Gov. Murphy remembers late Gov. Codey, touts NJ’s economy in final State of the State address
Murphy’s eighth and final address acted as a victory lap for him, but things were sobered after the passing of former Gov. Dick Codey.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivered his final State of the State address Tuesday, as the clock counts down on his term.
Murphy’s eighth and final address acted as a victory lap for him, but it got off to a somber start after the passing of former Gov. Dick Codey.
"At a moment like this, I know we all miss former governor — and the longest-serving lawmaker in New Jersey history — Dick Codey, who we lost over the weekend,” says Murphy. “Whether as an elected leader, a youth basketball coach, or even a funeral director, Dick was always there for us. He was there for me back when it was cold, dark, and lonely. And, he would have been here today."
Murphy touted minimum wage increases, the growth of the state's economy, and his property tax relief program.
"We created more good-paying jobs than New Jersey has ever seen and helped more new small businesses open their doors than ever before,” says Murphy. “When they told us that asking the wealthy to pay their fair share would drive them away, what did we do? We enacted a new millionaire's tax, and, by the way, we have more millionaires today in New Jersey than ever before.”
He also pointed to reducing the state’s prison population, along with drops in crime. Another point of pride was increased funding for schools and property tax relief.
Republicans delivered their rebuttal to Murphy, calling foul on Murphy’s claims of making the state stronger and fairer and said that the state has a spending problem.
