Sweeney: Dems 'Tone Deaf'
MADISON - Steve Sweeney likes to say he's a bipartisan guy.
He notes that his old south Jersey district had more registered Republicans than Democrats. That, he says without really saying it, should help him if he becomes governor.
That's a big "if."
Primaries tend to draw the most partisan among us, meaning conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats. There isn't always room for a guy in the middle.
Sweeney journeyed north Monday afternoon to take part in a conversation about his candidacy at Fairleigh Dickinson University. The university is hosting gubernatorial candidates for one-on-one conversations.
Reflecting on the Democrats' loss nationally last fall, the one-time Senate president was blunt.
He said the Dems were "tone deaf."
Repeating a mantra from the Bill Clinton era, Sweeney said, "It's the economy stupid."
Making New Jersey more affordable is now being spoken about by just about all candidates.
Sweeney said the current budget process makes no sense, because it fails to focus on the future. And that makes it prone to including a lot of one-shot "goodies" or Christmas Tree items
Sweeney said that as governor, he'd be willing to give up some of his power for a long-term budget process that would look five, 10 years ahead. He readily admitted that there is "nothing sexy" about that, but that it is important.
Peter Woolley, the FDU professor chairing the event, could not overlook the years Sweeney served as Senate Leader when Chris Christie was governor.
As Woolley recalled, Sweeney at one point called Christie a "rotten bastard."
Sweeney laughed and said he often called Christie much worse than that.
Still, the men worked together on what was a signature achievement of Christie's first term - pension reform. He said the men never betrayed each other's confidence.
Sweeney said the reforms have helped the state ensure that all workers will receive a pension. That's important. As he told the audience, pension systems can go bankrupt.
Sweeney's support for pension reform was not easy. Public unions, a prime Democratic constituency, were not happy.
"I got the crap kicked out of me," he said.
Specifically, the New Jersey Education Association spent millions in a failed attempt to unseat him. Sweeney said that race in 2017 remains the most expensive legislative race in the country - ever.
Interestingly, the man who last spoke to the FDU crowd was fellow Democratic candidate Sean Spiller, the current chair of the NJEA.
Spiller criticized Christie for demonizing teachers.
Completing the circle that is politics, it is worth noting that Sweeney eventually lost his Senate seat in 2021 to Republican Ed Durr.
Durr, in turn, lost his reelection bid in 2023.
And now he's running for governor as well.
I disagree Carol I heard Sweeney last night And he was great!
Michael+James+ Makara-you must be Republican-Sweeney doesn’t have a snowballs chance in hell of even winning the primary-never mind beating g a Republican🤣
If he believes its just “the economy” THAT is stupid. It’s the survival of our democracy. It’s the rule of law. It’s the corruption of our courts and the decimation of our institutions. It’s the corrosion of the fabric of our society. These “shallow thinkers” will fiddle while America burns to the ground.
I love it ! Sweeney dancing to Norcross’ tune and lecturing the rest of us.
Sweeney calling others tone-deaf is the reason he got booted out of office in the first place and lost to a truck-driver. He's got no chance in Hades of winning because all the public sector unions will rally against him after he went full DINO with Gov Christie and threw the PSUs under the bus while protecting his own personal little fiefdom.
This Administration has done nothing but tax us to bankruptcy and is spending our tax money on folks who are here illegally , when myself and my family struggle week to week. ITS TIME FOR A PARTY CHANGE IN NJ. The past 8 yrs has depleted my savings and has left me at 61 yrs old and 5th generation New Jersey Ian, Broke n Near HOMELASS
That is probably not true. Come on - 2 million dollars a year? Really? It certainly is not a teacher salary...
Steve Sweeney is by far the BEST candidate on the Democrats slate. He has a proven track record of working with both sides of the aisle, and a proven track record of common sense. Things that are obviously lacking with the rest of the Dems.
Head of the NJEA, Sean Spiller, is the "Trojan Horse" in the campaign. Teachers should be made aware that this guy makes $2 MILLION DOLLARS ANNUALLY off the backs of teachers' donations and through the excessive increasing of property taxes. If elected, Spiller will push education taxes through the stratosphere, driving even more NJ residents out of the state.
Sweeney is NOT the " shiny object: candidate but he IS the candidate who can beat any republican. He is the common sense candidate for Governor.