Briana: Tonight on New Jersey Spotlight News, Mayor McGreevey?

>> This election is not about yesterday.

It's about our tomorrows.

And candidly, I have made mistakes in my own life for which I have apologized.

Briana: The former governor looking to make a political comeback, officially tossing his hat in the ring to run Jersey City.

While another former New Jersey governor was trying to create waves on the national stage.

>> I will say this about Donald Trump.

Anybody who is going to be spending the next 1.5 years of their life focusing on keeping themselves out of jail cannot leave this party or this country.

Briana: Plus, not backing down.

Despite a few losses at local school board elections, parental rights advocates will continue to fight the fight.

>> While parental rights may not have widespread support, it seems like the advocates for its are not going to give up on it easily and will just keep pushing on that issue.

Briana: And, warehouse wars.

A four year battle to block one development is finally over in Warren County.

>> I think the ultimate outcome is the result of what happens when the good people get together for good causes.

Briana: NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

>> Funding for NJ Spotlight News provided 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 PSEG foundation.

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

Briana: Good evening and thank you for joining us this Thursday night.

I am Briana Vannozzi.

Former Governor Jim McGreevey is looking for a second chance in his political career.

And this time, it is as Mayor of the state's second largest city.

McGreevey today officially kicked off his run for the Jersey City Mayor's office, nearly two decades after he was forced to resign from the state's highest office in a stunning fall from grace.

The campaign is being launched two years before the election, and as Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan reports, that is a sign this is likely to be a long, hard-fought race.

Brenda: It is Jim McGreevey 2.0, after promising never again to seek political office.

The 66-year-old Jersey City resident today lost a comeback campaign.

This time he is running for mayor here in New Jersey's second largest city, some 20 years after scandal forced him to resign as the state's 52nd Governor.

McGreevey wants political redemption.

>> This election is not about yesterday.

It's about our tomorrows.

And candidly, I have made mistakes in my own life, for which I have apologized and owned.

Brenda: Supporters jammed a tiny Dominican restaurant to tear the Democrat.

The owner graduated from a gravy's program that helps formerly incarcerated folks rejoin the community.

He reinforced the day's theme of second chances.

>> I feel blessed.

Because I was a man with a second chance.

He deserves a second chance too because he is the best person I have ever met in life.

Where I am today is because of this man right here.

Brenda: McGreevey secured his place in political history when he resigned in 2004.

>> My truth is I am a gay American.

Brenda: His new campaign ad today argues his stakes helped rehabilitate him.

>> I would not have traded anything I have experienced.

It has made me a better person, more compassionate.

>> By him going to the things he went through has prepared him for the moment like this to meet everyday people.

I think you will do a phenomenal job.

Brenda: With Steve Bullock running for governor, McGreevey saw an opening.

His family has deep roots in Jersey City.

He vowed to focus on education, affordability, and quality of life issues.

>> He will be hard-working, honest, severe -- sincere.

Nobody will do a better job than Jim McGreevey.

Brenda: Union City Mayor Brian stack says he recruited McGreevey to run and he is backed by nine Hudson County mayors.

But Bill O'Day has a problem with that.

The longtime county commissioner will announce November 18 he is also running for Jersey City Mayor.

>> I don't want to call him a carpetbagger but he kind of came back here because he wants to be the mayor.

I have lived here all my life and served the public all my life because I love this city.

Brenda: He also says McGreevey's ad rejected some crucial facts like appointing his former lover as head of Homeland Security.

>> He resigned because his administration was under federal admitted -- investigation.

He had appointed an individual into a position he was not qualified that he had a personal relationship with.

That was a lot of the narrative left out today.

>> That is a moment in time.

Things happen in life.

Jim's calling really is public service even when he left public office.

Brenda: Steve Sweeney has endorsed McGreevey, quote, 1000%.

The mayor's race is 2025, and sets up a lengthy campaign battle, says rider.

>> The battle is already joined.

O'dea wants to have his say already at the announcement, and we have two years ago.

We are going to be fighting this one for a long time.

Brenda: McGreevey needs along runway to raise campaign cash.

But in terms of support, he is off to a solid start.

In Jersey City, Brenda Flanagan, NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: On the debate stage in Miami last night, five Republican presidential hopefuls sparred for their spot in the 2024 election.

New Jersey's former Governor Chris Christie is not leading in the polls, but he continues to qualify for the debates.

Alongside Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

The front runner, former President Donald Trump, was not there.

He held a separate rally down the road.

For his part, Kristi stuck to his guns and made the case for why he should get the nomination.

