CIG Insider - Midterm Election 2018

CIG Insider – Midterm Election 2018

U.S. Senate Race
The “Blue Wave” struck New Jersey, as 3 districts shifted from red to blue, contributing to the overall Democratic control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Though Republicans expanded its majority in the Senate, New Jersey’s incumbent Bob Menendez (D) was one of the seats which remained blue.
Senator Menendez, who has held his position since 2006, successfully won his bid for a third term against challenger Bob Hugin (R).  Despite his opponent pouring more than $35 million of his own personal wealth into his campaign, Menendez won by a double-digit margin by appealing to New Jersey’s disdain for Hugin’s close relationship with President Trump.

U.S. House Races
Following the retirement of Republican Representatives – Frank LoBiondo of the 2nd District and Rodney Frelinghuysen of the 11th District – these two seats were now open to a possible Democratic shift. State Senator Jeff Van Drew (D), defeated Seth Grossman (R), a pro-Trump former Atlantic City Councilman and Atlantic County Freeholder. The popular Democrat won by a 6 percentage points in a historically-reliable GOP district.
In the 11th, Democratic candidate Mikie Sherrill, a former federal prosecutor and U.S. Navy Pilot, easily defeated Republican Jay Webber, a lawyer and member of the State General Assembly. While a Democrat has not held the seat since 1980, final results showed that Sherrill carried the district by more than 12 percentage points.
In the 3rd District, a winner has yet to declared as Andy Kim (D), a former White House national security official, mounted an unexpected challenge to incumbent
Tom MacArthur (R). MacArthur has held the position since 2014 but Kim, who is popular among young voters especially in Burlington County, is trailing the polls by just 1 percentage point, as mail-in ballots are still being counted from that same county.
In the 4th District, incumbent Chris Smith (R), who has held the seat since 1981, was expected to win despite a spirited challenge from Josh Welle (D), a Navy veteran who raised over $1 million for his campaign.
In the 5th District, Josh Gottheimer (D) was expected to be one of New Jersey’s most vulnerable House members.  The Democrat scored an upset victory in 2016 in a solid Republican district.  No viable challenge materialized, however, and Gottheimer coasted to victory over former Cresskill Councilman John McCann (R) by more than a dozen points.
In the 7th District, Leonard Lance (R) who has held the 7th District seat since 2009, faced significant opposition from challenger Tom Malinowski (D), a former diplomat who served as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor under President Obama. While initial polls showed an even race, it was Malinowski who emerged as the surprising victor by a slim 2 point advantage.
Notably, Donald Norcross (D) will remain in his seat for the 1st District; Frank Pallone Jr. (D) easily won reelection in the 6th District and will play a significant leadership role for Democrats in the next Congress; Albio Sires (D) will return to the House for another term representing the 8th District; Bill Pascrell Jr. handily won another term in New Jersey’s 9th District; Donald Payne Jr. (D) won by nearly a 9-1 margin in his reelection bid in the 10th District; and, Bonnie Watson Coleman (D), the widely popular and only woman representative in NJ’s congressional delegation, until Sherrill’s victory yesterday, easily bested her opponent in their 12th District contest.

 

From our DC-affiliate Washington Strategic Consulting, click here to learn more about yesterday’s national election results and the backgrounds of the three new Representatives-Elect for New Jersey.

CIG Insider – Midterm Election 2018

CIG INSIDER

MIDTERM ELECTION EDITION
November 2018
U.S. Senate Race
The “Blue Wave” struck New Jersey, as 3 districts shifted from red to blue, contributing to the overall Democratic control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Though Republicans expanded its majority in the Senate, New Jersey’s incumbent Bob Menendez (D) was one of the seats which remained blue.
Senator Menendez, who has held his position since 2006, successfully won his bid for a third term against challenger Bob Hugin (R).  Despite his opponent pouring more than $35 million of his own personal wealth into his campaign, Menendez won by a double-digit margin by appealing to New Jersey’s disdain for Hugin’s close relationship with President Trump.

