[music] From NJPBS Studios, this is NJ Spotlight News with Breonna Vanossi.

Hello, and thanks for joining us tonight.

I'm Joanna Gaggis and for Breonna Vanossi.

Some topics will get into later in the broadcast.

Congressional and Senate races are heating up.

We talk with Alex Zidane, the Republican candidate who's vying for U.S.

Senator Cory Booker's seat.

And Jersey City's Musa Balee, who's running to replace Democratic Congressman Rob Menendez in the June primary.

And later, school districts across the state are strapped for cash.

Will there be any relief in Governor Cheryl's upcoming budget?

But first, colleges across the state are feeling the pinch.

Rutgers University's athletic department hit a $78 million shortfall in fiscal year 2025.

That number has been growing since the university first joined the Big Ten conference in 2014, totaling $516 million in debt that the athletic department has accrued.

If you're wondering how that's possible, well, take a look at what Rutgers spent since it was added to the conference.

$1.35 billion in athletics, including more than $500 million in debt.

Rutgers is also spending hundreds of millions on recruiting and scholarships, as well as on new facilities.

According to NJ.com, who reviewed the financials, Rutgers has struggled to reap the benefits of being in the Big Ten, falling behind other schools in royalties, licensing, and sponsorships.

Meanwhile, Rutgers University is trying to close a $21 million deficit by selling part of its campus to Mercer County.

The students are also trying to get a $21 million deficit, and they're trying to get a $21 million deficit.

The sale will include a 56-acre lot on the outskirts of campus, along with the Presidential House, and the lease of school facilities to the county.

In total, that could bring in nearly $10 million for the university to write their financial ship.

Writer has also laid off 35 full-time staff and reduced salaries of most of its employees by 14%.

These changes came after Writer University was placed on probation by its accrediting agency last year.

Coming up, we talk with Republican candidate Alex Zidane, who's vying to replace senior U.S.

Senator Cory Booker, that's next.

Funding for NJ Spotlight News, provided by the members of the New Jersey Education Association, making public schools great for every child.

The 2026 midterm elections are approaching and all of New Jersey's congressional representatives are up for re-election, but so too is the state senior U.S.

Senator Cory Booker, who's held a seat since 2013.

Several Republicans are vying to the challenge booker, but first they'll have to face off in the June primary.

One of those candidates is Alex Zidane, longtime Jersey journalist and conservative political commentator who's here with us now.

Alex, welcome to the show.

Thank you for having me.

You're laughing already, why?

I am because I feel like I'm still on enemy territory because we used to be competitors, but I'm glad to be here right now.

We did not see you as a competitor.

We were all in the same way.

It's all about accountability and making sure that the media and the press hold elected officials to account.

You now want to be one of those elected officials?

Why?

Why should New Jersey voters vote for you?

I'm here to end the Cory Booker show.

Cory Booker's performative historians have only helped him.

We have two United States senators, Cory Booker and Andy Kim, who are more interested in generating headlines, clicks and eyeballs for themselves rather than bringing back results for the people of New Jersey.

I want to restore accountability to Washington, DC, and I want to hold Senator Booker accountable for his backers in the healthcare industry.

And Big Pharma.

Senator Booker is beholden to the special interest groups, not the people he claims to represent.

You say that you want to break up some of these big, you just referenced the Big Pharma and healthcare companies.

I'm curious.

Would you approach that in terms of breaking up the monopolies we've seen?

And I know it's a complicated term, but the vertical integration where they control the supply chain?

Let's be clear.

I say break up the big tech companies.

When it comes to Big Pharma and the healthcare industry, accountability needs to be restored.

The president is doing that through Trump Rx, which lets people know what exactly they're paying for drugs and where they can get them more affordably and cheaply.

I also say that healthcare needs to be reformed.

The Affordable Care Act has not lived up to its name.

It shouldn't just be thrown away and replaced with nothing.

We have to find a good and sustainable replacement.

And President Trump is doing that with his health savings accounts.

I had health savings account.

It was fantastic for me.

Pre-tax money to be able to be used for your medical expenses would be a valuable thing for any family.

So is that a no on the vertical integration?

The vertical integration of the healthcare industry.

Yeah, would you want to break that up?

I think the monopolies that we've seen in the big tech companies are different from the monopolies that we've seen in the healthcare industry.

I'm not here to break companies up for the most part.

What I'm here to do is restore accountability and trust and bring costs down like President Trump has done.

You call yourself an America first candidate.

Do you support what the president's done right now in Iran?

The president is acting to degrade the Iranian military, which is the greatest threat to regional stability in the Middle East.

Iran has been an aggressor and essentially at war with the United States since 1979.

I absolutely support degrading the Iranian military so it's no longer a threat in the region.

And to our interest, we have valuable interest in the Middle East.

What you're seeing the president doing right now is a worldwide realignment, a regional realignment in the Middle East.

Did you take issue at all with President Obama taking military action in seven different countries during the time of his presidency?

Well, I certainly think that the President Trump is right to do this right now because he's made a clear case for it.

Democrats who are crying about President Trump acting in the Middle East didn't have much to say when President Obama was doing it.

Here's the difference between the two.

President Obama acted as part of the AUMF, the authorization for military force that was issued after 9/11.

It was an abuse and an extension of that.

This is a separate campaign that is holding the Iranian regime accountable.

And the Supreme Leader is dead now.

One of the greatest threats against American interests in the region and the peace and stability of the world.

If you had been in the Senate this week, would you have voted for the War Powers Resolution?

I would have allowed the President to continue doing what he's doing because under the law, the President has 30 to 60 days to issue military operations and then Congress is allowed to weigh in.

It's perfectly fine for Congress to weigh in.

But the President obviously saw-- Well, in fact, Congress has the obligation to declare war, right?

Congress under the Constitution has the ability to declare war.

Not the obligation, the ability to declare war.

They don't have to.

They don't have to.

When I say obligation, I mean, that needs to go through Congress.

A declaration of war which requires a national mobilization has to go through Congress.

If we need to go to war in the sense that we want to war in World War II against a peer adversary with sustained commitment and our entire industrial base and our young men and women all focused on that one goal, that's where a declaration of war would be appropriate.

Of course.

This right now is hopefully a campaign that's more limited in scope, and I certainly pray for the safety of our men and women who are over there doing their jobs.

And you say, hopefully, in many of your Republicans, in Congress right now, say, if this continues, they would consider-- reconsider their vote on the War Powers Resolution.

I want to shift and ask you about ICE.

We've had Republicans here in the state who come on and say that they would like to see some reforms.

Two-thirds of New Jersey voters think that ICE's immigration enforcement has gone too far.

What is your position on ICE?

And do you see the need for any reforms?

The handful of videos that we've seen of what could be abuses of power are mostly few and far between.

Let me tell you what ICE needs to do.

First, ICE is going to focus on the criminal illegal aliens.

That needs to be their number one focus.

And the majority of residents in New Jersey and in the United States support exactly that get criminal illegal aliens out of our country.

And yet we see that's not what's happening because representatives who visited ICE detention facilities tell us over and over and over that who's there are moms, their families, their working people who had no criminal records.

Well, that's what they say.

Working people can still commit crimes.

The data there from the DHS is all.

Working people can still commit crimes.

Let's be clear about one thing.

The data is that these people do not have criminal records.

So New Jersey, first of all, anyone who overstays a visa or anyone who illegally crosses the border has technically committed a crime under the law.

Additionally, in the United States of America, our law enforcement agents should be allowed to ask what the detention status is, what the immigration status is for people who are being checked into jails under 287G.

That's not allowed in New Jersey.

In New Jersey, the Sheryl administration, just like the Murphy administration before it, is making our streets more dangerous because they are not allowing law enforcement to cooperate with ICE.

If you want better coordination and cooperation, to get criminals off our streets, I would urge the governor, I would urge the Democrat-led legislature to allow local law enforcement to cooperate with ICE because local law enforcement, more often than not, knows where the bad actors are.

They know who the guys are who are just trying to get their kids to school, but they know where the bad apples are too.

Should masks come off of ICE immigration officers and should they wear body cameras?

Yes.

To both?

Yes.

You are in a small field right now of other candidates.

I'd say that they're the best actors.

Let me ask you this.

How are you participating in the conventions?

You did sit out the Mercer County Convention.

Is there a reason why and what type of support are you looking for from state Republican leaders?

Well, conventions are an important part of the process.

Short answer.

