>> will new jersey stay red or go blue? "inside story" starts right now. ♪ good morning, everyone. i'm matt o'donnell. it is sunday, october 29, 2017. let us meet our insiders of the week. david dix -- government relations executive. good morning, david. >> good to be here. thank you. >> jan ting -- law professor. >> hey, matt. >> good morning, jan. >> rich negrin -- attorney. >> hey, matt. >> good morning, rich. and christine flowers -- attorney/journalist. >> happy halloween weekend. >> yes, it's coming up soon. now, new jersey voters will select a new governor next week. that's coming up soon, too. their choices are quite different. we have a man, a woman; a democrat, a republican; a somewhat political novice, a lieutenant governor; a former wall street banker, a former sheriff; a progressive who plans to raises taxes, a conservation who wants to cut them. that's pretty good distinction right there. now, two new polls put democrat phil murphy way ahead in his

race against republican kim guadagno, but murphy's candidacy hasn't necessarily created a huge amount of excitement, despite help from presidents obama and clinton and also hillary clinton, the runner-up in 2016. and listen to this. perhaps the starkest contrast is from the newark "star-ledger" in its endorsement, quote, "our choice is democrat phil murphy by default." [ laughter ] "he has profound weaknesses, starting with his lack of political experience and his ferocious loyalty to public worker unions." it goes on to talk about his opponent. the newark "star-ledger" continues, "but lieutenant governor kim guadagno, the republican candidate, is the worst nominee of either major party to come along in decades." now, i'm sure that people out there are saying "the star-ledger" has a certain slant about this. no surprise it picks murphy. but, jan, how do you think about a paper going out and saying, "he's the best worstest candidate right now"? >> well, i hope it helps kim guadagno. i think she's a female candidate

fighting an uphill battle against a rich guy. and i think she hasn't hit him hard enough. she should've been hitting him as another goldman sachs multimillionaire trying to seek office in new jersey. they're seen that before in new jersey. i'm glad she's hitting him hard on sanctuary cities and sanctuary state. i think that's an issue that republicans get traction. but is it too little, too late? that's the question. and -- but you know what? i mean, after the polls failed in 2016, you can't predict for sure that that polling is accurate, so... >> i knew someone was gonna mention that. >> so, i think she's got a shot. and i'm glad she's hitting him hard on immigration issues. >> christine. >> i just -- i agree with absolutely everything that jan just said, but the interesting thing is, you mentioned -- obviously -- you mentioned -- it's obvious -- she's a woman. she hasn't played on that. that hasn't been an element. >> why? why do you think? >> i really don't know, except

for the fact that i think that she's just trying to get people to focus on her as someone separate and apart from chris christie. she wears the baggage, the anchor of chris christie, around her neck, unfortunately. >> mm-hmm. >> his, you know, favorable ratings are so low. that's really the only reason that the challenger, you know, that the democrat is actually going to get any traction here. it's not because people are so enamored of him. he's gonna raise taxes. they're gonna go back to the old days of, you know, tax and spend. and new jersey doesn't really want that, but they were so upset with what happened with chris christie, especially in the waning days of that campaign with president trump and what have you. so, i really don't know why she hasn't been focusing on her female presence. >> mm-hmm. >> i'm actually glad, because i hate identity politics, but i just found it to be really interesting that she -- you know, it would be the first time -- well, no, not the first time -- christine whitman --

but, in a long time, there hasn't been a strong female figure in new jersey, and she just hasn't played on it. >> rich, david, do you think this all just goes back to governor christie here -- that's what this election is all about? >> you know, i think it's telling that donald trump has spent -- what? -- 70 days on a golf course in new jersey and hasn't stood next to her for a reason -- that she's a long shot. >> her relationship with governor christie may have something to do with it, right? >> exactly right. but he's also up by 16 points, murphy, and he's outraising her almost 2 to 1. she has no chance to win, and i think folks know that. >> yeah, i mean, we talk about the polling. he's at 16 points, 20 points, i've heard. phil murphy is beating the lieutenant governor among women, to christine's point. so, i mean, he's really running away with this. the interesting point about phil murphy is that he is has really built what i consider to be nontraditional alliances with the philadelphia community. he has a long-standing relationship, obviously, with governor rendell from their times at the dnc where rendell was dnc chair and phil murphy was the finance chairman. raised $300 million. but he's really gone across and