U.S. House Races
Following the retirement of Republican Representatives – Frank LoBiondo of the 2nd District and Rodney Frelinghuysen of the 11th District – these two seats were now open to a possible Democratic shift. State Senator Jeff Van Drew (D), defeated Seth 
Grossman (R), a pro-Trump former Atlantic City Councilman and Atlantic County Freeholder. The popular Democrat won by a 6 percentage points in a historically-reliable GOP district.
In the 11th, Democratic candidate Mikie Sherrill, a former federal prosecutor and U.S. Navy Pilot, easily defeated Republican Jay Webber, a lawyer and member of the State General Assembly. While a Democrat has not held the seat since 1980, final results showed that Sherrill carried the district by more than 12 percentage points.
In the 3rd District, a winner has yet to declared as Andy Kim (D), a former White House national security official, mounted an unexpected challenge to incumbent Tom MacArthur (R). MacArthur has held the position since 2014 but Kim, who is popular among young voters especially in Burlington County, is trailing the polls by just 1 percentage point, as mail-in ballots are still being counted from that same county.
In the 4th District, incumbent Chris Smith (R), who has held the seat since 1981, was expected to win despite a spirited challenge from Josh Welle (D), a Navy veteran who raised over $1 million for his campaign.
In the 5th District, Josh Gottheimer (D) was expected to be one of New Jersey’s most vulnerable House members.  The Democrat scored an upset victory in 2016 in a solid Republican district.  No viable challenge materialized, however, and Gottheimer coasted to victory over former Cresskill Councilman John McCann (R) by more than a dozen points.
In the 7th District, Leonard Lance (R) who has held the 7th District seat since 2009, faced significant opposition from challenger Tom Malinowski (D), a former diplomat who served as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor under President Obama. While initial polls showed an even race, it was Malinowski who emerged as the surprising victor by a slim 2 point advantage.
Notably, Donald Norcross (D) will remain in his seat for the 1st District; Frank Pallone Jr. (D) easily won reelection in the 6th District and will play a significant leadership role for Democrats in the next Congress; Albio Sires (D) will return to the House for another term representing the 8th District; Bill Pascrell Jr. handily won another term in New Jersey’s 9th District; Donald Payne Jr. (D) won by nearly a 9-1 margin in his reelection bid in the 10th District; and, Bonnie Watson Coleman (D), the widely popular and only woman representative in NJ’s congressional delegation, until Sherrill’s victory yesterday, easily bested her opponent in their 12th District contest.
Capital Impact Group and
Insider NJ Partner On The CIG Insider NJ Podcast.

Check it out here.

Gerry Gibbs Joins Drumthwacket Foundation Board
Gerville “Gerry” Gibbs was recently elected to the Drumthwacket Foundation Board of Trustees.
The Drumthwacket Foundation is a 501c3 non-partisan, non-profit organization with a mission to preserve the Drumthwacket property and broaden access to the public. It is embarking on a major capital campaign to fully renovate and restore the Governor’s Mansion in Princeton.
Also joining Gerry on the board are new members Dr. Balpreet K. Grewal-Virk, Dr. Khyati Joshi, David Pascrell and actress Whoopi Goldberg.

Out & About
CIG was honored to host Dennis Cakebread, Chairman of Cakebread Cellars, for an exclusive wine tasting at our office.
CIG client KinderCare Learning Centers was thrilled to host New Jersey Commissioner of Education
Dr. Lamont Repollet at its early childhood education center in Cherry Hill.

From our DC-affiliate Washington Strategic Consulting, click here to learn more about yesterday’s national election results and the backgrounds of the three new Representatives-Elect for New Jersey.

CIG Insider – Budget Edition 2018

State House Happenings
After weeks of bitter disagreement, dueling press conferences and rising rhetoric about how the State should raise revenues to fund its next fiscal budget, Governor Murphy signed a $37.4 billionspending plan late on Sunday, reflecting compromised changes between the Legislative and Executive Branches.  With a government shutdown looming, principals and staff worked around the clock in Trenton to hammer out an agreement which culminated in rare Sunday voting sessions lasting more than 12 hours to approve the legislation.  Governor Murphy immediately signed the budget bills and made a joint public appearance with Senate President Sweeney and Speaker CoughlinSaturday night. Putting aside the contentiousness of the just concluded budget process, all three Democratic leaders pledged to work together, find common ground and accomplish many things in the future.
The final budget includes raising tax rates on multi-millionaires and corporations, and investments in public schools, property tax relief and NJ Transit.  Efforts to restore the sales tax to 7% fell short.  A corporation business tax surcharge will be imposed on companies earning more than $1 million annually.  The levy will increase the current 9% rate by 2.5% in the first two years, and then reduced to 1.5% in the third and fourth years. Revenues generated from the CBT surcharge is projected to generate $705 million in new revenue.  Large companies will also be subject to tightening tax policy concerning combined reporting and repatriation.  These changes, aimed at capturing tax revenues on profits that are generated and products that are produced in New Jersey, are expected to net the State $200 million in new revenue.
School Funding Formula
One of Governor Murphy’s top priorities during this contentious budget cycle has been the battle over revamping the school funding formula.
The current formula hasn’t been sufficiently funded in years, and the Governor promised during his campaign to enact a more equitable structure that would level the playing field for districts across the State. Now, a new mechanism for calculating funding was passed by the legislature and approved by the Governor – this new formula would boost state aid to districts that experienced a negative funding differential in the past, and reduce aid to districts that received a positive differential by certain percentage increments, to go into effect in the 2019-2020 school year.
Additionally, the formula will provide a $57 million appropriation for the expansion of pre-K programs, another priority that the Governor highlighted on the campaign trail.
Movers and Shakers

