One Big Happy Family in Atlantic City

Operative Adam Alonso with Governor Murphy.
Operative Adam Alonso with Governor Murphy.

Dinner with Governor Phil Murphy last night featured county and state chairs.

Both Chairman Jones and Currie were present.

No one stormed out of the room.

“There was a lot of love, actually,” Phil Swibinski told InsiderNJ.

The governor tweeted the above picture of himself behind-the-scenes with establishment party leaders.

Those present at the dinner included Union County Democratic Committee Chairman Nick Scutari, Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, and Hudson County Democratic Organization Chair Amy DeGise.

Bergen County Democratic Committee Paul Juliano was there, too.

He might have been the most sought-after man in Atlantic City.

The mood of the event seemed to theatrically blot out the backroom ill will between the Norcross wing of the party and the Murphy wing of the party.

“I want to add to Speaker Coughlin’s house,” Currie gushed.

He can’t honestly mean he wants to augment the same Democratic super majority that voted against Murphy’s millionaire’s tax, presumably with new faces and the same commitment to bucking the grinning gov.

But he did say it.

That was the mood, where leaders drove – with Speaker Nancy Pelosi the evening draw and impeachment prodding the wheels onward through the swamp – to this fast-expanding party conference of friends, even if they’re political enemies.

An insider went so far as to offer the following on the import of the dinner:

“If Murphy gets through without a challenge and wins a second term; you will be able to chart that success from last night and this convention,” said the source. “He is quietly putting any chance of opposition to bed.”

The same source submitted this spin down:

  1. Hosted by Guv; First Lady and Chair Currie and Vice Chair Schaffer ( all four spoke briefly) 
  2. Guv, Tammy and Chairman Currie each “hosted” a table 
  3. about 50 attendees including some state legislators ( Weinberg and Scutari stayed for dinner; Gopal stopped in and paid his respects but did not stay for dinner) 
  4. Clear majority of county chairs including Chairman Jones, Hudson, Bergen. 
  5. Included COS for both Guv and First lady; George and Stephanie; key fundraisers and opinion leaders from all parts of the state; north, central and south well represented 
  6. Guv very upbeat and loose 
  7. Nothing but confidence and positive feelings 
  8. Guv very upbeat about having Pelosi at this historic time 
  9. All the chairs took a picture together with Jones and Currie in the front 
  10. Evening ended with a new chair (Sussex County Chair Katie Rotondi) and a Murphy staffer doing an improv comedy bit with the staffer being the Governor and the chair being “George” on “ how much they agree on things” 
  11. Had the feel of a post election victory dinner 
  12. No sense of concern and also no spiking of the ball; Just Murphy being Murphy; cordial , funny , upbeat about the future of the NJ Democratic party. 
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