kind of built some nontraditional alliances in philadelphia, and i hope that that has some real fruit come next year. >> i want to talk about the polls. quinnipiac university says that women voters, 65% to 29%, murphy to guadagno, a woman. >> right. >> 29%. fairleigh dickinson university poll -- 14% of registered republicans in new jersey who are likely to vote, registered republicans, say they are now democrats. >> mm. mm. >> and the article that is in this on nj.com suggests that president trump has something to do with pushing people away from republicans. do you think that's true in new jersey? >> yeah, the fact that trump and guadagno haven't made joint appearances may not be because of trump's choice. it's may be guadagno's choice... >> oh, yeah. >> ...that she sees the downside of making that parallel. but i think she's right to hit on the issues. i think sanctuary cities is a hot issue in new jersey. they had a scandal in middlesex county where that sanctuary-city policy resulted in the release of convicted

criminals on the street that ice had to go out and apprehend on the street. it endangers public safety. it endangers the law-enforcement officers that have to go out and find these people. and as we all know here in philadelphia, when you have to make a street arrest, anything can happen. and there are bad consequences that flow from the fact that we're not gonna hand these people over in a safe, secure setting. we're gonna make law-enforcement officers go out onto the street and make a street arrest. that is a bad policy. and phil murphy supports that policy, wants to expand it in new jersey, and turn new jersey into a sanctuary state. and kim guadagno is right to take him on on that. you know, it's her best shot. >> mm-hmm. >> yeah. >> sanctuary cities? taxes? anyone want to comment on this? >> i just don't think it's fair to say that phil murphy doesn't have experience, you know? he was ambassador to germany under president obama. >> yeah. >> he has significant experience, and i think he'll carry that into his time as governor. it's very clear he's running away with this. the lieutenant governor, i mean, i don't know what she could do at this point to kind of tighten

this race up a little bit, but... >> they do have a really great commercial, though, with a teacher, the guadagno commercial, with the teacher in a classroom and all these really fresh-faced little kids, and basically saying, "and what will phil murphy do?" well, the little kids are -- you know, "what will phil murphy tax?" and the little kids raise their hands. "everything?" "my house." [ laughter ] "lunch." "this." and it's really great. it's really effective because you see these -- you know, from the mouths of babes, you see the truth -- this is going to be a return to the old corzine days and, you know, the florio days. this is going to be a tax-and-spend governor. and, you know, it's unfortunate. we talked about donald trump. i really think that, again, the anchor around guadagno's neck is chris christie. and i loved christie. but his star sunk so deeply. >> sure. >> you don't see her attaching herself to him. you see the murphy campaign having, you know, all of these photo ops and these photos of guadagno next to christie, so it really does appear that --

and that's, i think, why women, also, are not coming out in droves for her, because they associate her with trump, as well. >> election day -- a week from tuesday, and we also have an election going on in philadelphia. "inside story" is getting into the race for philadelphia district attorney -- not personally, but we are proud to announce that we will host a "candidates forum" for republican beth grossman and democrat larry krasner next week at this same time slot. we'll try and address all the issues. now, coincidentally, and we'll get to this race in a moment, but i just want to mention that a federal judge just gave ex-d.a. seth williams the maximum five-year sentence for his guilty plea on a single corruption charge. the judge would not even let williams see his own mom before his prison term began. the judge noted that he also stole from her. so, again, we'll get to the d.a.'s race in a moment, but anyone want to jump in here about how the williams case will impact what people do, in terms of whether they vote for krasner or grossman a week from tuesday? >> i don't know that the williams case is gonna have an

impact on the election. it's just sad, you know? >> yeah. >> to see someone -- you talk about christie's political decline. i don't think anybody in philadelphia in recent history has had the precipitous decline that seth williams has had, and it's ended up with him, you know, being sentenced for five years in jail. >> anyone surprised by that? that's the maximum. >> no. >> no. >> and i feel -- i agree with david. you know, and i've been very critical of him in the past for a lot of reasons, but it really broke my heart -- the fact that he's going away. his mother's dying, and, i mean [scoffs] i would have thought that it would've been, you know, compassionate to allow him to see his mother one last time before he went away, because she's not gonna be able to go and visit him wherever he's gonna be sent. so for all of my criticism of him, and for all of the -- you know, that he deserves this punishment, it really is -- it's a terrible ending for such a once-bright career. >> and real quick, before we get to the issues here... >> i don't think it's a secret that beth grossman would have run as a democrat, challenging seth williams if he had stayed in the race.