He’s baaaack…. Kevin Drennan recently returned to his prior post as Executive Director of the Senate Majority Office,  just six months after leaving for the private sector.   The straight-shooting top aide to
Senate President Steve Sweeney ran point and for the Senate Dems throughout the recently-concluded and rancorous budget negotiations with the Murphy Administration.  Also in the Senate Majority Office, Alfred Doblin, the former editorial editor at The Bergen Record and longtime columnist, joined the team as Director of Communications.
Brian Quigley was named the Assembly Majority’s top lawyer earlier this year.  He previously served as the Assembly’s Deputy Counsel and was the chief aide on the Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee.  Nicole Brown replaced Quigley on the committee, a position she previously held.  Mickey Quinn was promoted to Deputy Executive Director of the Assembly Majority Office.  The trusted aide was formerly a senior advisor to Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald.      
 
Ryan Fox recently left his position with Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-5) to join the Murphy Administration as an aide to Chief of StaffPete Cammarano.  Ryan returns home to New Jersey after an 18-month stint with Gottheimer in his Washington office. Jennifer Mangano will assume the open position in the Congressman’s office.

Luke Wolff is the new Budget Director in the Senate Majority Office.  Luke was formerly with the Office of Legislative Services.  Congrats to Elizabeth Mahn, who was promoted to Deputy Budget Director.  She will continue to be the top Senate Majority aide to the Senate Education Committee.  Welcome aboard Kate Milsaps who recently joined the Senate Majority Office after stints at the Sierra Club and the Highlands Coalition.  Kate is staffing the Senate Commerce Committee.
Shannon McManus, the former director of Legislative Affairs in the Treasury during the Christie Administration, has joined Bob Hugin‘s campaign for US Senate as the Deputy Director for Research.
Huge congrats to our friend and client Natasha Hemmings who was recently named chief executive officer of the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey.  The former Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for Girl Scouts of Central & Southern NJ, Natasha is the first African-American to hold the post. Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey serves more than 17,000 Girl Scouts in Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset, Union and Warren counties.
At CIG,Paul Crupi was appointed to the Middletown Township Planning Board and most recently its Historic Preservation Committee, and was elected to serve on the Monmouth County Republican Committee. CIG Principal Gene Mulroy was reelected to serve another term on the Monmouth County Democratic Committee. Happy one-year anniversary to the Asian Women of Trenton Networking Group.  Co-founded by CIG’s Sabeen Masih, the networking organization is comprised of 30+ professional South and East Asian political movers and shakers throughout the New Jersey.
CIG Client Spotlight
 
CIG has been working with American Dream, the largest entertainment and retail development project under construction in the country, which is scheduled to open in the spring of 2019.

Located in the Meadowlands, the more than 3 million square foot property will offer a rich blend of global retail, destination dining, upscale arts and entertainment and create more than 16,000 permanent jobs in New Jersey.  American Dream’s creator, Triple Five, owns and manages Mall of America, the country’s largest tourism, retail and entertainment complex.

 

