PRESS RELEASE: NJGOP Chairman: Governor Murphy Must Submit Himself To Ethics Panel Investigation Over Sky Blue FC Conflicts

Today NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt weighed in on controversy surrounding Governor Phil Murphy and his soccer team Sky Blue FC. Unlike many in New Jersey, Steinhardt is not a Johnny-come-lately on this issue. Like us, Steinhardt has been talking about it since August. His press release follows:

For Immediate Release

Trenton, NJ - Following reports yesterday that Governor Murphy was directly involved with the recruitment of a draft pick for his professional women's soccer team, Sky Blue FC,it has come to light that Governor Murphy may have violated state ethics laws. 

Hometown soccer star Julia Ashley told reporters she would rather leave the country than play for Murphy's soccer team. Murphy called her personally, and unsuccessfully, to convince her to stay. Sky Blue FC  made news recently for the poor conditions to which it subjects its female members. 

Governor Murphy's direct involvement in the management of Sky Blue looks like a clear violation of the state’s ethics rules. By his own admission, he put the team into a blind trust during his public service to avoid the conflicts of interest his ownership would create. The team plays its games on state property at Rutgers and has multiple sponsors who receive state funding.

To get to the bottom of yet another scandal, NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt called on Governor Murphy to submit himself to an ethics investigation by the administration's Advisory Ethics Panel.

"Governor Murphy needs to account to the people of New Jersey and prove that he will hold himself to some ethical standard," Steinhardt said. "He needs to take personal responsibility for his decisions. In the spirit of good government and public transparency, he needs to go to the Advisory Ethics Panel and request a written ruling on whether he stepped out of bounds trying to salvage his sweat shop soccer team."

Steinhardt added, "An inquiry of this magnitude cannot be delegated to the Governor’s senior staff, who have demonstrated repeatedly and under oath that they lack a clear understanding of the importance of ethical standards. The Governor likes to say that the buck stops with him. Here’s his chance to put his money where his mouth is. It can’t be one set of rules for him and another set for everyone else.”

“On his first day on the job, Governor Murphy signed Executive Order no. 2, which governs ethics in his office,” Steinhardt concluded. “It’s time Phil Murphy calls balls and strikes on himself.”

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Governor Phil Murphy Allows Trump Derangement Syndrome To Guide His Decisions On Illegal Immigrants

Phil Murphy

It’s no secret Governor Phil Murphy sees border security in a different light than those who actually live along the border. He has made New Jersey a Sanctuary State. My guess is that it’s because the Governor, like others suffering Trump Derangement Syndrome, only speaks to people who agree with him.

The Governor even went so far as to release a statement on January 8th claiming, “President Trump continues to mislead to justify his nonsensical and damaging shutdown.” As a reminder, below is the Governor’s full statement from his website:

“President Trump continues to mislead to justify his nonsensical and damaging shutdown. There is a much better and smarter way for us to invest $5 billion than an impractical non-starter of a wall. The Gateway Project would do more to create jobs, promote economic and national security, and build critically needed 21st century infrastructure. Enough of the misguided rhetoric that is hurting our economy and our people, and making us less safe. Let’s get the government open and get to work to get Gateway done.”

For Phil Murphy to refer to the current government shutdown as “nonsensical” is ridiculous and proves he doesn’t seek opinions from those who think differently than he does. Calling a wall “impractical” is just as dumb.

The fact is there are some very serious issues along the border with Mexico, especially in places where there is no barrier. New Jersey, and other sanctuary states, make those issues more serious because more people cross the border illegally and then make their way to sanctuary states.

Just last week we had folks living near the border with Mexico on The Bob & Steve Show to tell their stories. Imagine finding hundreds of pounds of illegal drugs stashed on your property. Imagine waking up at 4:00 in the morning because someone decided to walk into your house. Imagine having to always carry a gun “just in case.”

That’s all reality for a lot of folks who live along the border with Mexico. Governor Murphy doesn’t care. He wants more people to sneak across the border and come hide out in New Jersey all because he hates President Trump.

Maybe Mr. Murphy might take the time to listen to The Bob & Steve Show this week and hear from more folks living along the border with Mexico. He might learn something.

PRESS RELEASE: Fiocchi Weighs In On Code Blue Controversy

There was some back and forth over Code Blue preparations in Cape May County. The dust up was covered in the Cape May County Herald here and here.

Former Assemblyman and candidate for state Senate in LD1, Sam Fiocchi, said in a social media post that “Real leadership is needed in the 1st Legislative District.”

Fiocchi also issued a press release on the issue this morning. The press release follows:

Andrzejczak And Land Accuse Cape May County Of Not Doing Enough During Code Blue

Attacking county government is a failure to lead

VINELAND – Recently, state Senator Bob Andrzejczak and Assemblyman Bruce Land released a statement that, for lack of better words, accused Cape May County of not doing enough with regard to Code Blue announcements. Their joint statement forced Cape May County Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton to push back with a statement of his own.

“I was always under the impression it was the duty of our legislators to represent our counties in Trenton, not attack them,” Sam Fiocchi said. “I found it a little odd that state Senator Andrzejczak and Assemblyman Land would use the recent cold weather to issue a statement attacking the Cape May County Freeholder Board.”

“Rather than attacking Cape May County’s freeholders by insinuating not enough was done after announcing a Code Blue Andrzejczak and Land should have been working toward solutions.” Fiocchi added, “The fact is the Code Blue legislation the two of them authored amounts to an unfunded mandate.”

“If Andrzejczak and Land truly wanted to be sure counties could handle Code Blue situations perhaps they should have argued against Governor Murphy setting aside $2 million for the legal defense of illegal immigrants and used the money to fund Code Blue situations.” Fiocchi said, “Unfortunately, that would have required real leadership, something sorely missing in LD1.”

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