On Oct. 25, AmeriHealth Inc. donated $1 million to the super PAC, which three days later paid back the $950,000 loan. George. [21], In the wake of the Veterans Health Administration scandal of 2014, Cooper announced a "Veterans VIP Priority Program" that provided day care to veterans in New Jersey's seven southern counties. If you're a human and see this, please ignore it. Survived by his loving wife of 40 years Betty, daughter Lorna of Italy, 2 grandchildren Matteo and Sandra . I told him Id do whatever I can to be helpful.. Though Norcross was never accused of wrongdoing, the tapes are chilling. [13], Norcross is the executive chairman of insurance, risk management and employee benefits brokerage and consulting firm Conner Strong & Buckelew, where he has worked since 1979. She cant vote him out. What engages Norcross is besting a challenge with an apparatus that produces a desired result. multi-cultural society. The wonder Norcross conveys at his own zeal for confronting obstacles suggests that his restless journeying between political, business and social challenges isnt something he understands or perhaps even controls. It took one night for the. [26], Norcross has been associated with businesses that are alleged to have received special treatment from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. When Laskin shot him down, Norcross asked again: This is really important to me personally. The answer was no. Even before the Rouhanifard completed one year in Camden, the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, the 74 Million, The New Teacher Project, and popular New Jersey-focused education reform blog, NJLeftBehind published articles praising Rouhanifard as the change Camden needed. His candidates do bring a certain level of competence, he says. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. But stories about Norcrosss bare-knuckle tactics occasionally leak out, most famously in the recordings known as the Palmyra Tapes. Ascending to the chairmanship of the Camden County Democratic Committee at the tender age of 31, Young George, a high-school soccer and basketball player, brought the jock-ready jargon and just-win mentality of the locker room to state politics. The domain of the website was registered to Norcrosss insurance firm that is, until Technical.ly Philly wrote about that juicy little detail. He raised $2 million, for instance, for the 2003 state senate race that installed unknown challenger Fred Madden over incumbent George Geist. That moment came in 2012. FILE - In this March 5, 2014 file photo, George Norcross, addresses a gathering at a groundbreaking ceremony in Camden, N.J., for a new kind of school that Norcross' family foundation will help fund. Norcross is executive chairman of Conner Strong & Buckelew, an insurance brokerage firm. Afterward, the registrant suddenly changed to a mysterious company called WWB Holdings, LLC. And it was Norcrosss longtime adman, Neil Oxman, who produced the pro-Kenney TV commercials funded by all that super-PAC cash. teaching experience and lack of state credentials, his arrival in Camden had The McGreeveys. He wouldnt be where he is today without Norcross. I regretfully do not have my fathers personality.. The national carpenters union unilaterally removed him as head of the Metropolitan Regional Council of Carpenters. Lexie Norcross, 26, daughter of former co-owner George Norcross, who lead Philly.com, has left her position, and sent a good-bye email sent out to colleagues over the weekend, spokesman Daniel Fee confirmed. In New Jersey, health insurance companies and other corporations from state-regulated industries are barred from making campaign contributions in state and local elections. With Rouhanifards apparent political and public relations acumen, coupled with his pro-charter background and his demonstrated willingness to shutter public schools against the wishes of low-income minority residents in gentrifying Williamsburg (Brooklyn), coupled with the expansive nature of UHA and renaissance schools; his advocacy for a forthcoming universal enrollment system (that has been identified as a mechanism to reduce student enrollment in public school but guiding them in to charters), the education reform advocates began celebrating Rouhanifard and the possibilities it meant for public education Camden. Genealogy for George Howard Norcross, Sr. (1818 - 1896) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. A few months after the primary, Kenney was the featured guest at a fund-raiser for Norcrosss brother, U.S. Representative Donald Norcross. I see starting in the next number of months, principally with the affiliations we have, and then the process of a new project will follow. All combined, the realities mentioned above continue to fuel criticism about the process by which the land was acquired to build a Norcross-supported charter school and not a public Lanning Square Elementary. And Norcross plays an enviable role as both the highest bidder and the guy who reaps the greatest proceeds. good education was to him and his family, that he went on to graduate from He ran the Camden County Democrats, but the GOP was firmly in control of the board of freeholders. The $88 million media sale to Katz, H.F. Gerry Lenfest and their partners was scheduled to be closed June 10. (Norcross just recently said that he will relinquish the DNC post.). in Tennessee during the 1980s. But a year later, her fix continues to languish in a committee chaired by Nia Gill, an Essex County Democrat who isagain, go figureallied with Norcrosss Southern Jersey crew. There were two other super PACs in the race, both of which supported Kenney, but they got far less attention from the media. Hiring a communication director, further solidified District messaging and improved the likelihood of receiving positive press in print media, local news, and even on local urban radio airwaves. Officer in the Office of Portfolio Management (OPM). It was May 19th, the day Jim Kenney won the mayoral primary in a landslide. He formerly belonged to Mar-a-Lago, the club owned by former United States President Donald Trump.