Westport Library holds panel discussion on local impact of 2024 Election results

NY House Republicans discuss SALT deduction with President-elect Trump

Power & Politics: Rep. Lawler leads GOP delegation to exclusive meeting with President-elect Trump

Power & Politics: Fighting the rise in crime in the Bronx; justice for Robert Brooks

Power & Politics: News 12 speaks with Long Island’s congressional delegation

Power & Politics: 1:1 with Gov. Lamont after 2025 State of the State address

newyork

News 12 Staff

RTNJPowerPolitics01112025BBlock230pm_2025-01-11-14-54-02

Welcome back to New Jersey Power and Politics. I'm Walt Cain in for Eric Lanz Gronner. Tuesday, Governor Murphy will deliver his final state of the state message before a new governor is elected in November. Here to talk about that and other issues in the headlines this week, Senate Minority Leader Anthony Boco. Senator Bucco, thanks. So much for being with us. It's great to be here. We'll get to the state of the state in a couple of minutes. Uh, right now there's a bit of breaking news. The, uh, new CEO of the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation, Tiffany Williams Brewer, resigning. There was a lot of question about her residency. Well, listen, I think it's the right decision on her part, um, you know, the question of her residency, the fact that she voted in New Jersey, has a full-time job in Washington. Uh, just doesn't send a great picture, uh, to the residents of New Jersey and for the administration, in fact, so, uh, you know, I know, uh, Senator O'Scanlon called for her resignation, and I think she made the right decision. She says, uh, everyone knew that she was a dual resident of New Jersey and Maryland, but, uh, as you point out, the full-time job in Washington DC while also supposedly a full-time job here could be problematic. Yeah, listen, that's a very important position for us here in New Jersey, and you can't have somebody. Splitting their time between two states, um, one of the other things, of course, the big news this week is the state of the state that's coming up on Tuesday. What are your expectations for, uh, Governor Murphy? Well, look, I think Governor Murphy will do like, uh, every governor does. He'll try to paint a rosy picture of the state of the state at this point. Unfortunately, I don't think you need to go any further than the grocery store. The gas station, you know, get your electric bill and try to pay that bill, you know, New Jersey Transit, the toll roads, you know, people are seeing, uh, the increases in in at all at all places, and it's becoming very difficult to live here in New Jersey. So, uh, you know, the governor can try to spin it any way he wants, but I think the fact of the matter is the picture isn't so rosy. The state of the state in your opinion is, is not. As good as the governor is likely to say it is, you obviously are, are in different parties, but what is it that you would like to hear the governor say? Well, I'd like to hear the governor say he's gonna tighten the belt, right? We're gonna cut the budget instead of increasing it, you know, the current budget has gone up like $21 billion since Governor Christie was governor. That's a 60% increase over seven years. Republicans have been saying for a long time. That you can't keep going at this pace that you're gonna hit the fiscal cliff and we've hit it and so you know uh we really need to start, uh, living within our means we need to take a holistic, uh, approach to the budget, go back to the to the days where we decided what we had to do, what we'd like to do, and what we could no longer afford to do. Uh, and I think that that's gonna be critical, you know, if we don't do something to get, uh, the, the cost of living in New Jersey down, uh, we're gonna continue to see the state and our residents spiral, uh, downward, uh, you know, right now between 2023 and 2024, homelessness went up 24% here in the state. You know, people are more and more people are living paycheck to paycheck. We can't have that. We've got to do something to get the cost of living down here in the state. One of the other big issues, uh, congestion pricing, which started in New York City about two weeks ago, obviously adding an enormous amount to people who might commute into the city from New Jersey by car. Would you like to see that rolled back, and do you think that President-elect Trump will be able to do that as he's indicated that he would try to do? Well, I hope he gets involved. I think the governor has done the right thing here. He's fought to to prevent it from happening. Unfortunately, the courts are not rule in our favor, so, um, I think we've got to continue to do everything we can. Uh, to roll that policy back, it's gonna have a major impact, uh, on our commuting public and it's just gonna make it harder for people, uh, to get into the city even for doctors visits and, and things that may not necessarily mean they're going in for work, but people travel back and forth to the city all the time and I think that that's really not a great policy for New Jersey. Now it's obviously been approved and there's been a lot of talk that the president would have had a lot easier of a time blocking this before it took effect, but the president certainly has a lot of leverage. He controls a lot of the distribution of state funding. If he really wanted to, you would think he could put pressure on New York to roll that back. Well, I think he probably will, you know, I think that I think the president has said that. I, you know, I think I take him at his word and um and I think he'll do everything he can. Uh, to correct that situation, so I'm hopeful that uh once the president is sworn in that uh this will be one of the things that are a priority on his agenda. One of the interesting things that happened this week, Governor Murphy released crime stats indicating crime is really plummeting, and I bring this up because obviously you passed a crime bill to have tougher sentences a few months ago. Are you buying the the crime stats being as low as they indicate, or do you think this is a bookkeeping thing? No, I think the legislation that we passed, uh, has had an impact, you know, um, the legislation was bipartisan legislation, but it wasn't long ago when the, uh, Murphy administration, uh, took the policy of being soft on crime, right? Um, the attorney general's office, they weren't allowing police to chase vehicles when they were stolen. There was the catch and release uh for juveniles, so, um, you know those two pieces of legislation, the legislation on car theft and the legislation on home burglaries, uh, and on home invasions, uh, I was a prime sponsor on each one were designed to get at those, those folks that are committing these crimes and make them understand. That if you commit the crime you're gonna do the time and I think it's had a major impact, you know I worked with the prosecutor's office around the state and the uh and the state association of sheriffs and these were recommendations that came out of those discussions so those are the folks that are on the ground they know what they need they know the tools they need uh to to not only catch the criminals but to to stop the crimes from happening. And um thankfully I was able to get some bipartisan support to roll back some of those soft on crime policies. All right, state Senator Anthony Bookco, the Republican leader in New Jersey, thank you so much for being with us this week. Thank you. Stay with us. More to come on New Jersey power and politics. We will look back at the life and legacy of former President Jimmy Carter, who died at 100, making him the longest live American president. We'll be back in a moment.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/a2eb527c-540c-4eb8-a851-2959e62ef306/a2eb527c-540c-4eb8-a851-2959e62ef306.transcribe

