My New Year’s resolution for 2021 is to tell it like it is. So you might consider today’s column a warm up for that endeavor.

NJ Election 2021

I see a lot of people giving Governor Phil Murphy a hard time for goofy reasons all the time. So I tend to hold fire, even when he lets us down. But it’s a new year and that means it’s campaign season in New Jersey. And if past is prologue, we’re about to see how different Murphy the candidate is from Murphy the politician.

Remember when Phil Murphy (the candidate) promised no more bear hunts and we got multiple hunts every year for the past 3 years? How about Murphy’s vow to end politics-as-usual only to, for example, pay a “woefully inexperienced ally  $225,000 a year to turn a multi-billion dollar state agency into her own candy store? Or maybe you recall when candidate Murphy allegedly promised to legalize pot within 100 day and we got this dumpster fire instead?

I remember.

It’s no secret that candidates promise the world out on the trail. But in these instances, Murphy’s campaign promises missed the mark by several ZIP codes. And so instead of legalized recreational cannabis within 100 days, we still haven’t managed the easy stuff like fixing NJ’s broken medical marijuana program. So we’ve (still) got sick people enduring long lines in a pandemic to pay $500 for an ounce of mediocre meds.

And instead of modest provisions for medical cannabis patients to grow their own, we’ve got Murphy-aligned attorneys and mega-donors in court right now fighting over sick peoples’ money.

(When I use the term mega-donor, we don’t know exactly how mega because Murphy’s SuperPAC isn’t transparent with with that information. Swampy, ain’t it?)

Nobody forced Murphy to make promises he didn’t/couldn’t keep out on trail when he ran for governor the first time. Hopefully with experience (and an awareness what he can and can not do,) Murphy will better manage expectations this election season on his way to victory.

Not an Ally

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, who runs Trenton’s lower house, is also on the ballot in 2021. Coughlin’s busy year included blocking two important and timely bills to protect LGBTQ people.

One bill (S2020/A5082) would restore state benefits to LGBTQ Veterans discharged during the so-called “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” era.

“This is about fairness, and this is about justice,” Assemblywoman Joann Downey said when the bill dropped. “It’s time for us to put this era of discrimination behind us and stand up for LGBTQ veterans who were intimidated, harassed, or forcibly outed as they worked hard to defend our country.”

Another bill (S2545/A4288) would protect LGBTQ seniors in long-term care setting like nursing homes. It’s impossible to legislate the respect, safety and affirmation that these residents deserve, but A4822 would protect NJ’s aging LGBTQ population during the current pandemic and beyond.

We already know the coronavirus impacts old people more adversely (and at higher rates) than the general population. This bill, currently languishing in the Assembly, will protect those who face the highest rates of abuse within those same facilities, LGBTQ seniors.

As our population ages, many LGBTQ elders have been forced back into the closet to avoid harassment and discrimination, misgendering, denial- or loss of medical treatment in long-term setting like nursing homes.

That’s who this legislation protects: our elders. And the other bill seeks justice for those kicked out of the services of being gay.

These time-sensitive bills coulda been the easiest thing Trenton lawmakers did all year, with lots of bipartisan support along the way.

I spent a lot of time this year criticizing Steve Sweeney and frankly he deserved every bit of it. But when it comes to LGBTQ rights, he’s pretty much rock-solid all of the time. In fact, both of these bills already cleared multiple hurdles in the Senate with bipartisan support.

The NJ Senate isn’t the roadblock on gay rights.

The roadblock’s in the assembly where Coughlin calls all the shots. Craig Coughlin’s 2020 track record on LGBTQ rights is not how allies behave. And because of Speaker Coughlin, not a single piece of  pro-LGBTQ legislation became law this year in Trenton, a streak which began before my time and survived intact even thorough throughout the Chris Christie administration.

Does that feel like progress to you?

Jay Lassiter is the rapidly aging court jester of New Jersey politics.