The county line might be gone, but it's important to work with these Republicans because these groups, these organizations are going to be instrumental in bringing out the vote in June and in November.

I'm gratified to have the support of six county organizations.

We're looking to get many more more to come.

Um, Alex, a Dan Republican candidate for US Senate it.

Thank you.

Appreciate you coming in.

Appreciate it.

On the Democratic side, Congressman Rob Menendez is facing a primary challenge from Moosab Ali, the former president of the Jersey City Board of Education and a candidate for mayor last year.

Ali didn't win that mayoral race, but quickly switched gears to take on this run for the eighth congressional district seat.

He's here with us now.

Thank you so much for joining us in the studio.

Thank you for having me.

Um, why do you believe that you are the candidate for this eighth congressional seat?

Well, I am running a campaign that's very much focused on fighting for everyday people and not fighting for corporations and special interests.

And I think what we're seeing across the country is that is the kind of leadership Democrats are craving.

They're craving people who are fighting for the everyday person, not people who are beholden to corporate packs or places like APAC.

You are slogan on your website says no kings, no crowns, no heirs.

Um, we've seen this type of attack against Congressman Menendez before his 2024 challenger was former hobo and mayor Ravi Bala who really said that he was the product of a political dynasty.

That didn't work.

Why do you think this is the right message for you right now?

Look, I'm not running against Congressman Menendez's father.

The problem that I have with Congressman Menendez is he has his own track record that I really think is disappointing a lot of people in the district.

How so?

I mean, look, frankly, he has copycatted a lot of his father's positions.

Congressman Menendez ran as a moderate.

He's running as someone who's taking money from corporate packs.

And particularly his number one donor is the same number one donor to his father.

That's APEC.

He has, he may have started as a as a more moderate candidate.

We've seen him really shift to a more progressive.

I would say more progressive Congressman as he's carried out the last term in particular.

He has the endorsement of many of the progressives in his party, including his counterparts in the Congress.

So I'm just curious, what are what are policies that you would change or vote on differently than him?

Let's start with what we're seeing with D.H.

He's calling for the abolishment of ICE.

So Congressman Menenda's a month ago came on the show and was saying we should reform ICE.

When he came on later he said abolish ICE.

The only thing that changed in that time period was the fact that we launched our campaign.

So are you pushing him to the left?

I think we are pushing him to the left, but I think we're pushing him to a common sense position.

Right?

The idea that abolishing ICE is a leftist position.

I think it's actually the common sense position.

Right now, how ICE is operating is not something that can be reformed.

It has to be abolished.

We have to get rid of it and we have to start a little over on an unmigric.

Earlier today, President Trump fired DHS Secretary Christine Noam.

There were a number of reforms that even some Republicans were on board with.

What do you believe needs to happen right now under new leadership?

And do you think that there will be any momentum for change in policy?

I'm very skeptical about what can happen, but I'll be honest with you.

The first thing I need to do is reduce the amount of money that's being spent on DHS.

Americans all across the country are thinking about affordability.

And at the same time that people can afford their grocery, can afford health care, we're having cuts that are being given to billionaires, we're spending billions of dollars, funding an agency that's completely wrong.

Although that funding is locked in through the end of the president's term, and so any budget negotiation now will not affect present time, right?

You know this.

There's also at the same time, you've called for endless, the end to endless wars.

We see the president launching this attack in Iran.

It started as what would be a four week effort now is proposed to be eight.

Do you see this as the potential for another endless war?

I think this is another endless war, and I think the reality is we have to be talking about what got us here in the first place.

And that is the state of Israel, right?

I think that Netanyahu is a war criminal who is continuing to use the US foreign policy to advance his own interests.

And that's why I don't take any money from APAC.

That's why I stand against these interests.

And that's why from the beginning I was calling out the genocide that was taking place in Gaza and called for a ceasefire.

I'll be honest with you, this has been a big contention between myself and Congressman Menendez.

He is somebody that has not called for conditioning any of the military aid that goes to Israel.

He's not somebody that calls Netanyahu war criminal.

In fact, he voted to sanction the ICC when they put out a warrant for Netanyahu's arrest.

How would you like to see the United States determine how and when to support Israel?

What would that look like?

I think that we should follow the laws that we have on the books.

We have the Leahy Law that literally says, if there are organizations that are using military aid to commit war crimes, we do not support them.