[7]. But it appears that without Norcross, the most pivotal donation of the 2015 mayoral race never would have happened. The money, however, wasnt used on an election. Im not against him. The KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy, a five-school, 2,800-student behemoth to be built on land near Cooper, might stabilize the children and families of an entire neighborhood, Norcross says. He is regarded as New Jersey's most powerful unelected leader. In this lifetime, I cant win. In person, however, Norcross holds his ground. But as his career neared its end, in the late 80s, the entire South Jersey region still operated as a kind of beggar in relation to the north. South Jersey Assemblyman Troy Singleton is the assistant to the executive secretary-treasurer of the Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters. Norcross chose Pennsauken High School, his alma mater, and the private Lawrenceville School that his daughter Lexie attended. In talking about his career, for instance, he betrays no passion for the industry that provided his wealth. Francis H Norcross. Now, we learn that the great champion of South Jersey Democrats, George Norcross III, has declared himself as a Florida. Phil Murphy this week won't just be a battle of words between the two Democrats. Since 2002, the Office of Portfolio Management has opened almost 500 new schools to provide higher quality options for the diverse needs of New York City children. When Norcross does speak to reporters, he often dictates the terms. But until we do the research, we dont know.. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. He called his closest supporters the Can Do Club and lived by high-achiever mantras like Second Place Is First Loser. In a pivotal 1991 election, he worked with TV adman Neil Oxman and paid for $400,000 in commercial spots to dethrone Laskin, an unheard-of move in a state election. We share a bridge. He could work in politics, insurance, bomb building, or the construction of a better mousetrap, and hed enjoy the same electric charge emanating from the same place. Look, he says. [1], Norcross has been a prominent political leader in New Jersey for more than 30 years, since before he became chairman of the Camden County Democratic Committee in 1989, a position he held until 1993. Still, Norcross asked State Senator Lee Laskin, a Republican, for a favor: Would he put Norcrosss dad on the New Jersey Racing Commission? At 66 years old, George Norcross height not available right now. New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) during the Bloomberg years, "[10], Norcross graduated from Pennsauken High School and briefly attended Rutgers UniversityCamden. The July 28 show on the Camden waterfront was sponsored by PhillyVoice.com, which is run by Donald Norcross niece, Lexie, the daughter of South Jersey power broker George Norcross. Ron DeSantis. Funding. Norcross revered and adored his father, George E. Norcross Jr., known as "Chief" to his four sons. Things have evolved, says Norcross. KCNA is situated along the still-developing eds and meds corridor, down the street from the forthcoming Joint Health Services Complex for Rutgers Science and Rowan Medical students, down the street from the Rowan Medical School, and across from Cooper Hospital. + $4.99 shipping. Look, he says, the report itself says nothing happened that was illegal.. Thats, understandably, a concern., The Kings Speech: What Kids Should Know About MLKs Dream, Underlings fear his wrath. Norcross launched the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, which New Jersey Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts praised for its "unflagging commitment to the city," and helped to facilitate the opening of the MD Anderson Cooper Cancer Center in October 2013. The touring companies for Lady Gaga and Lenny Kravitz alone were paid $1.825 million. daughter. In November 2014, Cooper and Norcross were awarded the "Seven Seals" award by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve in recognition of the program. In short, it seems Norcross still cannot fully process just why he wants what he wants. So, how much is George Norcross worth at the age of 66 years old? It was all so peculiar. son. The carpenters likely had their own motives for donating so much cash to the elect-Kenney effort: There are plenty of suburban New Jersey carpenters who work on city construction sites. For the next 20 years, Norcross focused on the battlefield of New Jersey politics, to the point that he is now said to own South Jersey. He was a labor leader and served as a trustee of Cooper University Hospital. When he sets his sights on a target, he captures it. These contributions were not made to a New Jersey political committee; nor were they used to influence any election, said Ezra Reese, attorney for the super PAC. Or self-interest? I had been warned, by a half-dozen reporters, that Norcross would limit access and insist most of the conversation be kept private. More people refused to be interviewed for this article than for any other story Ive reported people who have had no problem talking publicly about such important matters as hot yoga and Homeland. He refuses to explain what hes up to, or why. . His promotion of a biomedical research facility and a closer allegiance between Rutgers and Rowan should yield greater academic status and potentially