and she only switched to republican because, when seth williams pulled himself out, a whole bunch of democrats jumped in. and that made it a completely different ball game. and so, she's running as a republican. she's run a great campaign, i think, as another insurgent, long-shot republican taking on a heavily favored democrat. what's the registration ratio? 7 to 1 or something like that? >> there are more independents... >> right, right. >> ...than republicans registered in philadelphia. >> but, you know, she not only got "the philadelphia inquirer" endorsement -- she's got the endorsement of all the public-safety unions -- not just the fop, but the firefighters, the paramedics, the transit police. she's run a great campaign. and she's got a shot at this, so... >> larry krasner has the guardian civic league, which is composed of black officers in the city of philadelphia. also, i'll just rattle off a bunch of issues here, and you can jump in -- police brutality, police safety, the opioid epidemic, which we've talked about a couple weeks ago, political corruption, the homicide rates,

suspension of the death penalty, sanctuary cities -- big in philadelphia -- and each individual's own qualifications. maybe we can talk about krasner, who has never served as a prosecutor. >> yeah, i think it's disturbing, matt. and i made this point as clear as i could during the campaign when i ran for d.a. we have a choice here between an experienced former prosecutor who's a republican but used to be a democrat and was a part of the civil forfeiture problem that we have in philadelphia, so she's a flawed candidate in many ways, and the choice with, really is not a democrat, which is kind of a socialist, rather extreme liberal side, who has no prosecutorial experience and is funded by a citizens united super pac by george soros. we get the politics we deserve in philadelphia. this is a dichotomy of candidates that is really disturbing for me. when you look at the issues, and i think black lives matter is a great example -- for some people, and i think krasner's one of these people, black lives matter means police brutality and police shooting of unarmed men. and i think that's true, and i

agree -- black lives matter. "black lives matter" also matter around, are they getting the right educational opportunities? are they getting the right jobs? are we doing what we can around our poverty rate? he hasn't done anything on any of those things. he doesn't have any experience working on any of those things. "black lives matter" need to really matter every day -- when they're kids, when they're not in contact with police, when they're in school, when they need resources. let's make black and brown lives matter in philadelphia. >> and you at home, remember, rich did run during the primary season of the democratic primary. there's not a lot of spending in these races. >> no. >> we know that. it's not like the governor's race, where you can see them on tv. where is beth grossman's in? she has the fop. does that get -- somehow get out the vote? >> i think she's done a whole lot with a little. >> yeah. >> to get to this point now, to be a democrat at this time last year and now be poised with the endorsements from the "inquirer" and other organizations. the interesting part to me, to the point of both these candidates is the lack of real coordination among state party infrastructure, field infrastructure. >> yeah, that's a great point.

>> i mean, both candidates, although they're their party's nominee, have kind of been like, you know, embraced a very, very long-term process, and they haven't fully been embraced. and particularly with beth, i haven't seen the state republican party see this as a real opportunity to strike and put the resources behind her, the field infrastructure behind her to have her be successful next week, and the same -- same can be said for larry krasner, who's kind of just making amends, getting some of the unions on board, getting some of the traditional party infrastructure on board, but really hasn't been fully embraced by -- either hasn't been fully embraced by their parties. >> it's almost been too quiet, right? >> david makes that important point. it has been quiet. and you said -- you talked about independents being -- there are more registered independents in philadelphia than republicans. i think that that might help beth grossman, because i believe that independents are -- and from what rich said -- and can i say that i'm very sad that rich is at the table right now, but, you know, take that as you will. i think that there are a lot of people out there who would gravitate toward a former