And I think we need to be very clear that Israel should not get any more military aid until we are in a place where we can find a real solution.

And where Israel is actually working with us, not against the interests of every day Americans.

Nobody, it's feeling like this country is becoming more affordable because we're going to war in Iran.

If you look at the sentiment among Americans, nobody wants to swarth Iran.

The only people who are benefiting from this war in Iran is the state of Israel, specifically, BB Netanyahu, and war moongers and billionaires who are profiting from these stocks.

What would you like to see from our current members of Congress in terms of how they Republicans included how they call for an end to the war, or perhaps if this drags on, reconsider the war power's resolution that doesn't seem to have any momentum in Congress right now.

Yeah, I mean, I think, look, there's a ton of Republicans that don't have a spine on this issue, but it really bothers me.

Is there a Democrats right now that are on the record saying, look, we're okay with this war continuing?

Everyone needs to be extremely clear.

We do not want a war with Iran.

We do not want another endless war.

We do not want to send our military members abroad, right?

I mean, to me, if Donald Trump wants to send our boys and girls to go fight in this war in Iran, the first person he should look at is Baron Trump.

You should send it himself.

Let me ask you this.

You'd like to see a change in the tax policy.

You're, you're, you say it simply tax the rich.

That hasn't been too popular, obviously, for many folks on the Republican side.

Many on the Democratic side too haven't succeeded in changing tax policy.

What would you change?

How would you do it?

Look, the first thing the problem that we have is that there are billionaires that are buying our politics, right?

I mean, there are billionaires that are putting money into A-PAC and buying politicians to make sure they don't say things like, "That's why I'm very proud to be taking donations from grassroots donors all across this district."

And so what we need to do is tax the billionaires.

I mean, Bernie Sanders just came out with a flat 5% wealth tax that would happen to the top 950 odd billionaires.

That would be enough money to pay for people to go to college, to pay for people to have good health care, to pay for people to be able to afford homes.

America is wealthy enough to care for everyone.

The only thing missing is the political courage to do it.

I think it's time we elect people who have that courage.

Very much to that end, you'd like to see Medicare for all again, a policy that really hasn't gained traction.

It's really just the kind of far left end of the Democratic Party that's calling for that.

Why?

I don't think it's the far left position.

In fact, if you look at Medicare for all, this is an extremely popular policy item.

But because people like Congressman Nendez are taking money from pharmaceutical industry representatives, are taking money from corporate packs like Johnson Johnson, Eli Lilly, United Healthcare, those are the same entrenched interests that don't want to see reform when it comes to healthcare.

Look, this is a common solution that happens in the rest of the world.

We can do it in America.

The only problem is we have politicians that are bought and paid for, not politicians representing the popular sentiment in this country.

Just a little bit of time left.

What does your ground game look like as you try to gain support?

Because this is going to be a big fight for you.

Yeah, we have volunteers all across this district.

We have people who are very, very excited about the momentum that we're building.

And the most exciting thing to me is that we have people as young as 12-year-old that are volunteering and are knocking on doors for us because they believe in what we're fighting for.

People from the age of 12 all the way to the age of 90 are fighting in this broad coalition that is fighting for working people across this country.

All right, we've got to leave it there.

Musab Ali, candidate in the Congressional 8th District.

Thank you so much.

Thank you for having me.

And a programming note on Tuesday, March 10th will bring you live coverage of Governor Mikey Sherrill's first state budget address beginning at 2 p.m.

I'll have analysis here in the studio as well as from our reporters at the state house bringing you the latest on the governor's fiscal plan.

You can watch it right here on engine and the state's budget address.

And I'll be back with a new update on the state budget address.

As we just mentioned, Governor Sherrill is days away from delivering her first budget address, but she's already come out and said the state's facing a structural deficit.

Now, some of the greatest pressures on the budget have to do with education, how the state finds its schools, as well as how it covers the cost of public workers pensions and health benefits under the state health benefits plan.

Liz Rosenberg is a senior education reporter with NJ.com who joins us now to break it all down as part of our under the dome.

Series, Liz, so great to have you with us.

Let's start with the school funding formula or S2 that was first mandated by the courts and then implemented in its latest version through legislation.

Can you just help kind of high level explain how the state comes up with its per district allocation?

