Good Friday morning!

The New Jersey GOP’s 2017 standard-bearer is no longer a Republican.

As David Wildstein first reported, former Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno switched her affiliation Monday from Republican to unaffiliated. She had been a New Jersey Republican since 1991.

So what did it? A reaction to Trumpsim? Jan. 6? The anti-vaccine conspiracy theories rampant in the party that’s sickening its own voters?

No, apparently this was a spat over local politics and Guadagno’s distaste for the leadership of Monmouth GOP Chair Shaun Golden.

Guadagno’s no longer a Republican leader and doesn’t have much sway left in the party. But her departure it is an unwelcome symbolic blow to a party that’s been struggling to return to relevance in the aftermath of Chris Christie and the Trump presidency.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I think anyone who heard that we were gonna set up a congressional committee, and Kevin McCarthy was going to make picks, would have predicted one of those picks would have been a hack like Jim Jordan, somebody who was not serious, who was going to try to blow up the procedures … Quite frankly, I would put Liz Cheney against Jim Jordan any day of the week” — Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11th Dist.) on the 1/6 committee.

WHERE’S MURPHY?: On Facebook to sign “Laura Wooten’s Law” at 11 a.m.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Democratic consultant Michael Muller. Saturday for Assemblymember Ned Thompson, AP reporter Michael Catalini, Town-formerly-known-as-West-Paterson Mayor Keith Kazmark. Missed yesterday: P-Funk’s George Clinton

DON’T AC — Murphy won’t block Atlantic City’s decision to close needle exchange, by POLITICO’s Sam Sutton: Gov. Phil Murphy won’t reject the Atlantic City Council’s decision to shut down a long-running needle exchange located close to the city’s boardwalk, having determined his administration lacks the authority to do so. While New Jersey law has endowed the state Department of Community Affairs with sweeping powers to accept, reject or amend meeting minutes or ordinances cleared by the city’s governing bodies, those powers don’t extend to matters outside Atlantic City’s finances, two administration officials told POLITICO. The administration's position marks a setback for public health advocates who had hoped Murphy would reject the ordinance through a law that's kept Atlantic City's government under state control since 2016. South Jersey AIDS Alliance CEO Carol Harney, whose organization has operated the exchange within the city‘s tourism district since 2007, said she was stunned by the governor's position.

—“Atlantic City council votes to end syringe program at chaotic meeting,” by Filter’s Alex Norcia: “The meeting was, in short, chaotic. Apart from the technical failures we’ve come to expect during the pandemic, Council members seemed to disappear for chunks of time, President Tibbitt used a jar of discarded syringes as a prop, and members of the public complained that they had not been given the chance to speak. The head of SJAA, Carol Harney, apparently did not even have an opportunity to do so. (At one point, however, Harney’s husband called in to lambaste certain Council members for how they’ve been treating his wife.) So many participants lined up to talk that, eventually, the City Council passed a motion to cut their allotted time from three minutes to two.”

LEAD ZEPPOLI — Murphy signs 3 bills designed to reduce lead poisoning, by POLITICO’s Katherine Landergan: Gov. Phil Murphy signed a package of three bills Thursday that he says will help protect New Jersey families from lead poisoning. “We are making New Jersey a clear leader and a model for the nation in protecting our families and children from the dangers of lead,” said Murphy at a signing ceremony in Bloomfield. “Alongside our current budget investments to protect families from lead, we are setting a higher bar.” The bills Murphy signed — NJ S1147 (20R), NJ A5343 (20R) and NJ A5407 (20R) — will require regular inspections and remediation of lead-based paint hazards in residential rental properties. The new laws also require the inventory, replacement and financing of lead service lines throughout the state within the next decade.

0.65 MASTROS — Coughlin’s law firm hauled in $5.9M in 2020 even as it sought federal relief funds, by POLITICO’s Matt Friedman and Sam Sutton: For the fourth straight year, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin’s law firm saw the amount it made in public contracts increase substantially — even after it received hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal relief funds. The law firm, Rainone Coughlin Minchello, earned nearly $5.9 million from government contracts in 2020, according to filings with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, despite securing the federal loans intended to stave off job losses. Coughlin’s firm, based in Woodbridge, took out a $379,000 loan through the Payment Protection Program last April, claiming the money was necessary to preserve 24 jobs. Those loans are forgivable so long as employee and compensation levels are maintained, and proceeds are spent on payroll and other eligible expenses. Even with the threat posed to its business by Covid-19, the firm’s book of business grew from nearly $4.6 million from public contracts in 2019, just over $3.6 million in 2018 and almost $1.9 million in 2017 — the year it was founded. It’s not clear how much, if anything, the firm earned from private clients as it’s not required to disclose that information. Its website touts its “public entity experience.”