democrat, now republican, who has been doing a lot of outreach in minority communities, who really does get what the prosecutor's office needs. and i think, you know, just because you don't happen to be a registered democrat, you have that sort of like affinity for someone who really has worked very hard for the vote. i don't think larry krasner has been working very hard. i think larry krasner has been riding this progressive wave, this anti-trump wave, this soros wave, and i really think that, when i see people out there, the grassroots, working, i see beth grossman. and the "inquirer" saw that, too. and that's pretty darn amazing that they -- you know, they endorsed a republican candidate for district attorney. >> we have about 30 seconds left, but what you just described, christine -- i'm seeing parallels in the 2016 presidential race, don't you think? >> yeah. >> sort of resting, not seeing this groundswell of support, that -- you go to every single small community -- there's "trump" signs. and here, as you described, you

think larry krasner's skating in and beth grossman's doing all the work. >> i wouldn't say larry krasner's skating in. i mean, he won a very difficult primary in the spring. and, you know, he's built coalitions that i've never seen in the city before. so, you know, it looks like he's going to be successful next week. i think we can do well as philadelphians to try to embrace him to be successful. but, you know, either -- both candidates have been slow to be accepted by their party infrastructure, and i think that's gonna bear out. >> we look forward to hearing from both candidates next week, right here on "inside story." we'll be right back. >> 6abc's "inside story" is presented by temple university. ♪ steve sweeney's negative headlines keep piling up. why are south jerseyans so angry at sweeney?

sweeney repeatedly sided with chris christie to underfund south jersey schools, increase standardized testing like parcc, cut take-home pay for teachers, and broke his promise to fund the pensions of hundreds of thousands of new jerseyans- all while padding his own. steve sweeney says a lot of things. but the truth is, he's not on our side. after 8 years of chris christie, is kim guadagno the change

new jersey really needs? guadagno is christie's hand-picked successor. says she's "proud to be part of the christie administration." guadagno was chris christie's right hand as our schools came under attack, critical services were underfunded, and our credit rating was downgraded...11 times. from the bridge to the beach, we've seen it all, and we've had enough. kim guadagno isn't the change we need.

♪ >> back with "inside story." two political strategists for a philadelphia congressman are charged with campaign wrongdoing. ken smukler and donald jones -- they both worked for congressman bob brady -- pleaded not guilty in federal court to charges that they tried to pay off a brady primary challenger not to run with a $90,000 payment. now, after the initial hearing, both men did not deny they paid the potential brady opponent, who was former judge jimmie moore, but added neither did anything illegal. brady, by the way, himself is not charged with a crime, but our attorneys who are here -- do you buy the defense that paying off opponents the way they did it and kind of hiding the money is not illegal in campaign laws? >> well, i think congressman brady has to be concerned with what's going on behind the scenes, and that is

the prosecutors are trying to get these former aides to spill the beans on everything that happened. and, you know, what beans are out there remains to be seen. i -- we all know the lawyer representing congressman brady. but it's got to be a concern, i think. >> what's on the table is -- i mean, you know, buying poll data and information is not illegal, but jan is right in saying that's just really the tip of the iceberg. we don't know what's going on. and, you know, and smukler has -- he's been very, very -- i don't want to say "defiant," but he's gonna defend his rights. >> in a way, he has, yes. >> he's not taking a plea, so you have to wonder what's gonna happen there. it's -- you know, it's a very volatile situation. but as far as what's on the table about buying the poll data -- that's not illegal. >> matt, we're not serious about ethics in philadelphia. we talk about it all the time. we just talked about seth williams and five years. in three months, it'll be something else. this continues to happen in

philadelphia and pennsylvania, for that matter. we started an independent ethics board here roughly around 12 years ago. i was a founding member of that board. mayor street appointed me to that, and we got started. that board looks exactly the same today as it did back 12 years ago. it hasn't grown. there are about three people, two investigators, and their budget has gone down every single year. city council has reduced their budget. we should look at that. we need an ethics board with teeth. we need an ethics board that's engaged. if we want to get serious about any priority, you look at your budget, and you look at where you're putting your priorities. we're not prioritizing ethics reform, and we're not making a difference around integrity. we talk a good game about it, but we're not doing it here in philadelphia. >> i'm gonna give you first dibs on this next one, david. the eagles face the lowly 49ers today. >> [ chuckling ] nice. >> 0-5, are they? >> he's not watching football. >> how are they doing, dave? >> and if you watch the show, you know why. we won't get into that. [ laughter ] but right after their victory over washington last week, you know, three eagles -- torrey smith, malcolm jenkins, and chris long -- traveled to harrisburg to meet with state lawmakers. they're seeking criminal justice

