This story might really grab you, Save Jerseyans. Fair warning!
On Tuesday, news broke that New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham – who also heads the DGA – settled a crotch-grabbing allegation with an ex-staffer for $62,500. That’s not an admission of guilt, and the Governor’s spokesperson has denied the allegation, but yeah… something doesn’t feel right, does it?
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I know, I know. I’m testing your patience with these bad puns.
In keeping with his long-standing policy of tolerance for accused perverts, Phil Murphy praised Grisham at his Wednesday press availability.
“I think Gov. Lujan Grisham is doing a great job running the DGA,” Murphy said according to The New Jersey Globe. “I’m its finance chair, so I don’t make the jurisdictional decisions any longer as I did when I was chair, but I think she’s doing a great job, and New Mexico, I think, is doing a very good job in the pandemic more generally.”
In case you don’t know the back story, Grisham stood accused of “pouring a bottle of water on his crotch and then grabbing his crotch through his clothes as she laughed, an incident he said took place in front of other campaign staffers.”
Naturally, Republicans were quick to point out that Murphy’s attitude consistutes a pattern at this point.
“Phil Murphy was so pleased with his former campaign aide accused of sexual harassment that he lined him up with cushy political consulting gigs,” said RGA spokesman Will Reinert. “For Governor Murphy to praise Lujan Grisham, proves that he’s learned nothing from the controversy surrounding the culture he’s created as Governor.”
The political gigs story is bad enough. In a separate incident, the State of New Jersey (read: the taxpayers) was forced to shell out $1 million for a settlement involving litigant Katie Brennan and allegations she made against a former Murphy staffer. Murphy told Brennan he was “on it” after she emailed him for help but he never acted.
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