New Jersey
Middlesex, Essex, Passaic appear ready to back Sherrill in '25 – New Jersey Globe
Three significant Democratic county chairmen are signaling a possible future support of Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) for governor next year, the New Jersey Globe has learned.
The party leaders — LeRoy Jones of Essex, Kevin McCabe of Middlesex, and John Currie of Passaic — appear to have agreed in concept that Sherrill would be the most electable Democrat in a general election in a meeting on Tuesday.
The three cited Sherrill’s ability to attract a big coalition of support based, mainly as a female voice on reproductive rights, her service as a U.S. Navy helicopter pilot and Annapolis graduate, and her work as a federal prosecutor.
In 2018, Sherrill flipped a congressional seat in New Jersey’s 11th district held by a Republican for 34 years, largely by assembling the same kind of broad coalition.
Sherrill is on the ballot this year as a candidate for a fourth term in Congress, but has spent most of this year expanding her political footprint as a potential statewide candidate. She is widely expected to join the governor’s race after November 5.
Essex, Middlesex, and Passaic make up roughly 27% of the registered Democrats in the state. Still, with the near certainty that there will be no county organization lines in the 2025 primary — Middlesex has already agreed to an office block ballot — the likely support of major party leaders won’t blindly produce pluralities for a candidate.
Without the line, the powerful party leaders view Sherrill as a candidate who will appeal to rank-and-file primary voters in their counties. In other words, Jones, McCabe, and Currie believe Sherrill can win their counties in a primary and win New Jersey in a general, regardless of the outcome of the presidential election.
The way party leaders are approaching endorsements in the 2025 governor’s race reflects the changing dynamics of a post-line era. The optics of county chairmen endorsements appear to be softer than recent years to reflect the need for grassroots Democrats to weigh in.
The pending endorsement of Jones, the current Democratic state chairman, is not surprising: he’s been championing Sherrill as a future statewide candidate for the last six years, and Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, Jr. and his chief of staff, Phil Alagia, are in the congresswoman’s inner circle. Sherrill must still compete for votes with two Essex candidates, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and former Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller, the New Jersey Education Association president. Essex has more registered Democrats than any other county in New Jersey.
It now looks like Currie has picked sides: Sherrill and Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff) represent parts of Passaic County in Congress, and Currie has been an ally of Bergen County Democratic Chairman Paul Juliano.
The big news in this coalition is McCabe, who has been aggressively courted by several contenders. Middlesex ranks third in Democratic voter registration statewide, and there are barely any splinter factions — Edison, where Edison Mayor Steve Fulop grew up, is one — giving Sherrill a roadmap to accumulate substantial margins in a key county.
McCabe’s anticipated support of Sherrill brings speculation that Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin might run for governor to a close. Coughlin remains a clear favorite for a record fourth term as speaker.
Sherrill already has lined up support from the Laborers’ International Union if she runs. The Operating Engineers Local 825 said they would back Gottheimer; the Carpenters, Longshoremen, and Iron Workers are backing former Senate President Steve Sweeney and the Amalgamated Transit Union and other locals are with Fulop.
Fulop has picked up a substantial number of mayors from across the state and several union locals. Gottheimer would have the backing of Hudson County Executive/Democratic County Chairman Craig Guy, Union City Mayor/State Sen. Brian Stack, and Democratic mayors of Bayonne, Weehawken, and West New York. Sweeney already has endorsements from South Jersey Democratic county chairs and legislators.
“I guess a couple guys in the backroom making an endorsement in October of a candidate who is pretending to run for Congress tells you all you need to know about her candidacy for governor,” Fulop said.
New Jersey
Husband of slain New Jersey mom begs for help in newly released 911 call | Fox News Video
Former homicide detective Brian Foley joins ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to provide analysis on Conor Hanlon’s 911 call after finding his wife, Brooke, stabbed to death.
Former homicide detective Brian Foley provides expert insights into the newly released 911 call from Conor Hanlon, whose wife, New Jersey therapist Brooke Hanlon, was found stabbed to death. Foley analyzes the husband’s emotional state and the police’s approach, noting the case’s ‘suspicious’ designation 13 minutes into the call.