74.8 MASTROS — “Funding fight with N.Y. could cost N.J. more than $600M, lead to fare hikes, service cuts,” by NJ Advance Media’s Larry Higgs: “There’s a seven-month long border war pitting New York against New Jersey and Connecticut about how to divide federal coronavirus relief funds for NJ Transit, the MTA and Connecticut DOT’s public transit service. At stake is New Jersey losing at least $673.32 million in badly needed federal transit aid. At the worst, advocates fear less funding for New Jersey could result in fare increases or service cuts. At the least, it delayed introduction of NJ Transit’s operating budget for fiscal year 2022 on Wednesday night.”

—“NJ Transit's 2022 budget a victim of ongoing federal funds fight with New York”

SHOULD SUNDAY SCHOOL STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT SODOM AND GOMORRAH? — ”Despite one gaffe, Jack Ciattarelli will be around for a spell,” by NJ Advance Media’s Paul Mulshine: “Former state Sen. Ray Lesniak of Union County said Ciattarelli’s big mistake was using the term ‘sodomy,’ which has connotations of the days when gays were persecuted by police. ‘That was an unusual miscalculation on his part,’ said Lesniak, who ran unsuccessfully in the 2017 Democratic primary against Murphy. ‘Normally he’s on message, but he screwed that one up. The sodomy comment is abhorrent and pretty much unlike him.’ That sounds to me like an apt assessment. The use of that word called attention away from the question at issue: What sort of education should the public schools offer on gender identity? When I got him on the phone yesterday, Ciattarelli said he intends to keep pressing the issue through the November election. ‘My position is mainstream New Jersey,’ Ciattarelli said. ‘As I’ve gone up and down this state for the past three years, I will tell you that the vast majority of voters are not happy with kindergarteners being taught gender identity and sexual orientation status. They’re also not comfortable with middle-school students being taught about explicit sex acts.’”

TO BE HELD SAME DAY AS SWEENEY’S 2025 KICKOFF — Cunningham DWI trial could be a year away, by POLITICO’s Matt Friedman: The DWI trial of state Sen. Sandra Cunningham may not begin for another year because of an ongoing legal battle in a different case over the admissibility of evidence from a drug recognition expert, a judge said Thursday. “I think we could easily, easily be a year away,” judge Anthony Gallina, who presides over Bergen County’s municipal division, said during a virtual status conference in Hackensack. Though there was little discussion of the prosecution’s evidence against Cunningham, there does not appear to be any plan, as of now, to drop the case. Prosecutors will rely at least in part on drug recognition expert evidence.

—Edelstein: “Should we be teaching our kids all about sex in school? Yeah, yeah we should,“

— Murphy: My agenda ‘less than complete’ on transgender issues

—“Murphy with Garden State Equality: ‘You saw what he said’”

—“Pennacchio enters race for Senate Republican leader”

—“Is virtual jury selection legal? Bergen County arson case could answer that question”

—“N.J. still plans no mask mandate in schools come fall, despite Biden’s comments”

—“‘Finally free.’ Feds relent on trying to send 4 N.J. men back to prison”

—“Speeding ships are killing endangered whales off N.J.’s coast. Feds vow action”

TIRED: BOAT CHECKS. WIRED: YACHT CHECKS — “Putting all other ‘boat checks’ to shame: Retired schools superintendent gets $1.1 million by staying on the payroll,” by The Jersey Journal’s Peter D’Auria: “Frank Gargiulo, the former superintendent of the Hudson County Schools of Technology, hasn’t worked for the district in three years — but the school system has paid him close to $1 million for unused time off and other perks since then. Since he stopped working in August 2018, the school district has paid Gargiulo over $940,000, a sum that includes a one-year sabbatical, payouts for an accumulated 411 sick and vacation days, and an annual tax-free annuity payment, according to records obtained through an open public records request. District payroll records still list Gargiulo as a full-time employee — the highest-paid in the district. ‘While these compensation numbers are significant, they are clearly consistent with state law and negotiated personnel contracts and they reflect Superintendent Gargiulo’s extraordinary contributions to public education in Hudson County,’ Hudson County Schools of Technology spokesman J.P. Escobar said in an email … A 2018 contract included an astronomical 37 sick days annually. The 82-year-old former superintendent, who is also a commissioner for the township of North Bergen, began work at the district — then called the Hudson County Vocational School District — in 1990.”

