It's a New Dawn, It's a New Day for NJ, and I Feel Good!

If you don't know Nina Simone, you don't have a pulse. Listen to the lyrics. Feel the passion. What an incredible talent, gone too soon.

As I sat here this morning, reading my newspaper (yes, I do still read the paper every day. If you're not sure what it is, google it.), and scrolling my Twitter feed, this song popped into my head because my new governor, Phil Murphy, was all over both, doing good things for New Jersey. 

The long, dark reign of Emperor Christie is over. I wrote about all the ways he screwed us in my farewell to him (and in many other posts along the way). There's a new kid in town: Phil Murphy. What a breath of fresh air! In the scant four weeks he has been in office, he has done all this (in no particular order):

• Signed an executive order giving equal pay to women (his first official act after being sworn in)
• Re-entered NJ in the multi-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)
• Supported undocumented immigrants who were given sanctuary at a local church after others were arrested by ICE agents as they dropped their children off at school. 
• Appointed a real, live educator with decades of experience as the next Commissioner of Education. One of his campaign promises was to ditch PARCC. Too late to make that happen this year, but every reason to expect this year will be its swan song.
• Signed an executive order to protect Net Neutrality in NJ
• Ordered the expansion of medical marijuana—something that Christie signed into law, but made almost impossible to access
• Joined 14 other states in the fight against Trump's transgender military ban
• Ditched right-leaning, public-employee-bashing NJ101.5 in favor of News 12 New Jersey and public broadcasting for monthly 'Ask the Governor' broadcasts*
• Joined the governors of Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware to ban fracking on the Delaware River
• Signed an executive order to bring off-shore wind industry to the state
• Ordered an audit of the beleagured NJ Transit
• Joined 19 other states in fighting the Koch Brothers-backed Janus case that threatens public sector labor unions
• Joined 15 other states in a federal lawsuit to support Dreamers
• Vowed to roll back Christie's concealed carry regulations that made it easier for people to carry a handgun
• Joined with Connecticut and New York to challenge Trump's unfair tax law
• Signed an executive order aimed at saving the Affordable Care Act in NJ
• Ordered an audit of the NJ Tax Incentive Program Christie Corporate Welfare Program that gave over $8 billion in corporate tax breaks over the past eight years
• Supports a 'clean' $15/hour minimum wage bill
• Joined nine other states in suing Trump's EPA roll-back of Obama-era clean water regulations

No doubt Phil Murphy will make mistakes. He's human. No doubt he will not be able to make good on every, single campaign promise. No politician does. But so far, he is a breath of fresh air for a battle-weary state.

Yes, indeed, it's a new dawn, it's a new day and I feel good!

Adding... I think it's pretty safe to say we won't be seeing anything like this...

Public beach closed to all but Christie & family

Or this...

Using a state helicopter to attend son's baseball game

from Governor Murphy. 

* This article goes on to say:

Murphy rejected a different offer that would have broadcast the program free to all television sets in New Jersey. A spokesman for Murphy declined to comment. 

News 12 does not reach all New Jerseyans, but neither did New Jersey 101.5, whose signal is either spotty or non-existent in the state’s southern and northern extremities — including some of the most populous areas of North Jersey. News 12 is available only to cable subscribers and Verizon Fios customers do not receive its broadcasts. But, like New Jersey 101.5 did with Christie, the program will be streamed free online, according to the source.