New Jersey
NJ firefighter dies after crash responding to fire call
A young firefighter died two weeks after being badly hurt in a crash while responding to a fire call, according to the Malaga Fire Company.
Robert (Bobby) Reider, 23, was driving north along Delsea Drive while trying to get to the scene of fire on Saturday, June 27 when his car went off the road, officials said.
When first responders got to the scene of the crash, they found Reider trapped in his car and worked to remove him.
Reider was then taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital where he was treated for severe and traumatic injuries.
Weeks later, on July 10 around 4:30 a.m., Reider died from his injuries while still in the hospital.
The Malaga Fire Company says that Reider joined their team in 2018 when he was just 16 as a junior firefighter.
He then went on to earn a certificate at Fire 1 at the Salem County Fire Academy in 2022.
New Jersey
NJ Legislators Are Considering a Bill That Could Ban Tesla Robotaxis Due to Their Tech Choice
New Jersey lawmakers are deliberating on a law that would create a three-year autonomous vehicle pilot program in the state, but Tesla might be banned from participating altogether over a technical choice made by the Texas-based carmaker for its self-driving vehicles.
The bill, officially known as S1677, would establish autonomous vehicle testing requirements with the New Jersey Department of Transportation (DOT) and the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. One of these proposed requirements is that autonomous vehicle operators use camera-based technology and two additional forms of sensor tech, such as lidar or radar. Of course, Tesla’s autonomous vehicle technology is purely camera-based, meaning the brand could be banned from testing in New Jersey.
The text of the bill is fairly straightforward, requiring prospective autonomous operators to submit a “law enforcement interaction plan” and detail redundant safety systems, crash-avoidance technology, and data recording capabilities. The specific language that would ban Tesla’s system requires autonomous operators to “be equipped with crash-avoidance systems, including a camera system and two distinct sensing modalities that are capable of detecting and tracking obstacles in the event of failure of the camera system.” The bill also favors keeping traditional steering wheel and pedal controls available. While initial testing would be completed with human safety operators, the bill would allow fully autonomous operation once certain metrics, such as 50,000 crash-free miles, are met.
The decision to require both camera- and sensor-based technology is not a coincidence, according to The Verge. “This is not anti-Tesla. I’m pro-New Jersey safety,” Democratic state senator Andrew Zwicker, the bill’s primary sponsor and a physicist by trade, said to The Verge. “At this point, I don’t think the evidence is sufficient that a single sensor with software can handle situations that humans can.”
Tesla is, unsurprisingly, upset about this development, and the company is fighting back. The automaker’s public policy platform, Engage Tesla, features a call to action for Tesla owners to contact members of the New Jersey Legislature to oppose the bill, with the plea claiming the autonomous vehicle testing program is the opposite of progress, and saying that Tesla would be legally barred from testing in the Garden State. Statistics about roadway death rates in New Jersey and denying freedom of movement for elderly populations are also included.
“Rather than prioritizing real safety outcomes and performance, the bill specifically bans Tesla from the New Jersey market,” the site reads. “Every arbitrary roadblock is a delay for the people who need this life-changing technology most. Legislation that bans Tesla’s proven AV technology from the market is not caution — it’s anti-competitive favoritism that will cause New Jersey to fall behind while other states move forward.”
The bill, introduced on January 16, is currently under consideration by the New Jersey Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. The bill’s language closely mirrors talking points from the nonprofit SAVE-US, which is lobbying for stronger oversight of autonomous vehicle testing. New Jersey is not the only state pondering additional autonomous testing regulation; New York legislators are working on similar legislation. Just yesterday, federal safety regulators called out autonomous vehicle operators like Waymo for interfering with first responders.
A New York transplant hailing from the Pacific Northwest, Emmet White has a passion for anything that goes: cars, bicycles, planes, and motorcycles. After learning to ride at 17, Emmet worked in the motorcycle industry before joining Autoweek in 2022 and Road & Track in 2024. The woes of alternate side parking have kept his fleet moderate, with a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta GLI and a BMW 318i E30 street parked in his Queens community.
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