State Comptroller to be Investigated?

The New Jersey Association of Counties sent letters to legislative leadership asking them to investigate the Comptroller's Office, a state government watchdog.

The lobbying arm for New Jersey’s county governments says they’ve been treated unfairly by Comptroller Kevin Walsh, who recently issued three critical reports on county governments, and now they want the Legislature to investigate him.

The letter represents a major escalation of state and local governments against the office, which is charged, among other things, with auditing government finances and investigating alleged misconduct.

In the letter, NJAC Executive Director John Donnadio wrote “Established in 2007 to audit, assess, and monitor public agencies, the Legislature could not have intended for the OSC to evolve into an agency that operates as prosecutor, judge, and jury.”

Spokespeople for Senate President Nick Scutari and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin said the leaders would review the letter.

Murphy Announces Landmark Solar Investments 

Last week, Governor Murphy unveiled a series of new solar initiatives aimed at boosting accessibility across the board and making solar more affordable for residents.

The first investment, awarded to New Jersey this week by the USEPA, is $156.1 million through the Solar For All competition, which is part of the historic $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund created under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.

The funding will be leveraged to support solar programs that enable low-income and disadvantaged communities to benefit from clean energy by supporting solar access for multi-family affordable housing, establishing pathways to residential solar ownership for low-income households, expanding community solar initiatives, supporting solar workforce development, and enabling critical grid upgrades to support more solar generation in New Jersey.

New Jersey’s Solar for All award is anticipated to deliver approximately 175 megawatts of solar energy to benefit 22,000 low-income households within the first five years of funding, resulting in approximately $250 million in total energy bill savings over 30 years for residents in newly connected households. 

The Governor also detailed a sizable solar investment awarded last week by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) that will create 310 megawatts of grid-scale solar and the first state-incentivized energy storage project in New Jersey. This award marks the first successful solicitation of New Jersey’s new Competitive Solar Incentive Program, and the largest solicitation award to date in any New Jersey solar program, following several record years in New Jersey for solar capacity installation.

Ciattarelli Confident in 3rd Run at Governor’s Seat 

Jack Ciattarelli’s first 2017 gubernatorial bid ended in a nearly 16-point primary loss. He came up 3 points short as the Republican nominee in 2021. Now, Ciattarelli, who recently announced he is running for Governor again in 2025, is convinced the third time’s a charm. 

In an interview with POLITICO, Ciattarelli described how his new campaign borrows ideas from his prior runs: He remains laser-focused talking about lowering property taxes and the cost of living in New Jersey — perennial issues in the state. More recently, he’s endorsed term limits for state lawmakers.

“My job is to get big government out of the way,” Ciattarelli said.  “Out of the way of taxpayers, out of the way of businesses, out of the way of parents, and out of the way of police. So I'm committed to fixing the state we all love.”

Ciaterrili added, “ The political landscape is very different this time. We're not dealing with a pandemic. Very hard to campaign when the governor has issued a shelter-in-place order – and we're also not dealing this time around with indifference. Last time around, there were a lot of people who liked Jack, liked the campaign, liked the message, but didn't feel like we had a legitimate chance to win. So they sat it out. That won't be the case this time, because of the closeness of the [2021] race … [Republicans also] won seven seats in the state Legislature, including beating the longest-sitting state senate president.”

Remembering Rep. Donald Payne, Jr. 

Last week, Rep. Donald Payne Jr., a longtime Newark leader and member of a New Jersey political dynasty who spent the last 12 years serving in Congress as the successor to his late father, passed away after suffering a heart attack at the age of 65. 

Payne grew up in Newark where his father was a teacher before launching a career in politics that included stints as an Essex County Freeholder and Newark City Councilman. Payne Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps when he was elected as an Essex County freeholder in 2005. Months later he was elected to the Newark City Council and served as Council President in 2010. 

Payne Sr. passed away in 2012 while serving in Congress and Payne Jr. was elected to fill his late father’s seat. 

During his time in Congress, Payne Jr. sponsored bills focused on removing lead from drinking water, preventing violence against women, tightening gun laws, securing equal pay and strengthening flood insurance for Superstorm Sandy victims, among others. 

Payne Jr. will remain on the Primary ballot this June because the deadline for a new candidate has passed. It will be up to the Democratic committee members in the 10th District to choose a replacement candidate for November’s General Election. 

Governor Muphy signed an Executive Order for U.S. and state flags in New Jersey to fly at half-mast on May 1 and 2nd in honor of Congressman Payne Jr.