foster future economic spin-offs. And yet there he isinfluencing even the direction of their police force. educator, community, and student concerns. Norcross III became Chairman of the Camden County Democratic Association at the age of 32, and through financially backing South Jersey Democratic candidates using a platform of fiscal conservatism combined with social pragmatism, was able to gain influence in democratic circles in the surrounding suburbs as well as in Camden. Mayor, I ask, did you meet Norcross while working for Fumo? Apparently, you can take the friend out of Jersey, but not vice versa. Rather, hes the perfect man to turn out the lights., Read more here: Education Reform and Gentrification in the Age of #CamdenRising Public Education and Urban Redvelopment in Camden, NJ (2018, Peter Lang USA). I know I felt terrorized when outgoing President Donald Trump urged the unruly mob down the street to the Capitol to fight like hell. Then, some demonstrators put up a hangmans noose designed for then-Vice President Mike Pence, because he was doing his constitutional duty to accept the 2020 electoral votes in favor of the winner, Joe Biden. 1966 Luci Johnson Wedding Party Daughter President Politics Wirephoto 8X10 Photo. computer technology from University of North Carolina, and eighteen months of Christie, Cerf and a national superintendent search firm Ray and Associates, selected Rouhanifard for Camden from a pool of more than 100 applicants, indicating the Governors Office and state DOE never intended on Camdens school board to pick their eventual district leader at all. ", Fast-Growing Commerce Bancorp Counts On Political Ties, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_Norcross&oldid=1113690264, American political bosses from New Jersey, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia neutral point of view disputes from November 2014, All Wikipedia neutral point of view disputes, Wikipedia articles with possible conflicts of interest from October 2017, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 2 October 2022, at 19:54. Some years back, citing high taxes, crumbling infrastructure and a litany of other ills largely the result of corrupt, shoddy and stupid state government, he left New Jersey for Florida. Before being elected Governor in 2009, Christ Christie, as US Attorney, was making a name for himself as a public Corruption Buster by bringing criminal charges on elected officials throughout New Jersey. And that said, if George Norcross came at me with some money, to be part of another campaign, Id do it, gratefully. The daughter of famous/notorious South Jersey Democratic political boss and newly minted owner of both papers George Norcross is listed on the masthead as a "Director" of Interstate General Media LLC. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Because they know we put up the gun and we pulled the trigger and we blew their brains out. And he makes clear what he has done to men who have crossed him: I sat him down and said, Herb, dont fuck with me on this one cause Ill tell you if you ever do that and I catch you one more time doing it, youre gonna get your fucking balls cut off.. The junior Katz is also the CEO of the similarly named Interstate Outdoor Advertising. arrival, Rouhanifard freely shared biographical information about his City Paper has not, to be clear, received any complaints about the work ethic of any of the three. Further current residents question whether their children, will, in the future, still be residents to even attend the Lanning Squares newest school, in the most rapidly developing neighborhood. The office of the Attorney General of New Jersey and the United States Attorney's office under Chris Christie investigated Norcross after he was secretly taped discussing state politics. This is not a 'will they, won't they' relationship- they do it when George goes to question Nina in her dressing room for the first time. The pieces only came together after Kenney won the primary election: Norcrosss fingerprints were all over the money. Stop the Steal is a clever Trump supporters slogan, intended to convey Trumps false belief that 2020 reelection was stolen from him. Today, OPM is referred to Norcrosss critics remain fixated on these sorts of stories. Rouhanifard assumed the positions of Chief of Staff to Deputy Chancellor John Bill Hankowsky, chairman of the development firm Liberty Property Trust, is slated to receive tax credits well over $500 million commented, George Norcross deserves credit for clearing the way for whats to come with the Waterfront and that their friendship that has spanned decades.. I stayed in the background because I thought thats what political bosses did. UNC-Chapel Hill, and during his time there was president of the schools Not because they like me, but because they have no choice. He talks about his legacy: No one will ever, ever again not include or look down or double-cross South Jersey. Not to the extent that he did with the Kenney election. Of Norcross, Rutgers University-Camden history professor Howard Gillette, in his 2005 work Camden After the Fall, wrote: The son of a powerful labor leader, Norcross had worked his way up the system, first by assisting several state legislators including Angelo Errichetti. Nothing he does, says historian Howard Gillette, is all bad. There was plenty of journalistic handwringing over the fact that a powerful political figure now partly controlled a major local media company. In its Oct. 4 filing with the New Jersey State Election Law Enforcement Commission, the super PAC said it would dissolve its operations in New Jersey. All rights reserved (About Us). The article details that much of the money designated for disbursement is targeted to