CIG Insider – Election Edition 2017

Historic Night

After a grueling campaign with heated debates and provocative commercials, this week, Democratic nominee Phil Murphy was easily elected to serve as New Jersey’s 56th Governor. Networks reported the early win for Murphy a minute after 8 p.m. – right after voting centers closed – and Guadagno conceded at 9:30 pm.  The likable Murphy garnered more than a million votes, winning by 16 points (56%-42%).
Governor-elect Murphy’s pick for Lieutenant Governor has again earned her place in New Jersey history. In 2014, Sheila Oliver became the first African-American woman to be elected Speaker.  She will now take decades of experience and political expertise with her to the executive branch as the second-highest ranking elected official in New Jersey, and the first African-American to serve in that role.  It was confirmed today that Lt. Governor-elect Oliver will also serve as the Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs. She is the first appointment of the incoming Murphy administration.
All 120 of New Jersey’s legislative seats were up for election this past Tuesday.  Democrats increased their majorities in both houses. Next session they will control the Senate 25-15, and the Assembly 52-28.
In a major upset, challenger Vin Gopal defeated veteran Senator Jen Beck in the 11th legislative district.  The upstart Gopal ran an innovative, grassroots campaign, utilizing digital and cable advertising and relied on mostly individual contributions, ultimately enabling him to unseat the popular Red Bank lawmaker.
In District 2 it was predicted to be a close race between the incumbent Democrat Colin Bellwho replaced the late Jim Whelan, and Republican Chris Brown.However due to Brown’s name recognition and presence in Atlantic County, the race was not that close as he soundly defeated Bell by more than 4,000 votes.

 

Despite costly efforts to oust Senate President Sweeney in District 3, the NJEA’s backing of Fran Grenier proved to be insufficient, as Sweeney still won by 18 points.  This afternoon  Sweeney, along with Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, were unanimously approved by their fellow members to again serve as Senate leaders when the 218th Legislature convenes in January, 2018.
Movers and Shakers
Governor-elect Murphy has tapped two respected Trenton veterans to lead his transition and front office operations.  Pete Cammarano, former chief of staff to Governor Dick Codey, is expected to be named Murphy’s chief of staff. Widely-known for his integrity, straightforwardness and political skill, Cammarano also served as Director of Public Affairs for the Department of Insurance and most recently was a partner at CLB, a Trenton-based public affairs firm.
Jose Lozano, chief of staff at Hackensack Meridian Health, will be executive director of Governor-Elect Murphy’s Transition Team. The first Latino to lead a transition team in New Jersey,  Lozano was the director of operations for former Governor Jon Corzine and served in the Obama administration as deputy chief of staff at the EPA.
Matt Platkin is expected to serve in the new Murphy Administration as Chief Counsel. A Stanford Law School grad, the erudite Platkin was head of policy for the gubernatorial campaign and an integral part of Murphy’s trusted inner circle.
Congratulations to Atlantic City Councilman Frank Gilliam Jr. who defeated one-term incumbent Mayor Don Guardian. Gilliam campaigned on re-establishing local control of the city’s day to day operations.
Longtime Camden official and Council President Frank Moran, has been elected to serve as Camden’s next Mayor. Endorsed by former Mayor Dana Redd, Moran’s longtime ties to the city and state, and well-known reputation, helped him secure his seat.
One of the most celebrated wins of election night was Ravi Bhalla, who was elected Hoboken’s next Mayor. Previously serving as a Councilman, Bhalla is the first Sikh mayor in New Jersey, and was endorsed by current Mayor Dawn Zimmer, after announcing that she would not be seeking re-election.
Also this Week….
Longtime Congressman Frank LoBiondo (R-Atlantic) announced he will not run for reelection in 2018, after serving 12 consecutive terms.  Pundits believe that Democratic State Senator Jeff Van Drew(Cape May), whose popularity transcends partisanship in South Jersey, would have a clear path to victory in the reliably GOP district.
Governor Christie appointed Christopher Rinn, former Deputy Commissioner, as Acting Commissioner of the Department of Health and Senior Services yesterday. Rinn replaces Cathleen Bennett, whose last day is today.  She will be replacing Betsy Ryan as president at the New Jersey Hospital Association.

 

CIG Insider – Summer Edition 2017

State House Happenings
Battle of Trenton 2.0
The $34.7 billion budget for FY 2018 was signed in the early hours of July 4th, following a contentious debate between the Governor,  Senate President and Assembly Speaker.  At issue was the restructuring of  the not-for-profit Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey

. Policy differences between the aforementioned parties led to a three-day State shutdown.

