Marc Kovar
Executive Vice President
Welcome Governor Phil Murphy…
and a new civility
Governor Phil Murphy was sworn into office on Jan. 16,
marking a welcome change for all New Jersey law enforcement
officers and their families, who suffered through eight years of
Chris Christie. We now have a governor who respects law en-
forcement and has shown a commitment to work with us.
During the Christie administration, there was zero commu-
nication, and any discourse was limited to the former gover-
nor’s snide public comments, which always proved disingenu-
ous at best and inflammatory at worst. The new, open lines of
communication between law enforcement and the governor’s
office is a positive step forward from the days of Chris Chris-
tie. And while, admittedly, it wi ll take time to undo all the harm
done by the former governor, I am confident that our relation-
ship with Governor Phil Murphy’s office will continue to evolve
in a positive direction.
But, again, it will take time. Governor Murphy will not imme-
diately have the resources or support to repair the damage the
former governor did to us.
Listening to law enforcement
Governor Murphy is on a listening tour as he begins his lead-
ership of the state. He has already proven that he is open to
talking with us about issues that impact law enforcement offi-
cers and our families.
There will always be bumps in the road, but our new gov-
ernor has shown a willingness to work with us. I understand
that we will not always agree with Governor Phil Murphy, but
the relationship now includes a level of civility that was missing
during the Christie years. A great example of this came when
Governor Murphy stopped by NJ State PBA’s Collective Bar-
gaining Training at Harrah’s in Atlantic City on Feb. 7. He was
a welcome sight for me and NJSPBA members who have lived
through spit from Governor Christie.
Governor Murphy is also scheduled to attend the PBA Mini
Convention, where members will see how this relationship is
building and how he will continue to listen to us.
Improved relationships throughout government
The improved relationship with the governor’s office has
opened doors throughout the Murphy administration. We re-
cently had a face-to-face meeting with new state Attorney
General Gurbir Grewal, who accepted an invitation to address
our membership at our upcoming Mini Convention in March.
These meetings never would have happened with the Christie
administration because of our former governor’s chokehold on
all of his “loyal” appointees.
NJ State PBA President Pat Colligan and I also have had pro-
ductive meetings with the new speaker of the General Assem-
bly, Craig Coughlin, and long-standing Senate President Steve
Sweeney. On the federal level, we scheduled a meeting with the
new U.S. Attorney, Craig Carpenito, on behalf of law enforce-
ment officers throughout the state. U.S. Attorney Carpenito
also accepted our invitation and will join the governor and the
attorney general in attending our Mini Convention.
Civility is a giant step forward
It is almost hard to fathom how troubling things were under
Chris Christie: lies about our pensions and health benefits, dis-
tortions about the interest arbitration process, and derogato-
ry name-calling – do you recall Christie calling Pat a “pension
pig?” – to name just a few of the maladies.
It remains my opinion that the NJ State PBA is most effec-
tive when we can speak with one collective voice and when we
stand together for those who actually respect law enforcement.
And we unite against politicians who want to raise their profiles
by making false claims of support while they work to harm us.
I do not believe this will be the case with Governor Phil Mur-
phy. Collectively, law enforcement officers and PBA members
should welcome him and remain patient as he gets his footing
during this transition. The civility alone is a giant step in the
right direction. d
Welcome New PBA State Delegates
Eleven new State Delegates were sworn in during the NJ State PBA meeting
held on Jan. 9 at Pines Manor in Edison. Congratulations to the following
new State Delegates:
• Juan Mendez, Union City Local 8
• Mark Stinnard, Pompton Lakes Local 161
• Paul Siemon, Paramus Local 186
• Eric F. Sudak, Jefferson Township Local 190
• Paul Segro, Lincoln Park Local 192
• Michael Connelly, Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office Local 214
• Thomas McKenna, Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Local 232
• Michael Holland, Camden County Sheriff’s Department Local 277
• Nicholas Sherman, Barrington/Haddon Heights/Haddonfield Local
328
• Gregory Popaca, Bay Head-Mantoloking Local 347
• Jeffrey Lamboy, Palisades Interstate Parkway Police Local 388
www.njcopsmagazine.com
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