what I wanted when I came to this country.

The opportunity to learn, to dream, to achieve, a chance to belong and to be an American.

My name is Giulia Torriani-Crompton and I'm proud to be an NJEA member.

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