PRESIDENT’ S VIEW
LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP
PRESIDENT’ S VIEW
Ballot Changes Coming
By Anthony Russo President, CIANJ
June 10 is primary Election Day in New Jersey but be prepared for the ballots to look a little different.
On March 6th, Governor Phil Murphy quietly signed Bill A5116 into law. The legislation requires primary ballots to be designed in an office-block format and eliminates the county line format, a system that a federal judge ruled unconstitutional in 2024. The new format will be used for ballots in the June 2025 primary election, which includes six Democrats and five Republicans running to replace Phil Murphy as NJ governor.
Here’ s a breakdown of the key changes:
◾ Office-Block Format: Candidates will now be grouped by the office they are seeking rather than being aligned in a single row or column based on endorsements or party lines. This means that all candidates running for the same position will be grouped together on the ballot.
◾ No More County Line: The new format eliminates the " county line " where party-backed candidates were given prime placement on the ballot. This aims to level the playing field and reduce the influence of party organizations on voter choices.
◾ Equal Ballot Positioning: Candidate names will be listed within each office block in a randomly drawn order.
◾ Letter and Number Labels: Candidates’ positions will be labeled using a combination of letters and numbers( e. g., A1, B2), which correspond to their placement within the office block and row or column on the ballot.
Dr. Benjamin Dworkin, Director, Rowan Institute for Public Policy & Citizenship, spoke at The Commerce & Industry Association of New Jersey’ s Board meeting in May about the upcoming primary and noted, even without the county line,“ organization still matters.” Having the party’ s backing still provides candidates with valuable resources( such as a list of 1,000 people who will make phone calls for you).
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LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP
Leadership and Executive Presence
By Steve Adubato, PhD Freelance Contributor
While executive presence may be hard to define, it’ s like many things in life and in leadership, you know it when you see it. Beyond having strong body language that includes good posture, direct eye contact, and having your body in sync with what you are saying, consider some other attributes that will help improve your overall executive presence:
Use clear, concise, and unambiguous language. Avoid disclaimers or qualifiers that ultimately produce tentative communication. Phrases like,“ It seems to me that we might be able to accomplish this goal if we possibly …” Instead, use clear language like,“ What we need to do to accomplish our goals includes A, B and C.”
Communicate with passion and energy. Incorporate vocal variety in your communication and tap into what you are feeling in connection with your message. Use your tone and demeanor to let the audience know what you believe in on a deeper, more visceral level.
Lead with confidence. This involves a combination of behaviors and communication skills that project your knowledge in your subject matter. Convey competence while inspiring trust and influence in others. It is all about believing in yourself, your message, and knowing you have something to share that can be helpful to others.
Be self-aware. Understand your emotions and how they impact your behavior. Look inward to explore your level of executive presence. Also, look outward and“ read the room” to analyze and interpret how you are being received and perceived by others.
Look the part. Be intentional with what message your visual presence is sending. Make sure your clothing is aligned with the venue in which you are communicating. Ensure your hair is well groomed and your makeup, jewelry, or other accessories don’ t distract from your message.
Steve Adubato, PhD, is the author of six books, including,“ Lessons in Leadership,” and his newest,“ Lessons in Leadership 2.0: The Tough Stuff.” He is an Emmy Award-winning anchor with programs airing on Thirteen / WNET( PBS) and NJ PBS. He is has also appeared on NBC’ s TODAY Show, NPR, CNN and MSNBC. Steve Adubato’ s Lessons in Leadership airs Saturdays at 5 pm & Sundays at 10 am on News 12 +. For more information visit Stand-Deliver. com
Photo: Getty Images / iStockphoto \/ Vadym Pastukh