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VTC’s Leigh Ann Von Hagen Named Sustainability Hero

VTC’s Leigh Ann Von Hagen Named Sustainability Hero

Sustainable Jersey named Leigh Ann Von Hagen a 2024 Sustainability Hero. Leigh Ann is a managing director and adjunct professor with the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center and a founder of the Planning Healthy Communities Initiative.

Controversial bill to revamp NJ public records law yanked

Controversial bill to revamp NJ public records law yanked

I would suggest there’s no pressing reason to rush anything through in a few months,” Pfeiffer told NJ Spotlight News. “The attention that’s been placed on this has given the Legislature and the governor the opportunity to really rethink how we manage public records in the state of New Jersey…”

Op-Ed–We need to fix OPRA – Let’s start here

Op-Ed–We need to fix OPRA – Let’s start here

It is widely acknowledged that OPRA needs fixing. Recent legislative hearings highlighted that. But debates about changes often involve accusations between parties, making productive discussion impossible. Reforms attempted in private by a few groups fail because they do not consider different viewpoints or unintended impacts. This causes more public distrust in government.

NJSPL – Marc Pfeiffer On Fixing the Open Public Records Act

NJSPL – Marc Pfeiffer On Fixing the Open Public Records Act

OPRA, the state’s Open Public Records Act is showing its age. Now 22 years old, this important public policy suffers, in part, from age, neglect, unintended consequences, and unexpected use cases. Efforts to repair OPRA must recognize that the law affects all levels of New Jersey government, not just municipal.

Op-ed:The time has come to abolish the line

Op-ed:The time has come to abolish the line

Professor Julia Sass Rubin has studied the impact of the line on election outcomes and policy. One of her studies found that the line conferred an average 35 percentage point advantage in primaries.

Who Picks Your Politicians?

Who Picks Your Politicians?

 “Elected officials are aware of the importance of the line for their reelection and the power of county party chairs to award the line,” wrote Rubin. “If an elected official does not do as the county chair wants, they can lose the line and almost surely lose the primary, ending, or severely curtailing their political careers.”

Nepo babies of N.J.

Nepo babies of N.J.

“What Egan did, that is a manifestation of how machines operate,” said Julia Sass Rubin, a Rutgers University professor who has researched politics in New Jersey. “You just appoint your successor.”

Fighting New Jersey’s Ballot Bosses

Fighting New Jersey’s Ballot Bosses

 “Elected officials are aware of the importance of the line for their reelection and the power of county party chairs to award the line,” wrote Rubin. “If an elected official does not do as the county chair wants, they can lose the line and almost surely lose the primary, ending, or severely curtailing their political careers.”

Sarlo’s OPRA stink bomb needs to be defused

Sarlo’s OPRA stink bomb needs to be defused

Pfeiffer’s take is blunt: “Bludgeons create a mess, and rapiers are surgical. This bill uses a bludgeon to try to deal with outliers that exist within OPRA.”

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