TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Democratic Rep. Donald Norcross is trying to downplay his role in creating a controversial tax incentive program that is roiling state politics — a program that benefited a company and nonprofit run by and tied to his brother, South Jersey Democratic power broker George Norcross, and that generated business for a law firm run by his other brother, Philip.
Donald Norcross has maintained in recent months that, as a state senator, he was just one of dozens of co-sponsors of the bill that created the Economic Opportunity Act of 2013. While it’s true Donald Norcross was one of more than three dozen lawmakers who either sponsored or co-sponsored the final legislation, statements issued by his office now stand in stark contrast to the way he and his representatives talked about his role a few years ago.
“[The congressman] remains proud of the fact that he joined with almost every other member of the Legislature to support a program that is bringing so much positive change to Camden,” Dan Fee, a spokesperson for Donald Norcross, said in a recent statement to POLITICO. (A request for comment from Donald Norcross sent directly to his main campaign press email was answered by Fee.)
But in a February 2014 press release, Donald Norcross boasted that he had “led the charge” in getting the now-controversial bill passed.
When POLITICO, in an article published in January, cited Donald Norcross’ own words, his attorney pushed back aggressively, complaining the story gave the impression he was the lead sponsor rather than one of many.
The congressman’s actions now serve to put distance between himself and the tax incentive program his brother, George, has championed and which his companies have benefited from.
The program, which has approved more than $7 billion in corporate tax breaks since 2013, is under scrutiny by Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who has questioned whether the program has succeeded in bringing jobs to New Jersey or hobbled state revenue for decades to come.Norcross is often mentioned by New Jersey Democrats as a potential U.S. Senate candidate should there be a vacancy — a prospect that arose in 2017 when Sen. Bob Menendez, the state’s senior senator, faced a corruption trial, and now, as Sen. Cory Booker runs for president.
In the House, he began climbing the ranks within days of taking office in November 2014, getting a coveted appointment to the House Democrats' Steering and Policy Committee, which helps shape the party’s policies and committee assignments. As a candidate running in New Jersey’s heavily Democratic 1st Congressional District that he was certain to win in 2014, then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid personally fundraised for him.
The Economic Opportunity Act of 2013, signed by former Republican Gov. Chris Christie, established New Jersey’s current tax incentive programs and greatly expanded the tax breaks the state‘s Economic Development Authority awards to either attract new businesses to the state or keep those already in New Jersey from leaving.
But a task force appointed by Murphy earlier this year has shined a spotlight on the programs. During a May 2 hearing in Newark, the task force revealed alleged insider dealing and said it was targeting companies linked to George Norcross that claimed they would move jobs out of state to qualify for hundreds of millions in tax breaks though they allegedly had no real plans to do so.
In all, hundreds of companies have received billions in tax breaks. But the moves by the Murphy task force to zero in on several companies linked to George Norcross have erased any veneer of civility in the already tense relationship between the governor and South Jersey Democrats, who control the largest voting bloc in the 120-member Legislature and count Senate President Steve Sweeney as one of their leaders.
The Norcross family — the most politically powerful in New Jersey — is at the center of the controversy.
George Norcross, an insurance broker, is Sweeney’s political patron. Another Norcross brother, Philip, runs a law firm that, according to documents Murphy‘s task force and the New York Times publicized, wrote key language in the tax incentive law that allegedly benefited the firm's clients. Those clients included Conner Strong & Buckelew — the insurance firm run by George Norcross — along with two other companies that are about to move into a new shared headquarters on Camden’s waterfront.
In the months leading up to the task force’s first hearing in March, Bill Tambussi, an attorney for Donald Norcross, complained in an email that the Jan. 25 story POLITICO published had misrepresented Norcross’ role in crafting the law, including that he had “led the charge” for its passage.
Tambussi called the roughly 40-word passage in the more than 1,600-word story a “gratuitous inclusion of certain negative references to Congressman Norcross” written to “further some undisclosed agenda.”
He also stressed that Norcross was “one of 39 bipartisan sponsors” of the bill and stated — incorrectly — that state Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen) was a primary sponsor in the upper house.
Norcross was one of four primary sponsors of the Senate bill before it was amended and combined with the Assembly version. He then became one of 29 co-sponsors. Then-Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Union), who was the main sponsor, also became one of the co-sponsors of the final bill.
But Norcross’ officially-sanctioned statements, issued shortly after the law was passed, painted a different picture.
“As Senator, I led the charge on getting the Economic Opportunity Act passed into law — a game-changing law that will help to create thousands of jobs in our region,” he said in the February 2014 press release. Norcross’ campaign website used to echo those comments, but they no longer appear there.
In a May 2014 press release, his campaign spokesperson, Ken Shuttleworth, indicated the then-state senator “authored” the legislation.
“Senator Norcross has been incredibly effective during his time in Trenton — authoring landmark legislation like the Economic Opportunity Act, that is already spurring investment by small businesses and entrepreneurs in New Jersey’s distressed cities,” Shuttleworth wrote.
The bill underwent a series of amendments that added extra incentives for South Jersey and Camden in particular. Those changes were authored in part by Kevin Sheehan, a lawyer at Parker McCay, the firm run by Philip Norcross, and have led to many of the controversies that are haunting the program today.
Before the bill passed in 2013, its top Assembly sponsor, Al Coutinho, a Democrat from Essex County, said Donald Norcross had a major role in shaping it.
“The Senate president and (other) folks from South Jersey said we need to do more for it. Senator (Don) Norcross (D-Camden) was always trying to get more, more, more for Camden and wouldn’t sign off until he got enough that he was comfortable with,” he told NJ Spotlight.
Coutinho later pleaded guilty to stealing money from his family’s foundation and resigned from the Assembly.
Monmouth University pollster Patrick Murray speculated Donald Norcross may want to distance himself from the tax break law to help boost his position in the House.
“As a member of Congress, Donald Norcross does not want to really get bogged down in what has become just an all-out, nasty war,” between Murphy and South Jersey Democrats, Murray said.
“His ambition is not just on moving up to the Senate, which would require state party support, but also to move up within the leadership in the House, which doesn’t require state party support,” Murray said. “I think that’s more of a key as to why he’s trying to distance himself from what’s going on right now. He doesn’t want that to float back into Washington and impact his ability to move up the ladder in leadership there.”
Tambussi insisted Donald Norcross hasn’t changed the way he talks about the law.
“Congressman Norcross is not deemphasizing his role in the revitalization efforts in the City of Camden in any way,” Tambussi wrote in an email.
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine