Murphy's new labor talking points; 2025 race begins | Movers and Shakers

The Rutgers University strike, which is near resolution after the two sides announced a framework to end the impasse, tested the depth of Gov. Phil Murphy’s pro-labor allegiance.

But last week, Murphy moved on another, less-volatile labor front as he continues to test the waters for a 2024 presidential bid.

The governor signed an executive order that will send the Civil Service Commission scouring the state payroll over the next six months for job titles that could relax the requirement of a four-year college degree.

“Skills and experience gained though prior employment are just as important — if not more important — than holding a specific degree," Murphy said. “We are tearing down the so-called paper ceiling.”

Of course, there are practical reasons behind the move. As with many large employers, New Jersey's state government is not immune to the national labor shortage. A teacher shortage also prompted Murphy to propose waiving teacher certification fees in hopes of encouraging more people to enter the field.

Yet the governor’s paper-ceiling push could also be seen as another padding of his just-in-case presidential candidacy.

Once a core constituency of the Democratic Party, blue-collar voters without college degrees have flocked to the Republican Party over the last decade, lured by former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” sales slogan.

Democrats, now seen as the party of highly educated coastal elites, is facing increasing pressure to win those voters back, especially in industrial swing states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

If Murphy does venture out on the 2024 trail, the civil service review now gives him a useful talking point. He can cite it as evidence that he is sympathetic to blue collar workers' plight and, as New Jersey’s governor, took steps to improve their station — although the actual hiring of people remains to be seen.

More Charlie Stile: This is why the stakes are so high for everyone involved in the Rutgers strike

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Fulop jumps into 2025 governor's race well ahead of likely rivals

Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop’s early entry into the 2025 governor’s race gives him the advantage of running for the office without much official, publicly declared competition.

It’s not that there is a dearth of possible contenders for the Democratic nomination. On the contrary, there are possibly five others who are touted as possible candidates to succeed Murphy, who is term-limited after two successive terms.

The problem is that some of them have to get reelected to their day job — their current office — before the 2025 race begins in earnest. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-Montclair, of the 11^th Congressional District, and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-Wyckoff, of the 5th Congressional District, are expected to run for their seats again in 2024.

For others, it’s a question of whether or when the demands of running for governor will force them to step down from their current posts. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, another name that has floated in widespread early speculation, was reelected to his third term last year, which means his current term doesn’t expire until 2026. Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver of East Orange has her job until January 2026.

One person unencumbered by elected office is former Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, who is also said to be mulling a campaign. Sweeney was on the short list of candidates in the 2016 cycle, but his odds of seizing the nomination from then-newcomer Murphy were doomed when Fulop mysteriously abandoned his pursuit of the nomination. Once Fulop dropped out, most of his North Jersey support consolidated behind Murphy, leaving Sweeney with little chance.

On the Republican side, Jack Ciattarelli, the former Somerset County assemblyman who declared his intention to run the day he conceded the race to Murphy in 2021, has had an open field for months now, and based on a look at his social media accounts, he has been stopping by every Republican barbecue or political function from High Point to Cape May.

It’s a replay of the non-stop rubber-chicken tour that helped Jim McGreevey to capture the Democratic nomination in 1997.

But other Republicans still have to worry about getting reelected. They include state Sen. Mike Testa, R-Vineland, and state Sen. Jon Bramnick, R-Westfield.

Earlier: Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop announces candidacy for New Jersey governor in 2025

Meanwhile, Sherrill, Gottheimer jockey on abortion

It’s also not hard to recognize the pregame jockeying for 2025 between Sherrill and Gottheimer over a federal judge’s ruling that imperils the widespread practice of medication abortions.

Last Thursday, Sherrill gathered abortion rights advocates for a panel discussion on the impact of a U.S. District Court judge’s ruling in Texas that nullified the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, an abortion pill. The judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk, was nominated to the bench by Trump, and his views opposing abortion were well known.

Sherrill vowed to introduce legislation that would ban “judge shopping,’’ a practice, she said, in which conservative activists file suits in single-judge divisions where “they are all but assured to get a favorable ruling.”

The next day, Gottheimer held his own press conference with abortion-rights activists and introduced the “Freedom to Decide Act,” which would declare that mifepristone does not violate federal law and would protect doctors who prescribe it, including across state lines through telemedicine.

“Rather than trust science and doctors, far-right extremists continue to insert themselves into women’s personal and private medical decisions by any means necessary" Gottheimer said.

It’s hard to predict how these ideas will fare in a House dominated by conservative hard-liners, and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito issued a stay on Kacsmaryk’s order until the Supreme Court can take up the case this week.

Regardless, both Sherrill and Gottheimer are bolstering pro-choice bona fides as the all-but-certain backlash among moderate suburban women continues to build.

Charlie Stile is a veteran New Jersey political columnist. For unlimited access to his unique insights into New Jersey’s political power structure and his powerful watchdog work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: stile@northjersey.com 

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This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Phil Murphy 2024 presidential run efforts to court labor