George Norcross III has been on a tear lately, Save Jerseyans!
The infamous South Jersey Democrat boss who, for a time, was second only to the governor in his ability to wield statewide political power has admittedly run into a rough patch as of late. He’s still mega rich and very influential – make no mistake about it – but losses in South Jersey (most notably in LD3 where his ally former Senate president Steve Sweeney went down in 2021) deprived Norcross of de facto Senate control and, with it, a sizable voting bloc that could drive the Democrat agenda in Trenton with little meaningful opposition. South Jersey Dems have lost nine (!) legislators and two freeholder boards since 2018 and Gloucester County could fall (along with LD4) in November 2023.
Perhaps his frustration is showing. Earlier this month, David Wildstein gave us a tremendous insight into “how the sausage is made” by posting the audio of a phone conference (more like a debate where only one party spoke!) between Norcross’s lawyers and the star of an NPR/WNYC podcast that produced a series on the mysterious deaths of the Sheridans. It was truly eye-opening especially for anyone who’s never seen how these powerbrokers and their high-dollar attack dogs operate behind the scenes. More than anything, you could tell that Team Norcross is feeling a bit defensive these days.
Then there’s this gem from New Jersey Globe on Wednesday: in an interview with Wildstein, GNIII dropped a few quality quotes including possible confirmation (?) that a 2022 car insurance bill was tantamount to special legislation designed to help Nick Scutari, the man who succeeded Sweeney as Senate President last year.
“Sweeney supported him during his criminal investigations and other civil investigations into his private law practice — supported him when he forced changes in auto insurance to benefit his ambulance chasing practice,” Norcross told Wildstein. By way of background, Norcross is apparedly pissed because Scutari allegedly welched on a promise to help fund a Sweeney comeback in 2023.
Norcross’s reference to auto insurance is presumably referring to S481 which Scutari originally introduced during Sweeney’s final session (2020-2021) when Sweeney was still in charge but which didn’t ultimately become law until last summer. The legislation increased minimum car insurance coverage requirements by about 400%. Scutari and Jon Bramnick (R-21), Phil Murphy’s backyard BBQ buddy and another sponsor, are also both personal injury lawyers which obviously gave rise to questions concerning whether their efforts to quarterback this particular legislation were even ethical (aside from the obvious point that it’s a very expensive change for motorists).
Of course, “how” Sweeney helped is an open questions. I’d certainly like to hear more about it!
The point that matters is that you’re not paying more for car insurance for a legitimate public policy reasons, folks. More than likely, it’s just another faustian pact designed to help a couple of dudes at the top at your expense. Remember: no one knows how the sausage is made better than George Norcross, Save Jerseyans. He’s been in charge of the factory – or at least a major stakeholder in its operations – for decades now. When he speaks? And gives us all a look at how the men in charge of our money make decisions? Usually to benefit themselves? Every taxpayer should not only pay attention but also take notes.