FAHL FROM GRACE — “Lambertville settles lawsuit claiming ethics violations, foul language by mayor,” by The Record’s Dustin Racioppi: “The city of Lambertville, a liberal enclave on the Delaware River, has settled a lawsuit brought against its outgoing mayor for $75,000, according to court documents. The suit brought by former business administrator Alex Torpey last year claimed mayor Julia Fahl crossed ethical boundaries and that she used sexual and offensive language. Fahl, who worked on Gov. Phil Murphy's 2017 campaign, had fired Torpey and said he was ‘a disgruntled former employee who seized an opportunity to line his pockets with taxpayer money.’ … In the summer of 2019, Torpey told Fahl that the city's emergency management coordinator lacked the proper certification to serve in the position and that could pose legal trouble, but she said she would not remove him 'because he was an important political supporter,' the lawsuit said. Torpey also claimed Fahl 'continually' violated the Open Public Records Act by speaking about city council business with members outside of meetings and that she directed Torpey to give Public Service Electric and Gas an approval for a project that allowed it to skip an appearance before the land use board. On top of all that, his lawsuit said, Fahl's ‘continued use of sexual and offensive language toward (Torpey) created an unlawful work environment.’”

AWW… THE CHEMICALS FOUND THEIR FOREVER HOME — “Garfield faces $2M tab after contamination of water supply exceeds standards,” by The Record’s Katie Sobkko: “City officials are advising residents that there is no reason to be alarmed after many received an official notice about elevated levels of contaminants in the water system. The city is in violation of new groundwater quality standards adopted by the state Department of Environmental Protection last year, and the measures needed to meet those standards will cost an estimated $2 million, officials said at Tuesday's council meeting. The contaminants, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), are part of a class of synthetic chemicals linked to cancer and other health risks and known as ‘forever chemicals' or their persistence in the environment.”

EATIN’ TOWN — “Eatontown to set rules for weed in town,” by The Asbury Park Press’ Dan Radel: “An ordinance permitting recreational cannabis retail stores on any portion of Rt. 36 has been introduced after the Borough Council feared an earlier, more restrictive weed measure would fail. The first ordinance, which was introduced July 14 and will be voted on next Wednesday, does not have the full support of the council. At least one objection is the ordinance is too restrictive because it would not allow retail cannabis businesses to open on Rt. 36 west of the Rt. 35 intersection.”

—“Linwood moves to prohibit cannabis sales”

—“Atlantic City Council restricts recreational marijuana sales from the Boardwalk”

—“New early voting law will cost Passaic County $11 million in equipment upgrades”

—“Revised Parsippany budget, with 2% tax increase, under Council's scrutiny”

—“NJ may require Asian history for all students. Here's why that helps all of us | Mary Chao”

—“Cape May County officials fear 2021 another lost year for Canadian tourists”

SAY IT AIN’T SO — “Fire that damaged popular Mountain Creek water slide deemed 'suspicious',” by The New Jersey Herald’s Lori Comstock: “A fire that tore through a Mountain Creek Waterpark slide last month has been deemed suspicious, Vernon police said. The Vernon park had not yet opened for the summer season when the High Anxiety ride went up in flames around 7:45 p.m. on June 15, heavily damaging the popular attraction. Capt. Keith Kimkowski could not elaborate on the cause or origin of the fire but said it's under investigation by the Vernon police and fire marshal and the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office.”

MODI OPERANDI — “At Rutgers, and beyond, scholars are under attack for their critique of India’s far-right government,” by Gothamist’s Arun Venugopal: “Audrey Truschke is the Director of the Asian Studies program at Rutgers University, Newark. Her scholarship focuses on South Asia and she’s been a vocal critic of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist government. Her writings and teachings, as well as her politics have won her tens of thousands of followers online, but also a steady stream of violent threats. ‘Mind your own business u bitch I m Hindu I m kindly request you stop spreading rumours about my Hinduism#my religion otherwise u will be killed by someone don’t underestimate us we don’t forgive our enemy we believe in peace don’t hurt our emotions,’ read one tweet aimed at Truschke, from May. Truschke and other American scholars say they’re increasingly dealing with threats, doxxing, and harassment based on their critique of Modi, their defense of minority rights in India, or simply the nature of their research. In response, they’re organizing. They’ve formed the South Asia Scholar Activist Collective or SASAC.”

—“Obama and Springsteen to publish book based on their Spotify series”