RTNJPowerPolitics01112025CBlock230pm_2025-01-11-15-02-55

Welcome back to New Jersey Power and Politics. Earlier this week, the nation came together to honor the former President Jimmy Carter. He died at the age of 100 on December 29th, making him the longest living former US president. On Thursday, the National Cathedral in Washington filled with Carter's family, friends, and fellow leaders, including all 5 living presidents, to say their final goodbyes. President Biden eulogized Carter by repeatedly praising his strength of character. Throughout his life. He showed us what it means to be a practitioner of good works. And a good and faithful servant of God and of the people. And today Many think he was from a bygone era. But in reality, He saw well into the future. A white Southern Baptist who led on civil rights. A decorated Navy veteran who brokered peace. A brilliant nuclear engineer who led a nuclear nonproliferation. A hardworking farmer who championed conservation and clean energy. President-elect Trump also attended the funeral. He was seated with the other former presidents. Following the death of President Carter, Trump posted a statement to Truth Social reading in part. President Jimmy Carter is dead at 100 years of age. While I strongly disagreed with him philosophically and politically, I also realized that he truly loved and respected our country and all it stands for. Trump went on to say he worked hard to make America a better place, and for that I give him my highest respect. He was a truly good man, and of course he will be greatly missed. He was also very consequential, far more than most presidents after he left the Oval Office. Born in 1924, James Earl. Carter Junior was a Navy lieutenant, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Carter grew up on a farm in Georgia where he would be elected state senator and then governor. In 1976, he became president. Carter served 4 years in office. Some would say it was during the four decades that followed where he truly left his mark. Rosalind Carter, his wife of 77 years, passed away in November. Together they founded the Carter Center focused on on resolving conflicts and advancing democracy and human rights. Dearter one basic human right, was having a decent place to live. He was active in Habitat for Humanity and in 2013, he and his wife came to Union Beach to help rebuild 18 homes ravaged by Superstorm Sandy. He was 89 at the time. Governor Murphy posting on X saying on behalf of a grateful nation, we thank him for his 100 years of faithful public service and his unwandering dedication to human rights. That'll do it for this week. Thank you for joining us. I'm Walt Kane. Eric Lance Groner will be back next week on New Jersey Power and politics.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/88fbc102-8413-4a27-be59-4c29e1611151/88fbc102-8413-4a27-be59-4c29e1611151.transcribe

Micah Rasmussen and Senate Minority Leader Anthony Bucco join the show. 

Choose Your Region

Be the first to know

Change

Be the first to know

Power & Politics: Affordability in New Jersey: 1:1 with NJ Senate Minority Leader Anthony Bucco

Micah Rasmussen and Senate Minority Leader Anthony Bucco join the show.

More Stories

Westport Library holds panel discussion on local impact of 2024 Election results

NY House Republicans discuss SALT deduction with President-elect Trump

Power & Politics: Rep. Lawler leads GOP delegation to exclusive meeting with President-elect Trump

Power & Politics: Fighting the rise in crime in the Bronx; justice for Robert Brooks

Power & Politics: News 12 speaks with Long Island’s congressional delegation

Power & Politics: 1:1 with Gov. Lamont after 2025 State of the State address

Westport Library holds panel discussion on local impact of 2024 Election results

NY House Republicans discuss SALT deduction with President-elect Trump

Power & Politics: Rep. Lawler leads GOP delegation to exclusive meeting with President-elect Trump

Power & Politics: Fighting the rise in crime in the Bronx; justice for Robert Brooks

Power & Politics: News 12 speaks with Long Island’s congressional delegation

Power & Politics: 1:1 with Gov. Lamont after 2025 State of the State address

More from News 12

Westport Library holds panel discussion on local impact of 2024 Election results

NY House Republicans discuss SALT deduction with President-elect Trump

Power & Politics: Rep. Lawler leads GOP delegation to exclusive meeting with President-elect Trump

Power & Politics: Fighting the rise in crime in the Bronx; justice for Robert Brooks

Power & Politics: News 12 speaks with Long Island’s congressional delegation

Power & Politics: 1:1 with Gov. Lamont after 2025 State of the State address