“In New Jersey, there was a machine that was really powerful and if you went up against it, you lost. Through Norcross losing power, the county line lawsuit and Menendez’s indictment … all these events have created this window, and people are stepping into it,” Rutgers political science professor Julia Sass Rubin said.
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Can New Jersey’s political machines hold on to power?
New Jersey’s political boss culture dates back more than 100 years. It was able to outlast the good government reforms of the early 20th century. While the current moment feels hopeful, political machines do not give up power easily.
Politics in New Jersey has gone off the rails — even by New Jersey standards
“You could not envision a day when Norcross wasn’t running the state essentially,” Julia Sass Rubin, a Rutgers University professor who studies New Jersey government, said of that period. “That he’s now under indictment, it’s stunning.”
EJB Talks: Political Update with Stuart Shapiro and Amy Cobb
Stuart Shapiro welcomes back Amy Cobb MPAP ’18 for a political update in the final EJB Talks episode of the spring 2024 season. They discuss the potential consequences of Trump’s guilty verdict for falsifying business records in New York, particularly the consequences for the 2024 election.
Assembly speaker’s law firm has made millions since he took power. Critics cry foul.
“If you think that his being part of the firm has no impact on the fact that they’re getting this business, then I guess it doesn’t matter,” said Julia Sass Rubin, a professor at Rutgers’ Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. “That seems a little unlikely.”
Let’s Keep Focus on “The Line” in NJ Politics
If you’re not in-the-know, The Line is where you want to be on the ballot if you’re running for office in New Jersey. Candidates granted The Line by NJ’s political gatekeepers are almost assured of victory, especially in a primary election. That’s why NJ’s powerful political machines invest so much time and treasure into determining who gets the line and (perhaps more importantly) who doesn’t.
Bar part-time officials from full-time perks, incoming N.J. lawmaker says
“That doesn’t excuse individuals who have consciously abused the system,” said Pfeiffer, now a professor at Rutgers University. “But there are probably any number of cases where elected officials can spend 30, 35 hours a week in their job as an unpaid or low-paid elected official.
EJB Talks–Navigating a Politically Turbulent 2023 and the Ominous Prelude to 2024
We’re closing EJB Talks for the year with a discussion of the tumultuous political events of 2023, including the chaotic dynamics within the Republican Party, the potential ramifications of Kevin McCarthy’s replacement as Speaker of the House, the ongoing challenges in passing crucial legislation, and more.
The Story of Freedom: An Op-ed from Mark Paul
Meaningful freedom will only be won through embracing an emancipatory vision of freedom that guarantees people political rights, civil rights, reproductive rights, and crucially, economic rights. Together these rights provide people with meaningful choices to be, and do, what they have reason to value.
A state watchdog forges ahead, in an era of endangered oversight
Kevin Walsh had been an attorney for just two years when he picked a fight that would help topple the death penalty in New Jersey. As counsel to New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, he challenged the state’s lethal injection regulations, a battle that...
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Undergraduate New Student Information Session for Fall 2024 Majors
Bloustein School, Civic Square Building 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, United StatesIn-Person Session August 27th The Bloustein School is hosting the annual undergraduate student orientation for new majors on Tuesday, August 27, 2024. Newly enrolled direct-admit students in Planning and Public Policy, […]
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VirtualStop by virtually on Mondays (except for holidays) beginning September 9th through December 16th between 11 am and 1 pm to ask a quick (15 min) career-related question of Bloustein […]
Virtual Career Drop-ins
VirtualStop by virtually on Mondays (except for holidays) beginning September 9th through December 16th between 11 am and 1 pm to ask a quick (15 min) career-related question of Bloustein […]
Virtual Career Drop-ins
VirtualStop by virtually on Mondays (except for holidays) beginning September 9th through December 16th between 11 am and 1 pm to ask a quick (15 min) career-related question of Bloustein […]