Matt Arco is a politics reporter and was at the debate last night and he joins me now.

Thank you for joining me.

It is great to see you although I'm a little jealous you're in Miami.

And then there were five on the stage.

Any key takeaways for Christie?

Because it has been difficult for any of these candidates to resonate against Donald Trump.

Matt: Yeah.

The narrative right now outside of Miami is it is it to Pete -- two-person race between Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis to see who can be distant second from Donald Trump.

I don't think this debate did anything to change that.

Funnily enough I was on the same flight as Christie coming into Miami.

I checked in behind him on the security line, so I had some time to chat with him about what his plan was for the debate.

According to Christie, he stuck with his plan.

His plan was to let Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley fight it out, and he would talk about the larger issues affecting Americans.

It did not move the needle for him.

Certainly in terms of folks talking about debate coverage, he was an afterthought.

But as soon as he is concerned he is staying in this for a while so things sort of went according to plan.

Briana: I wonder if that tactic will play out for him because he has kind of taken the role of the adult in the room when the barbs are being traded and it does not get him headlines.

But does it make him more presidential for folks who are following this?

Matt: At least for this debate.

Think about the first two, where he really wanted to have that moment fighting Donald Trump.

The first debate, basically everything he was asked he brought it back to a knock against Trump.

He did not do that this time.

Like you said, he was a little more presidential.

Yeah, it does not get him any headlines afterwards but if you are Chris Christie and convinced you're are going for the long haul, this is just sort of what he needed to do.

He wants to keep having Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis spending a lot of money against each other.

Briana: Was he asked about the tough night Republicans had in New Jersey and nationwide obviously on Tuesday?

Or about abortion and how that has been playing?

How did he handle that?

Matt: Both things came up during the debate but more the salient comments about election night on Tuesday was on the way -- on the airwaves.

He did a slew of airwaves where he called Donald Trump the poison of the Republican Party and just said what he has been saying for months, which is Donald Trump is a party of losers.

He does nothing but take the Republican Party.

On abortion, he has been saying what he has been saying on the campaign trail, which is this should be a states rights issue.

It should not be something dictated by the federal government.

Something every state should decide on.

Interestingly enough, that is very close to what Nikki Haley has to say.

Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis are fighting it out in Iowa.

Christie is not paying attention to that.

But come New Hampshire Nikki Haley is his largest problem.

So they are quite similar in a lot of ways.

Briana: Matt Arco is on the campaign trail with former Governor Chris Christie in Miami today, and has a newsletter he puts out every week.

Matt, thanks for joining.

Matt: Thanks.

Briana: Democrats cleaned up any legislative races on Tuesday, holding onto their majorities in both the Senate and assembly while also expanding their power, adding five seats to the lower chamber.

It was a surprise to most analysts and Republicans who went into the election feeling confident.

The Senate president and assembly Speaker today held a press conference at the Statehouse touting the election results while also being endorsed to remain in leadership roles.

The top lawmakers claimed it was the party's messaging on pocketbook issues and centrist tone that carried Democrats across the finish line.

We legislative leaders also welcomed new members and congratulated the caucus on the victory.

>> In district after district Democrats connected with voters on substance, not on irresponsible baloney you hear from some of the members of the other side.

And I am looking forward to building on our progress in the next legislative session with the talented and diverse group that we have.

And I sincerely hope that Republicans will work with us on some of the issues where we can find common ground.

Briana: But legislative races got a lot of attention Tuesday night but there were major battles over local school board seats, where the so-called culture war issues began this year, sparking angry debates.

But also motivating many people devote.

Residents finally had a chance to weigh in on the polenta -- parental rights and gender rights issues that have shaken up these normally quiet races for school board leadership.

Education and child welfare writer Hannah Gross joins me with the results and which side did better with voters.

Great to see you and thank you for joining me again.

Wow, a lot of hotly contested races.

What can you tell me about the results, and specifically I am think about Monmouth County, an area we covered a lot because of the Attorney General's lawsuit there.

Hannah: Thank you so much for having me.

Parental rights have definitely been a hot button issue when it comes to the school board races.

But in these three districts facing lawsuits from the Attorney General, they saw mixed results.

In Middletown, one of the three candidates who won, they were supporters of printer rights.

In Marlborough it is with the Opera -- opposite.

In Manaus and you so I mix, two -- Briana: We went into this and the sides were pitted against one another and it sounds like if we use Monmouth County as a litmus test, neither one won out, just looking at that area.

Hannah: In that town it was mixed.

In some other towns looks like the parental rights candidates might have performed a little better.

