Times backs Phil Murphy for governor, saying N.J. can't afford more chaotic rule

During one of their debates, Democrat Phil Murphy, left, grimaces at a statement from Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who has been employing Trump-like lies and wild exaggerations during the election campaign to replace Governor Christie (AP Photo).

DO GOP LIES, VOTER APATHY

 POSE DANGER TO DEMOCRAT?

-- HACKENSACK, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

Next Tuesday, New Jersey voters get another chance to replace Governor Christie and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who have done their best to sabotage the Affordable Care Act, hurt the environment and cripple mass transit.

Now, The New York Times has endorsed Democrat Phil Murphy over Guadagno, noting "that's not even a close call."

"There is only one choice on the ballot next week who guarantees voters an end to the Chris Christie era, and that's the Democratic candidate, Phil Murphy," according to The Times' Editorial Board.

"Mr. Murphy, who was ambassador to Germany during the Obama years, is running against Mr. Christie's loyal lieutenant governor, Kim Guadagno, whose agenda differs little from that of her boss.

"New Jersey can't afford another four years of Christie-inspired chaos.

"Indeed, Mr. Murphy would be taking on a formidable task. Eight years ago, Mr. Christie arrived promising to fix 'our broken state,' as he called it. Instead, he is leaving it even more damaged than he found it."

Times v. Record

The Times' Editorial Board on Monday was far less kind to Christie than The Record, my local daily newspaper, which also endorsed Murphy, but which backed the GOP bully in his successful 2013 re-election bid.

The Woodland Park daily actually praised Christie for his so-called bipartisan deals during his first term, conveniently ignoring the hundreds of vetoes or threats to veto Democratic initiatives on everything from a tax surcharge against millionaires to raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

The Record's editors also assigned Staff Writer Dustin Racioppi, who is assigned to cover Christie, as the main reporter on the election, and he doesn't seek comment from the Murphy campaign on the lies and distortion in GOP ads. 

For example, The Times editorial noted Murphy has pledged to provide a check on President Trump, "especially when it comes to the treatment of undocumented immigrants."

"Ms. Guadagno's campaign has met this pledge with a bitterly negative, fearmongering ad that accuses Mr. Murphy of welcoming in immigrants like one who murdered three people a decade ago."

The indictment

Here is The Times' Editorial Board indictment of the Christie years:

"Mr. Christie leaves behind an economy still struggling to recover a decade after the Great Recession. New Jersey's unemployment growth lags well behind the rate for the country.

"The state's credit rating has been downgraded 11 times in the Christie era, primarily because of the underfunded pension system. Schools, likewise, aren't fully funded.

"And traffic and public transit are a daily trial, thanks in part to Mr. Christie's shortsighted cancellation of a new rail tunnel under the Hudson.

"(A recent report estimated the average driver in the state spends an unnecessary $600 a year on lost time, car repairs and wasted fuel)."

'Christie's shadow'

The Times editorial said: 

"Ms. Guadagno's real problem, however, is that, as lieutenant governor, she served as Governor Christie's shadow."

She said she opposed the governor's decision to raise the gas tax, but The Times noted that was one of the things Christie "got right."

"New Jersey had among the lowest gas taxes in the nation, and those funds were desperately needed to fix dilapidated roads and NJ Transit."

Murphy's promises

Murphy spent 23 years at Goldman Sachs before he became campaign chairman of the Democratic Party.

Among his priorities, according to The Times, is using his expertise "to start restoring the pension system and improving its investments," fixing NJ Transit, raising the minimum wage, creating a public bank to offer low-interest loans to residents, and adjusting the tax codes to make the wealthy and big corporations pay higher taxes.

"Like former Gov. Jon Corzine, who also has Wall Street roots, Mr. Murphy has little political experience in the state," The Times noted.

"It is hard to see how new taxes or other revenue sources would pay for his high-end promises. Still, he is not Christie-lite."

"On the campaign trail, Mr. Murphy likes to say that he sees New Jersey as America's best opportunity for a turnaround. We agree and recommend Phil Murphy for governor."

Manafort indicted

Almost the entire front page of The Record today is devoted to the indictment of former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, his associate; and the guilty plea entered by former foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos (1A).

But the deadly dull banner headline -- "Mueller files criminal charges" -- merely confirms Saturday's Page 1 story that Mueller was going to file charges.

And it misses the biggest news, the guilty plea from Papadopoulos, who lied to the FBI about meeting with a Russian professor with Kremlin ties who promised "dirt" on Hillary Clinton.

If he makes a deal with prosecutors, he could agree to provide evidence and testify against other Trump associates or campaign officials or even Don Jr. and son-in-law Jared Kushner in the probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.