Race against republican kim guadagno, but murphys candidacy hasnt necessarily created a huge amount of excitement, despite help from president s obama and clinton and also hillary clinton, the runnerup in 2016. And listen to this. Perhaps the starkest contrast is from the newark starledger 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 starledger continues, but Lieutenant Governor kim guadagno, the republican candidate, is the worst nominee of either major party to come along in decades. Now, im sure that people out there are saying the starledger has a certain slant about this. No surprise it picks murphy. But, jan, how do you think about a paper going out and saying, hes the best worstest candidate right now . Well, i hope it helps kim guadagno. I think shes a female candidate fighting an uphill battle against a rich guy. And i think she hasnt hit him hard enough. She shouldve been hitting him as another Goldman Sachs multimillionaire trying to seek office in new jersey. Theyre seen that before in new jersey. Im glad shes hitting him hard on sanctuary cities and sanctuary state. I think thats an issue that republicans get traction. But is it too little, too late . Thats the question. And but you know what . I mean, after the polls failed in 2016, you cant predict for sure that that polling is accurate, so. I knew someone was gonna mention that. So, i think shes got a shot. And im glad shes 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 its obvious shes a woman. She hasnt played on that. That hasnt been an element. Why . Why do you think . I really dont know, except for the fact that i think that shes 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. Mmhmm. His, you know, favorable ratings are so low. Thats really the only reason that the challenger, you know, that the democrat is actually going to get any traction here. Its not because people are so enamored of him. Hes gonna raise taxes. Theyre gonna go back to the old days of, you know, tax and spend. And new jersey doesnt 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 dont know why she hasnt been focusing on her female presence. Mmhmm. Im 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 hasnt been a Strong Female figure in new jersey, and she just hasnt played on it. Rich, david, do you think this all just goes back to governor christie here thats what this election is all about . You know, i think its telling that donald trump has spent what . 70 days on a golf course in new jersey and hasnt stood next to her for a reason that shes a long shot. Her relationship with governor christie may have something to do with it, right . Exactly right. But hes also up by 16 points, murphy, and hes 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. Hes at 16 points, 20 points, ive heard. Phil murphy is beating the Lieutenant Governor among women, to christines point. So, i mean, hes 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 longstanding 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 hes 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 thats true in new jersey . Yeah, the fact that trump and guadagno havent made joint appearances may not be because of trumps choice. Its may be guadagnos choice. Oh, yeah. That she sees the downside of making that parallel. But i think shes 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 sanctuarycity 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 lawenforcement 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 were not gonna hand these people over in a safe, secure setting. Were gonna make lawenforcement 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, its her best shot. Mmhmm. Yeah. Sanctuary cities . Taxes . Anyone want to comment on this . I just dont think its fair to say that phil murphy doesnt have experience, you know . He was ambassador to germany under president obama. Yeah. He has significant experience, and i think hell carry that into his time as governor. Its very clear hes running away with this. The Lieutenant Governor, i mean, i dont 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 freshfaced 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 its really great. Its 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 taxandspend governor. And, you know, its unfortunate. We talked about donald trump. I really think that, again, the anchor around guadagnos neck is Chris Christie. And i loved christie. But his star sunk so deeply. Sure. You dont 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 thats, 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. Well try and address all the issues. Now, coincidentally, and well get to this race in a moment, but i just want to mention that a federal judge just gave exd. A. Seth williams the maximum fiveyear 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, well 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 dont know that the williams case is gonna have an impact on the election. Its just sad, you know . Yeah. To see someone you talk about christies political decline. I dont think anybody in philadelphia in recent history has had the precipitous decline that Seth Williams has had, and its ended up with him, you know, being sentenced for five years in jail. Anyone surprised by that . Thats the maximum. No. No. And i feel i agree with david. You know, and ive been very critical of him in the past for a lot of reasons, but it really broke my heart the fact that hes going away. His mothers dying, and, i mean [scoffs] i would have thought that it wouldve been, you know, compassionate to allow him to see his mother one last time before he went away, because shes not gonna be able to go and visit him wherever hes 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 its a terrible ending for such a oncebright career. And real quick, before we get to the issues here. I dont think its 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, shes running as a republican. Shes run a great campaign, i think, as another insurgent, longshot republican taking on a heavily favored democrat. Whats 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 shes got the endorsement of all the publicsafety unions not just the fop, but the firefighters, the paramedics, the transit police. Shes run a great campaign. And shes 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, ill just rattle off a bunch of issues here, and you can jump in Police Brutality, police safety, the opioid epidemic, which weve talked about a couple weeks ago, political corruption, the homicide rates, suspension of the death penalty, sanctuary cities big in philadelphia and each individuals own qualifications. Maybe we can talk about krasner, who has never served as a prosecutor. Yeah, i think its 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 whos a republican but used to be a democrat and was a part of the civil forfeiture problem that we have in philadelphia, so shes 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 krasners one of these people, black lives matter means Police Brutality and Police Shooting of unarmed men. And i think thats 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 