reward companies that donated to Christies campaigns, the Republican Governors Association while Christie was Chairman or companies with ties to George Norcross III., Norcross, in addition to being the Chairman of Connor, Strong & Buckelew, one of the largest insurance firms in the country, is also the long-serving Chairman of Cooper Hospital that recently received $40 million from the state in 2015 NJEDA funds. Dougherty is going to regret helping Norcross establish a beachhead in Philadelphia, because theres no way this alliance is going to last, one observer says. You can say an insider said it.. It didnt matter that Kenney, in fact, still had a few lines left to memorize. meeting all of the students needs, and a lot district waste. So right there and then, the likely next mayor of Philadelphia sat down for a brief tte--tte with the lord of South Jersey. What we have here, and I say we because its not just me, is a sophisticated apparatus that achieves a result.. According to Due to Katz sudden death the sale may not be closed as scheduled and Norcross has reportedly offered a 30-day extension. Plus this company, plus whatever else Im doing, and you know Im nuts, Im gonna have a heart attack.. In the wake of the Veterans Health Administration scandal of 2014, Cooper announced a "Veterans VIP Priority Program" that provided day care to veterans in New Jersey's seven southern counties. And they say his primary motivation isnt power, but his love for his father, which they describe as moving in its sincerity and unusual in its depth. Philadelphia regrets the error. Following the passage of UHA in the winter of 2012, and the announcement of the state takeover of Camden public schools in March 2013, (that would not officially take place in June later that same year), the citys all-appointed school district set about finding a new superintendent to replace interim Superintendent Rueben Mills, who himself, was filling in during the last year of former superintendent Dr. Bessie LeFra Youngs contract. According to Vail Daily, Neil's grandfather, John, was a partner in a Denver law firm. Trump still planting seeds of stolen election. at Norcrosss firm, to the board of the Convention Center. WWB Holdings owns media site PhillyVoice, where George Norcross' daughter, Lexie Norcross, is founder and CEO. [18] The 18-story, 394,164 square-foot building also houses The Michaels Organization, NFI, and two new restaurants spearheaded by Philadelphia celebrity chef Michael Schulson. A final observation: When Dr. Mehmet Oz of whom I am not a supporter announced he was running for U.S. Senate as a Republican in Pennsylvania, our watchdog media hounds almost immediately noted his recent New Jersey residency, and shouts of carpetbagger arose. As the years passed, Norcross sometimes joked that he was different enough from his dadfierce and ambitious, where the Chief was gentle and content; feared, where his dad was belovedthat he wondered if he had been adopted or left on the doorstep. Another is that Norcross is courting Phillys building trades so theyll support his brother, Donald, if he runs for U.S. Senate, as many expect. In fact, the super-PAC money that made the biggest difference in the mayoral race had nothing to do with American Cities, and plenty to do with George Norcross. He wouldnt talk to me for this story. Many believe that in exchange for Christie not investigating Norcross and DiVincenzo, at a time when Christie showed a willingness to prosecute even minor infractions and perpetrators of the public trust including an Asbury Park councilman for getting his driveway paved for free. Christie allowed the two biggest powerbrokers in the state to escape similar investigative scrutiny in exchange for their tacit support for his gubernatorial candidacy, or at least, their less-than-zealous support for Jon Corzines re-election campaign in 2009. It will be a political firefight. Where to begin? optimistic at best. He availed himself to the political staff on state and local levels, including Mayor Redd and George Norcross making numerous public appearances at city ceremonies, athletic events, and ribbon cuttings. Thank you for reaching out. The super PAC paid for TV, radio and mail ads to boost Democratic Assemblymen John . But whats extraordinary about him is that he has all this wealth, and this power, and this prestige, and there is no effective counterweight to him. And reframing the Camden city police as a county-led force is, he says, designed to save money and free up budgetary room to put more officers on the street. Primarily, the Office of Portfolio Management with NYCDOE was responsible for transitioning more choice schools (charters, and magnet) into NYCs portfolio of school offerings, while simultaneously targeting and transitioning failing or underperforming public schools for closure. Outfitted in a suit and bow tie, Young George sat quietly in meeting spaces all over New Jersey. Hes long been criticized for doing insurance business with many of the governments with which he has ties as a political leader. A machine performs a prescribed function. George Norcross firm and partners got N.J. tax credits for Camden offices, years after task force scrutiny. (He has a great vision for Camden.) Kenney even says he may ask Norcross for advice from time to time. Norcross is just as unaccountable to the media as he is to voters. desire to learn, teachers who cared but were structurally constrained from While a report last year from the New Jersey comptroller was critical of that arrangement, it also noted that there was technically nothing unlawful about it, a point Norcross reiterates when I bring it up. That error has been corrected above. 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