FINANCE BOSS LADY
TRENTON » For the first time in 32 years, New Jersey will have a woman run state finances.
Gov.-elect Phil Murphy nominated Assemblywoman Liz Muoio (D-Mercer/Hunterdon) on Wednesday as state treasurer for a cabinet position in his administration.
“Liz will be another important step in making sure that we have a cabinet that doesn’t just have the best and the brightest but it looks like our state,” Murphy said at a press conference in Trenton. “It would mark the first time in more than 30 years since Gov. (Thomas) Kean’s second term that New Jersey had a woman as a confirmed state treasurer.”
Muoio, who served as a member on the Assembly Budget Committee, has many ties to Mercer County.
Before accepting the treasurer job, the Pennington resident was Mercer County’s economic development & sustainability director. She has also served as head of the Mercer County Democratic Committee and was elected to Pennington council and the Mercer County freeholder board.
“On behalf of the women of the state, I want to thank Gov.-elect Murphy for helping continue to shatter one more glass ceiling,” said Muoio, who would become the second woman to become treasurer if she is confirmed. “I look forward to putting my experience as an elected official at the local, county and state level to work in collaboration with officials at all levels across the state to develop sound, responsive, progressive fiscal policy and plans that provide relief and hope for New Jersey’s residents.”
As assemblywoman of the 15th district, which consists of Trenton, West Windsor, Ewing, Lawrence, Pennington, Hopewell, Hopewell Township, East and West Amwell, and Lambertville, Muoio said the area is a “microcosm of the state.”
“Each type of municipality brings its own distinct set of challenges — fiscal and financial challenges — and that experience is mirrored across the cities, townships, and boroughs of New Jersey,” Muoio said. “We also have to recognize that despite their differences, there are a few common characteristics they all share. Our municipalities and their residents need relief. They need to know the taxes can be brought under control, that their infrastructure is sound, that they can count on a quality education for their children, no matter where they live, that governmental services are accessible and dependable, and that New Jersey will be a place their children and grandchildren will be able to afford to call home.”
Muoio became a state legislator in 2015 after her predecessor, Bonnie Watson Coleman, was elected to Congress.
Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes was instrumental in helping Muoio land the hotly-desired Assembly seat.
“Liz Muoio is going to be a fantastic treasurer and do a lot for Mercer County and the city of Trenton,” Hughes said Wednesday after the appointment. “We really haven’t had a partner for Mercer County and we really haven’t had someone that would take care of the city of Trenton and invest in it as a corporation. We’ve seen money go up to Newark. We’ve seen money go up to Patterson or Passaic County. We’ve seen a ton of money go down to Camden with Trenton just sort of left to live on its own.”
Not everyone is supporting Muoio’s appointment.
The New Jersey Republican State Committee released a statement highlighting a Trentonian article that outlined Muoio and five other Mercer County heads illegally received raises twice in 2016. Muoio earned a salary of $144,696 as the county’s economic development director.
“Muoio is a longtime Trenton insider and pension double dipper who recently received an illegal taxpayer raise in her position as Mercer County’s Economic Development and Sustainability Director,” NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt said, noting her nomination is a “disappointing indicator” as to the direction of the Murphy administration. “While Muoio has served in various insider government positions since 2001, Mercer County taxes have gone up by more than $70 million...Given her record, Liz Muoio is not the right person to stand watch over New Jersey’s fiscal future as the State’s Treasurer.”
Muoio was also a member of a nonprofit board that initially funded the Friends of Mercer County Parks, a fundraising arm of the Park Commission with a notorious history.
In October, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office charged former Mercer County Park Commission Executive Director Kevin Bannon with using the nonprofit as a “slush fund” and arranging unauthorized benefits for himself, his family and others at the county’s expense.
Muoio was the secretary of the now-defunct Mercer County Sports and Entertainment Commission when the nonprofit approved two donations totaling $46,000 to be rolled over to the Friends of Mercer County Parks in 2013.
“There is absolutely nothing that would lead me to believe that there’s anything that can upset Liz Muoio and her responsibilities as a director of economic development for the county,” Hughes said in defense of Muoio. “She had absolutely nothing to do with any of the allegations that are out there.”
The state’s next treasurer will face tough challenges as the budget outlook is grim.
“We know the challenges that have brought us to this point and we know that this was not a situation that was created overnight nor one that can be laid at the feet of any particular person or group,” said Muoio, who holds a law degree from Georgetown University. “We all share in the responsibility and we all must be part of the solution.”
Signaling his intentions, the incoming governor already outlined he will raise taxes. He did not shy away from that stance when asked on Wednesday.
“I don’t know we’ll ever have within us the low-cost place to live or do business but I do believe we have within us, and I think Liz shares this with great passion, that we can once again be the good-value-formoney state,” Murphy said, pointing to states like California and Massachusetts. “Folks are willing to enter into a bargain financially where they may pay a premium, whether it’s a business or a person, but they get a rich basket of stuff back.”
Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs executive who is loaded, said tax cuts for the “big and powerful” will not occur under his tenure and the wealthiest will “pay their fair share.”
“It’s time that we don’t just have a balanced budget but a budget that holds our values in balance,” Murphy said. “I also asked Liz to join our cabinet because we also need to grow our economy so that we can achieve the strength and fairness that our state desperately needs. Being treasurer is more than just crunching the numbers come budget time. It also entails being on the leading edge of economic policies that will support the middle class and the dreams of those to get into the middle class.”
By accepting the treasurer role, Muoio vacated her Assembly seat.
Muoio’s former boss may again play a crucial role in endorsing someone for the job.
“There’s going to be a lot of people who are interested in the legislative seat,” Hughes said. “It’s one of the premier seats in the state of New Jersey and I imagine we’re going to have a lot of folks interested in it. In fact, my phone’s been ringing off the hook all day.”
Hughes, a kingmaker in the region, would not go on the record regarding who he’s willing to support.