Governor Murphy’s Week 5 Grade

Today is Phil Murphy’s 34th day in office and the end of his fifth week. There has been a lot of hoopla over the purported rift between the fledgling Governor and Senate President Steve Sweeney, but so far there’s no evidence that the split as anything more than talk.  Despite a lot of blowing off steam by the head of the building trades union, ultimately nobody from Team Sweeney tried to stop Tim Sullivan, Murphy’s pick for executive director of the Economic Development Authority, from getting hired.  The Governor’s office had the votes.  Murphy also made good on his promise to give former Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto a consolation prize – a $280,000-a-year job as the President/CEO of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.   And he did it without any Republican opposition.  The Governor found a quick fix to relieve some issues at New Jersey Transit by leasing twenty extra trains from Maryland.  And for better or worse, he showed his ability to take off the gloves when he fired a Monmouth County Freeholder – the former mayor of his hometown – for refusing to show up at his press conference.