The showdown was a test of wills between the Governor, who promised to line item veto all of the Democratic funding priorities if no Horizon bill was passed; the Assembly Speaker, who initially refused to consider the Horizon bill before the Assembly had a chance to fully vet it as well as pass the FY18 budget; and the Senate President, who refused to move the budget unless the Horizon bill passed at the same time, heeding the Governor’s line item veto warning.
In the end, following negotiations between Horizon CEO Bob Marino, Senate President Sweeney, and Assembly Speaker Prieto, the three were able to reach an agreement on the Horizon restructuring bill. After 12 am on July 4th, legislators were called back to the State House to vote on the FY18 budget and the newly compromised Horizon bill. Governor Christie signed both bills into law and the State shutdown ended just in time for New Jerseyans to enjoy state parks and beaches for the holiday.
The newly compromised Horizon bill adds two board members to the insurer, one to be appointed by the Assembly Speaker, and one to be appointed by the Senate President. There will also be a cap on Horizon’s reserves so that any surplus reserves will be diverted back to the premium costs of Horizon’s 3.8 million policyholders.
School Funding Formula
After the Governor implored the legislature to revamp the school funding formula in his February budget address, legislators held months of hearings, soliciting input from educators, administrators, parents, and community groups. The result was an additional allocation of $181 million in the FY18 budget for underfunded districts, preschool expansion, and Extraordinary Special Education Aid. While critics charge that the reallocation of aid dollars will be harmful to certain districts, Senate leaders have called this a “landmark first step” toward funding fairness that has been elusive under the embattled School Funding Reform Act of 2008.
In Other News
Recently, Assemblyman Eustace (D-38) spearheaded an effort with Best Friends Animal Society to pass a “No-Kill” resolution. The measure, which proclaims the intent to make NJ a no-kill state by 2025, had unanimous support and passed the Assembly!
This is the first no-kill resolution to be passed state-wide, following the passage of hundreds of such resolutions at the county and city levels throughout the nation.

Movers and Shakers
 
Amid the flurry of activity during the early-morning July 4 voting session to approve the budget, the Assembly took a few moments to recognize Assemblyman Dave Rible, as he prepares to leave the legislature to become Director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Rible will replace current Acting Director Jon Orsen of Manalapan, who has been nominated for a seat on the State Tax Court. A top unnamed source has confirmed that Nick DiRocco – former deputy chief of staff to Governor Christie, current mayor of Wall Township and government relations director at Horizon – is the odds-on favorite to replace Rible in the Assembly.
 
Stephanie Lagos joined gubernatorial candidate Phil Murphy’s campaign as a policy advisor. The highly-respected aide was former Deputy Chief of Staff to Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-36).

Chris Hughes and Cort Adelmanrecently joined Virtua Health as Assistant Vice Presidents of Government Relations. Chris comes from the Assembly Republican Office where he served as Budget Director; previous to that he was Director of Operations and then Chief of Staff for the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance. Cort previously served as Director of Government Affairs for Wellcare Health Plans and staffer to Majority Leader Lou Greenwald (D-6).
 
Replacing Hughes in the Assembly Republican Office, Debbie DePiano has been promoted to Budget Director.  The veteran staffer had previously worked on six budgets as deputy budget director.

Michele Brown’s nomination to the Board of Trustees of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, NJ was approved by the Senate last week. Brown,a longtime confidant to the Governor, oversaw the then U.S. Attorney’s appointments and led the state Economic Development Authority.
Interesting things happening for GOP candidates in Bergen County’s 38th legislative district! Republican candidate Matt Seymour announced he is quitting the race and switching his party affiliation to Democrat. This is the second time in the last two election cycles that a GOP Assembly candidate has unexpectedly dropped a challenge to unseat popular Assembly members Joe Lagana and Tim Eustace (D-38).    
Francine Glaser, former Director of Operations for Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling and Assemblywoman Joann Downey (D-11) and newly-elected Democratic Committee member in Edison, recently joined Assemblywoman Nancy Pinkin’s (D-18) office as Legislative Director.
Paulina Banasiak, former Legislative Director for Assemblywoman Valerie Huttle (D-37), has joined Assemblyman Raj Mukherji’s (D-33) office as Chief of Staff. She replaces Justin Shoham who has started his own political fundraising company. Also, Corey Wolkenberg was promoted to Legislative Director for Assemblyman Mukherji.
Shane Mitchell was recently named Legislative Director for Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-37). Mitchell was an aide to Weinberg for the last year or so and started his political career at Parano & Associates after graduating from Princeton University. Tony Bonaides has formally joined Weinberg’s staff as a legislative aide after serving as an intern and just recently graduating from Columbia University.
Longtime veterans of the Christie administration have been nominated to the bench. Greg Acquaviva, the Governor’s current chief counsel, will soon move on to the state Superior Court. Susana Guerrero, who most recently served as the Executive Director of the State Ethics Commission, has been confirmed as an Administrative Law Judge.
Kudos to Senate Majority Policy Chief Mark Magyar who was recently named #1 on InsiderNJ’s top 100 policymaker list.

Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-37) recently named Alexandra Acosta as her new chief of staff. Since 2015, Acosta was in charge of community relations for Bergen County Executive Director Jame Tedesco.
Senator Bob Menendez has hired Swarna Vallurupallito serve as his new health policy advisor. Vallurupalli spent the last four years as Representative Mazie Hirono’s (D-HI) health and tax counsel. She also spent time as a staffer on the Senate Finance Committee where Menendez serves on the Health Subcommittee.
Luke Margolis, the Associate Executive Director for the Senate Majority Office and director of media relations, will be leaving to join Atlantic Health as part of their communications shop.
Former OLS counsel Mike Molimock has joined the Senate Republican Office as an aide to the Senate Judiciary and Law & Public Safety Committees.
Michael Muller, the top strategist for the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee (DACC) for the last 15 years, recently resigned his position.  He and his entire team will still be running the Senate Democratic Majority fall campaigns.  Earlier this month veteran political strategist Mark Matzen replaced Muller as the new executive director of DACC.
In Memoriam

Trenton was shaken last week by news of the untimely death of GOP strategist Rick Rosenberg. A veteran of state and national Republican campaigns, Rick most recently managed Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli’s (R-16) bid for governor, a tightly-run campaign which exceeded the expectations of many. Supremely talented and well-respected on both sides of the aisle, Rick will be greatly missed.

CIG Client Spotlight 

This past January,  Coriell Institute for Medical Research recently named Courtney Mengel Dirks as their new Director of Communications and Government Relations. Courtney visited the busy State House halls this June, and met with legislators including Senate President Steve Sweeney and Senator Nilsa Cruz-Perez.
Proximity to Power…
CIG Live on State Street!
As reported in NJBIZ, Capital Impact Group recently launched CIG Live on State Street, a real-time video stream of press conferences, political events, rallies and more. Now you’ll be able to view political developments in Trenton anytime from anywhere, as they happen!


Check it out here:


Out & About
   
Gerry Gibbs and Gene Mulroy with
Pete Oneglia, General Manager of InsiderNJ.com, at the site’s State House Mixer.  Launched earlier this year, the site has quickly become a must-read for Trenton politicos.
CIG hosted a successful event for
Ambassador Phil Murphy in their Trenton office.
 
Standing-room only – CIG was proud to host the Women’s Political Caucus PAC awards reception honoring Senator Diane Allen, Marilyn Davis and Eileen Kean.
Gerry and Quincy Gibbs enjoying Take Your Child to Work Day.
Paul Crupi and Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno at a Monmouth County reception.
 
CIG celebrates with Congressman Payne at his Annual Congressional Ball.
Briana Piserchia celebrating her 10-year anniversary with Capital Impact Group, she rocks!
Sabeen Masih speaking to young women during the Center for American Women and Politics’ NEW Leadership NJ panel.

CIG’s Shantè Palmer & Gerry Gibbs join George Hampton and ACDevCo Board Member Bob Holmes for the groundbreaking of the Gateway Project.

Paul Crupi and team BAYADA Home Health Care met with Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto to discuss issues affecting home care in his district office.
Ambassador Phil Murphy, African American Wall Street executives and CIG’s Gerry Gibbs discuss policy affecting AA participation in the public finance, broker dealer, asset management space as well as the utilization of diverse outside counsel.
CIG’s Sabeen with Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg and Assemblywoman Joann Downey at Pam’s List event earlier this month.
 
CIG’s Paul Crupi, Sabeen Masih and other alums joined Eagleton Institute of Politics faculty members John Weingart and Sarah Kozak for a State House luncheon.
Gene Mulroy accepting his award at 128 West State Cafe for being the #1 customer (self-proclaimed).
Congratulations to longtime ODM client, Plainfield Mayor Adrian O. Mapp, on his June primary victory, securing the Democratic nomination for another four-year term as mayor.

Read Plainfield’s Spring newsletter.

ODM was tasked with putting together a special edition of the PSEG Insider

that paid special tribute to former PSEG CEO Al Koeppe.

 Who We Are
 
Capital Impact Group is a bipartisan, full-service public affairs and business development firm based in Trenton, NJ, 37 steps from the front door of the State House. We offer a wide range of services to help our clients manage the realities of today’s political, economic and regulatory environment and the ever-changing dynamics in the State of New Jersey and Washington, D.C.
Open Door Media is a fast-growing public affairs and communications firm focused on delivering results for our corporate, government and non-profit clients.