reforms, including this one, which i want you to talk about now -- wiping a person's criminal record after 10 years of good behavior, with the thought that the past should not prevent that person from reforming their lives, but, also, potentially being hired by an employer. what are the pros and cons here, david, of enacting that? >> well, let me start with the pro of these nfl players beinge. >> mm. >> when they went through the capitol on tuesday, they were ostensibly rock stars. and whether you're republicans or democrats, everybody wanted their picture with them. everybody wanted, you know, to spend time or get an autograph with them. and their ability to use those opportunities to advocate for something as important as criminal justice reform was really special to me. i have the g serving on the philadelphia community college foundation board with malcolm jenkins. and he is, one, an incredible board member, but someone who i've come to know as being an incredible leader and someone who i expect to see more of this in the future. tuesday, was incredible, had great results.

you had republicans who, technically, would not be for something like this saying, "i can sign on because you've advocated." it's just all good, you know? this is really all good to see those eagles after a big victory take the time to get up and get on the train to harrisburg. and their advocacy was well-received. and, you know, i can see changes coming, especially to that expungement bill. >> 10 years, rich -- is that long enough to consider someone -- we don't need to know about your history anymore? >> yeah. you know what? matt, for nonviolent offenses, i absolutely agree. i think 10 years -- i mean, for whether theft or something minor, i think it's absolutely right. let me just say how proud i am of the philadelphia eagles, not just because they're 6-1, but because, if you look at -- to david's point, they're setting a gold standard on character in the nfl right now, which i think is really incredible. malcolm and his activity -- if you look at carson wentz and his character and his leadership in only his second year -- it's easy to forget that he's only a second-year quarterback. and chris long donating his entire salary to education and making a difference.

these eagles are extraordinary, not just on the field, but off the field, and i think it's amazing. >> the other thing that's amazing is the bipartisan coalescence around criminal justice reform. >> yeah. >> right. >> that's amazing. the clean slate act that these players were advocating for passed the state senate unanimously. >> yeah. >> right? with nobody voting against. so that's just a remarkable accomplishment, following up on the war on crime and the war on drugs and all these other wars that we have. >> let's get them involved in healthcare... >> yeah. >> ...and taxes and... >> and, you know, i've been a critic of the taking the kneel and the symbolism, but i have to say, what malcolm jenkins, what chris long -- what these guys are doing -- they're really -- they're walking the walk and not just talking the talk. >> yeah. >> and that's extremely important. i think 10 years is more than enough. i mean, we're talking about -- they would be able to apply for expungement, anyway, but we're talking about not having them have to jump through all of those hoops -- it just happens, because 10 years is a chunk of your life.

and if you've been walking the straight and narrow, you should be able to have that clean slate. it should be an etch a sketch. >> should malcolm jenkins negotiate to try and get a resolution to the budget stalemate in pennsylvania? [ laughter ] >> i think, you know, considering how well he did on tuesday, he -- and, you know, i don't think it's any coincidence that he was up there on tuesday and, you know, by wednesday night into thursday, they were able to come to some resolution on that. >> x's and o's, budget -- it's all the same. >> yeah. >> "inside stories of the week" coming up. ♪

a bridge shut down over politics. their biggest triumph was a traffic jam. chris christie and kim guadagno's failures after 8 years- incomes are down, shorcosts are up andure. our economy is crawling.ett. i'm phil murphy together we'll build a stronger, fairer economy that works for every new jersey family. christie and guadagno left new jersey stuck. i'm serious about moving new jersey forward.

n. he's a husband, father, veteran... but most of l, he's a fighter. chris brown has never been afraid to take on the big fights. that's why he stood up to republicans and democrats alike to fight the north jersey casinos d tic city. chris brown is fighting to protect jobs in our region... true champion for the working men and women of atlantic county. on november 7th, let's keep him fighting for us. chris brown for state senate, he's on our side. >> 6abc's "inside story" is presented by temple university. >> "inside stories of the week." we start with david. >> so, i'm hearing that there's gonna be a really quick change in the governance of the school reform commission. that's gonna lay at the feet of