If you look at districts like Colts Neck, Howell, where they moved to get rid of policy 5756 which includes protections for transgender students and make sure their parents are not notified of a change in gender without their consent.

Districts that have gotten rid of those policies, parental rights candidates seemed to fare well there, in Monmouth County at least.

Briana: On election day when you were with me you had just gotten back from the northwestern part of the state.

Rocks Barry, Sparta.

A different story or still a mixed bag?

Hannah: A mixed bag.

In spite of the parental rights candidates lost.

But in rocks Barry they won.

In those districts you have also seen book bans recently which do not have widespread support in New Jersey and the removal of policy 5756.

Briana: So a little more contentions -- contentious because of that.

Was it the reason voters came out to vote or was it a big part of it?

Hannah: In my conversations with voters they told me they came out because of the schools and education.

They did not really name parental rights specifically.

They said they just cared about the schools.

People fall on either side of that issue, whether they supported parental rights or opposed it.

Briana: I am curious if you spoke with any lawyers from the districts, and how they took this, or whether they plan to wage another battle going forward.

Hannah: I have not spoken to the low years -- lawyers from the districts.

But what I'm hearing from advocates of parental rights, they plan to keep pushing this.

They have seen mixed results the same way we are seeing at here.

And they are saying that in some of these districts where their candidates lost they might have thought it was smooth sailing because they won last time and they were not pushing as hard.

Briana: Should we expect based on the voters you spoke with, the voters in these districts, that this will be the way moving forward?

That the school board races are going to continue to be very politicized and very hotly contested?

Hannah: I think school board races are becoming increasingly political and I think that is probably a trend that will continue.

While parental rights may not have widespread support, the advocates are not going to give up on it easily and will keep pushing on that issue.

Briana: Hannah Gross is our education and child welfare reporter.

Thank you so much.

Had a vigil in Tenafly Wednesday night, the family of Edan Alexander pleaded for the release of their son.

He is being held hostage by Hamas as well as 200 other Israeli and American Jews.

Alexander was serving with the Israeli army when Hamas attackers stormed the border, indiscriminately gunning down Israeli citizens in an unprecedented assault.

Several hundred people turned out to support the Tenafly high school graduate and his family at an event put on by the Israeli American Council of New Jersey.

His parents and siblings sharing heartfelt words.

Friends spoke of his resilience and sense of humor.

The family says they have been told he is being held alive in Gaza but have no other information.

>> It feels like my best friend was just taken away from me.

I am getting all the support from Tenafly high school that I could be getting.

So many people.

The fact you are all here shows the amount of support we are getting through this community.

I have been saying this a lot but we are turning positivity and hope into action.

Briana: So far, Hamas has released just four hostages and the Israeli army rescued one hostage in a special operation.

But the conflict has grown increasingly deadly since the killing of 1400 Israelis just over a month ago.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed including more than 4000 children.

Today the White House said Israel has agreed to pause military operations in parts of northern Gaza for a four hour period each day to allow Palestinians to receive aid.

Advocates of affordable housing today said there is proof a law that is unpopular with a lot of human -- municipal leaders is working.

Holding an event to talk about recent data showing construction has doubled on affordable homes in just the last eight years.

That is when oversight of this goal was shifted from a dysfunctional state agency over to the courts.

But is enough to meet the growing need in this high cost of living state?

Raven Santana reports.

Raven: More than 50 years ago the Jacobs Chapel AME Church in Mount Laurel became the center of a lawsuit that led to New Jersey's current affordable housing laws.

A six generation resident was the lead plaintiff.

>> She and her family here did not have access to low income housing.

When Misses Lawrence took it to the people in the church, they had a meeting here and when the mayor come through here he said you people really do not belong here, is what he was basically saying.

Raven: The case claimed Mount Laurel zoning law systematically excluded residents on the base of race and class, by barring multifamily or other lower-cost homes from being built.

>> The people who were there did not want them.

That is very much similar to today.

There are places that our communities are not wanted, Black and Brown folks.

Raven: The New Jersey Supreme Court cited in favor of Lawrence.

It took a decade, but that led to a law requiring towns to build what is known as their fair share of affordable units.

The mayor joined civil rights leaders for a panel discussion on the accomplishments and challenges that remain with affordable housing in towns and cities, including Newark.

>> I have seen communities and neighborhoods revitalized and trying to be -- keep people in those communities and create opportunities for them.

When I see we give the keys to mother's who have lived in public housing with their mother who are living with their mother, who now has a backyard and a key to a house.

It is enormous.

They break out in tears whenever we have these events to introduce these programs.

There's lines all the way down the street, around the corner.