Well, it would take hours to really explain how it all works, but there are a lot of things to go into it.

How many students district has?

How many part of a particular type of student a district has?

So, in addition to kind of taking into account what's happening in the district, there's something called the Atticusy budget.

The Atticusy budget considers kind of ratios of counselors to students, mental health supports, it considers all kinds of things, operations, transportation, special education costs.

And so they basically spit out a formula that says what it says is how much they think the state needs to provide and how much they're of a local fair share, how much the particular district needs to provide to give the students in that district and adequate, efficient and adequate education.

You are recording.

Let me just jump in here, because you're reporting to show that nearly half of all school districts in the state are operating at a $500,000 amount below adequacy.

So we know as the formulas rolled out districts have been winners and losers and it's really this kind of adjustment for districts that were overfunded for years based on population and others that were underfunded.

Have there been solutions as a new administration comes in in terms of how they might update that formula and kind of level out some of these districts that are below adequacy?

That's a great question.

One of the things that came up in Lilly Lous confirmation hearing that many people are advocating for and she nodded towards most of the questions she was asked she didn't give.

She basically said that, you know, she's working with the governor a lot will be revealed soon, but she did indicate that it's possible that she might change how special education is funded.

Right now in the actual law, the special education is funded based on the census and about 15 assuming about 15% of every school district is a special education students.

However, that is not an accurate measure.

So people will take issue, advocates take issue with that.

But they also want it to return to a tiered system.

So if you have a lot of students that are higher needs in your district, that you would get more money to actually meet them where they are in terms of what they need.

So moving away from the averages that they've been operating on, with some say, have left schools overfunded.

Yes, so right in the last district, excuse me, in the last budget, 2026 fiscal year budget, the state did move away from that, although I haven't seen that codified into law in any place.

Exactly.

Healthcare costs are a major contributing factor.

We know the state health benefits plan is, I would say, on a steep fiscal decline, is that fair to say, based on the reporting?

Absolutely.

As I understand it, the cost, if a district is using the state plan is about 31%, it has increased about 31%.

And so that, a big part of what I'm hearing from everyone everywhere is that the funding formula needs to be updated and modernized, which is what Cheryl has said she's going to do.

And people are asking for her to do that from kind of a bottom up process.

And that was one of the interesting things that came out of my reporting was that repeatedly people said, you know, please listen to people on the ground as you make these big decisions.

Yeah, no one has come out with a clear answer as to what it could look like.

Everyone's just saying, please address it, please fix it.

But we do know that many schools are more than 100 years old.

And so there's aging infrastructure across the state.

That's a bill that's likely to come do for more and more districts.

As these buildings start to fall into disrepair, the school's development authority, I believe, had a $50 million allocation in the last budget.

There is a bill right now that was proposed by Senate Education Leader Teresa Ruiz.

She'd like to see the state go out to bond.

I know that happened in 2008.

Can you just explain a bit as to how that might help fund real, really critical maintenance projects for buildings?

As I understand it, what she's trying to do is build a consistent revenue stream.

You know, that they're rather than kind of like cased by case or year by year, asking for funding that there's something stable that people can land ahead and they can know in advance.

You know, we have these upcoming infrastructure needs.

Maybe we're not the district that gets the money this year, but we are the district that's going to get the money in the future.

And knowing that there is that future and long-term planning, I think is what she's trying to do.

And I should say that Senator Vingel-Pal is the head of the Education Committee.

Senator Ruiz formerly was.

She is now the Senate Majority Leader.

But there's a whole lot facing this administration as they try to balance the budget.

Do you have a sense from the governor any more clarity in terms of how she plans to go about this?

I do not.

I'm what was interested in kind of reaching out to the governor.

There was a bit of a disconnect between what I was hearing on the ground about what people were hoping was on her mind and what she indicated was on her mind.

By the same token, it's possible that she didn't want to share.

They didn't want to share anything about the budget until March 10th.

Yeah.

We will all be waiting and watching to see what comes out of that.

But Liz Rosenberg, terrific reporting.

Senior Education reporter for NJ.com.

Appreciate you joining us.

Thank you so much.

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

And that's going to do it for us tonight.

I'm Joanna Gagas for our whole team here at NJ Sputlay News.

Thanks for being with us and we will see you right back here tomorrow.

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