hasnt done anything on any of those things. He doesnt have any experience working on any of those things. Black lives matter need to really matter every day when theyre kids, when theyre not in contact with police, when theyre in school, when they need resources. Lets make black and brown lives matter in philadelphia. And you at home, remember, rich did run during the primary season of the democratic primary. Theres not a lot of spending in these races. No. We know that. Its not like the governors race, where you can see them on tv. Where is Beth Grossmans in . She has the fop. Does that get somehow get out the vote . I think shes 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, thats a great point. I mean, both candidates, although theyre their partys nominee, have kind of been like, you know, embraced a very, very longterm process, and they havent fully been embraced. And particularly with beth, i havent 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, whos kind of just making amends, getting some of the unions on board, getting some of the Traditional Party infrastructure on board, but really hasnt been fully embraced by either hasnt been fully embraced by their parties. Its 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 im 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 Prosecutors Office needs. And i think, you know, just because you dont 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 dont think Larry Krasner has been working very hard. I think Larry Krasner has been riding this progressive wave, this antitrump 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 thats 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 im seeing parallels in the 2016 president ial race, dont you think . Yeah. Sort of resting, not seeing this groundswell of support, that you go to every single Small Community theres trump signs. And here, as you described, you think Larry Krasners skating in and Beth Grossmans doing all the work. I wouldnt say Larry Krasners skating in. I mean, he won a very difficult primary in the spring. And, you know, hes built coalitions that ive never seen in the city before. So, you know, it looks like hes 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 thats gonna bear out. We look forward to hearing from both candidates next week, right here on inside story. Well be right back. 6abcs inside story is presented by temple university. Steve sweeneys 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 takehome 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, hes not on our side. After 8 years of Chris Christie, is kim guadagno the change new jersey really needs . Guadagno is christies handpicked successor. Says shes proud to be part of the christie administration. Guadagno was Chris Christies 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, weve seen it all, and weve had enough. Kim guadagno isnt 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 whats 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 its got to be a concern, i think. Whats on the table is i mean, you know, buying poll data and information is not illegal, but jan is right in saying thats just really the tip of the iceberg. We dont know whats going on. And, you know, and smukler has hes been very, very i dont want to say defiant, but hes gonna defend his rights. In a way, he has, yes. Hes not taking a plea, so you have to wonder whats gonna happen there. Its you know, its a very volatile situation. But as far as whats on the table about buying the poll data thats not illegal. Matt, were 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, itll 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 hasnt 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 thats engaged. If we want to get serious about any priority, you look at your budget, and you look at where youre putting your priorities. Were not prioritizing ethics reform, and were not making a difference around integrity. We talk a good game about it, but were not doing it here in philadelphia. Im gonna give you first dibs on this next one, david. The eagles face the lowly 49ers today. [ chuckling ] nice. 05, are they . Hes not watching football. How are they doing, dave . And if you watch the show, you know why. We wont 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. Theyre seeking criminal Justice Reforms, including this one, which i want you to talk about now wiping a persons 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 youre 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 CommunityCollege Foundation board with Malcolm Jenkins. And he is, one, an incredible board member, but someone who ive 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 youve advocated. Its 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 wellreceived. And, you know, i can see changes coming, especially to that expungement bill. 10 years, rich is that long enough to consider someone we dont 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 its absolutely right. Let me just say how proud i am of the philadelphia eagles, not just because theyre 61, but because, if you look at to davids point, theyre 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 its easy to forget that hes only a secondyear 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 its amazing. The other thing thats amazing is the bipartisan coalescence around criminal Justice Reform. Yeah. Right. Thats amazing. The clean slate act that these players were advocating for passed the state senate unanimously. Yeah. Right . With nobody voting against. So thats just a remarkable accomplishment, following up on the war on crime and the war on drugs and all these other wars that we have. Lets get them involved in healthcare. Yeah. And taxes and. And, you know, ive 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 theyre really theyre walking the walk and not just talking the talk. Yeah. And thats extremely important. I think 10 years is more than enough. I mean, were talking about they would be able to apply for expungement, anyway, but were 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 youve 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 dont think its 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. Xs and os, budget its 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 guadagnos failures after 8 years incomes are down, shorcosts are up andure. Our economy is crawling. Ett. Im phil murphy together well build a stronger, fairer economy that works for every new jersey family. Christie and guadagno left new jersey stuck. Im serious about moving new jersey forward. N. Hes a husband, father, veteran. But most of l, hes a fighter. Chris brown has never been afraid to take on the big fights. Thats 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, lets keep him fighting for us. Chris brown for state senate, hes on our side. 6abcs inside story is presented by temple university. Inside stories of the week. We start with david. So, im hearing that theres gonna be a really quick change in the governance of the School Reform commission. Thats gonna lay at the feet of