Raven: Earlier this year, fair share housing center release to deport detailing the success of their efforts in moving New Jersey's affordable housing forward.

In 2015, the Centre took over the lead role in figuring out how many units towns are on the hook for.

>> The report shows that through the Mount Laurel doctrine the following successes were achieved.

70,000 new homes, including over 20,000 the restricted affordable homes that have been created in New Jersey since 2015.

The homes built have opened up access in wealthy and predominantly white communities that historically have had little affordable housing.

Raven: Thanks to current enforcement of the doctrine, Netanyahu is developing -- New Jersey is developing more Forte about housing since ever before.

The rate has nearly doubled and the Murphy administration has provided more funding for the projects to be built.

What experts say stigma still remains.

>> Affordable housing is a sticky prospect for many people.

I find that when it shows up in spaces where folks are not as welcoming or receiving of it, a lot of times it is preconceived in notions.

There is some stigma.

There is negative association with that, and a lot of preconceived notions that if you put affordable housing in the space, it changes the dynamics of community.

>> I always say to folks that the person -- Briana: In our spotlight on business report, before year warehouse fight in Warren County has finally come to an end with a surprising twist.

The roughly 3 million square-foot large buildings will not be constructed along the banks of the Delaware River, as proposed.

Instead, the state of New Jersey is now stepping into by most of the property and make it preserved from land.

As Ted Goldberg reports, the decision comes after a grueling battle waged by local grassroots groups.

Ted: This farmland in White Township will likely remain farmland despite a years long saga that almost led to a warehouse here.

>> We have to save this.

It just keeps shrinking and shrinking and shrinking.

Wildlife has nowhere to go.

Ted: Butch and his wife Lynda live three miles from here, and they take pictures of the animals who fly, hop, and trot around his nearly 600 acre parcel of land.

>> This field alone gets covered with snow geese every year on their migration.

Ted: This land is owned by a Pennsylvania-based developer who intended on building a large warehouse here.

Nearby residents started to organize against these plants, spreading word around and crowding lending board meetings.

>> Pollution, road traffic, my house would have been worth so much less.

>> We started in a little Bowling Alley that you can see the roof of here, with probably less than a dozen people.

Membership-wise, judging by Facebook, well over 1000 people.

Ted: Tom was thrilled to hear the state and JAndal started negotiations to sell most of this land, and have it say as preserved from land.

The price and the source of the money are part of the negotiations.

>> Politicians being who they are, they react to their constituents.

I want to pack my -- pat my organization on the back.

Because we very much kept this matter in the forefront.

We were boisterous, we were numerous, and we attended every meeting.

>> The community simply cannot support it.

I think the ultimate outcome is the result of what happens when good people get together for good causes.

The produce good outcomes.

Ted: As warehouses spread throughout New Jersey, he says other communities can learn from the example set by him and his allies.

>> I believe that we can teach other organizations a lot.

But really, the key is getting the public motivated.

And then keeping them motivated.

Because after four years, that is tough.

>> These people just would not give up.

There are -- they are a large organization.

They are able to fund raise and stay out of it.

A lot of people get exhausted.

Ted: Elliot works for NJ Highlands coalition, a North Jersey nonprofit that focuses on protecting drinking water and the environment.

He says this sale is a good idea for both sides.

>> When this developer came here he expected within a matter of months to get municipal approvals.

After four years they finally realized they are throwing good money after a bad project.

I think they are happy that they are able to get out of this gracefully, perhaps not lose money on the purchase of the land, and move on.

Ted: We reached out to Jandal for the story but did not hear back.

The warehouse would have been placed along this uniquely named road.

But this is one rift that could end up with all sides happy with the outcome.

I'm Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: Turning to Wall Street, here is how the markets closed today.

>> Support for the business report divided by the New Jersey tourism Association.

NJTIA.org for event information.

Briana: And that does it for us, but make sure to tune in tomorrow for Reporters Roundtable with David Cruz.

David talks with Republican Senator Jon Bramnick about lessons learned from the GOP losses in Tuesday's legislative elections.

Then a panel of reporters break down this week's political headlines.

That is tomorrow at noon on the NJ Spotlight News YouTube channel.

And don't forget to download the NJ Spotlight News podcast so you can listen anytime.

I am Briana Vannozzi.

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

Have a great evening.

We will see you right back here tomorrow.

>> The members of the New Jersey Education Association, making public schools great for every child.

RWJBarnabas Health, let's be healthy together.

And Orsted, committed to the creation of a new long-term, sustainable, clean energy future for New Jersey.

♪