Phil Murphy’s toxic management style just gave Democrats another 2020 headache | Rooney

By Matt Rooney
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Cory Booker may be the last New Jersey Democrat to “go national” for awhile.

On Tuesday (in case you missed it), The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the president of the Democrats’ 2020 convention host committee and the committee’s chief of staff had been fired; one day earlier, the same paper cited an investigation into “concerns about the work environment” on the committee including allegations of “a toxic culture rife with power struggles, backbiting and mismanagement” as well as bullying and intimidation of female staffers.

What’s this have to do with New Jersey?

The chief of staff (Adam Alonso) is yet another ex-Murphy Administration official, one whose firm (according to Politico) was “paid more than $100,000 by the New Jersey Democratic State Committee in 2019.” Nice work if you can get it! But the N.J. Democrats have reportedly now ended their relationship with him over the host committee scandal.

Fired or not, the damage is clearly done. The New Jersey Republican State Committee pounced, announcing Tuesday that they’ve submitted OPRA requests seeking access to all electronic communications and communications pertaining to Alonso.

“Phil Murphy has a terrible history of hiring toxic individuals who mistreat women,” said NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt in a statement. “The public needs to know if Governor Murphy passed the trash on Adam Alonso. If Phil Murphy recommended Alonso for positions knowing Alonso’s history of work place harassment, the Governor must answer to Alonso’s victims.”

We all know this isn’t an isolated incident regardless of what the OPRA request turns up.

The Murphy Administration  – for all of its “woke” rhetoric – remains a hotbed of what Leftist call “toxic masculinity” and general awful behavior.

For two years now since he took office in January 2018, there’s been a steady drumbeat of negative news concerning Phil Murphy’s upper-level management hiring decisions. Alleged sexual assault going ignored. An ex-official jailed for bribery. An aide posting bigoted comments about evangelicals on social media. On, and on, and on it goes. But those were largely “local” stories. The national media didn’t bite.

Murphy’s inability to maintain and lead a safe, sane working environment – especially for young women – just gave national Democrats ANOTHER black eye at a time when they can ill afford one. His penchant for enabling bad actors is something that now has Democrats worried both inside and OUTSIDE of the state, especially with the New Jersey governor presently heading up the powerful DGA.

I doubt they’ll forget their concerns anytime soon.

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MATT ROONEY is the founder of SaveJersey.com and a nationally-noted and respected New Jersey political commentator. When he’s not on-line, radio or television advocating for conservative reform and challenging N.J. power-brokers, Matt is a practicing attorney at the law firm of DeMichele & DeMichele in Haddon Heights (Camden County). 

Matt Rooney
About Matt Rooney 8390 Articles
MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.