Well wishes for Tom Kean Jr.

Good morning!

The four Democrats hoping to get a chance to unseat Rep. Tom Kean Jr. in November met for a debate in Rahway on Tuesday and had thoughts on Kean’s now two-month absence from public (his team says he is handling a personal health issue and will be back soon).

“If you were missing work, you would tell your boss, and Tom Kean Jr.’s boss is the people. He did not tell us. That’s it. And in the time that he did not show up for work, he has raised more than $600,000 just from corporate PACs alone. That tells you who his boss is,” said Michael Roth.

Tina Shah said, “What we are being assured is that his team is carrying the torch, but we elected Tom Kean Jr., not his team.”

Brian Varela said when Kean was well, he wasn’t holding town hall meetings with constituents, so his current absence isn’t all that different.

“Frankly, I think that we’re maybe more aware of (his absence) because of the health reasons behind it. But from my perspective, nothing’s really changed,” Varela said.

And Rebecca Bennett suggested that Kean’s voting record suggests it’d be better if he stayed home.

“Looking at his voting record, he has absolutely failed us. He was the deciding vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill, which is why tens of thousands of people in our district are losing access to their health insurance,” Bennett said.

A Kean spokesman thanked the Dems for their “well wishes.”

Read more from Dana DiFilippo.

Cannabis: A sort of insane story out of Fort Lee, where state officials allege a doctor was prescribing medical cannabis to nearly all of his patients, including children as young as five, without really examining them or having a reason for doing so. In the case of the 5-year-old, officials claim he authorized cannabis during the first visit, claimed the kid was 13 on a form, and then never followed up with the kid’s other doctors after greenlighting marijuana for the child. The state has taken his license as they investigate.

Housing: The good news on housing: Shortages have eased in most states since 2020, with new construction making apartments and houses more affordable. The bad news: New Jersey is one of just three states that have lost housing units per capita since then. Tim Henderson from Stateline has more details on this. New Jersey has added about 260K new residents in the last six years, but only about 66K housing units.

World Cup: This morning on social media, Coldplay singer Chris Martin and the Muppets (?) announced Madonna, Shakira, and BTS will headline the halftime show at the World Cup final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium. Meanwhile, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that New Jersey’s alleged partner for our World Cup matches is finally paying for something: $6 million to help drive down the cost of shuttle bus rides from New York City to MetLife.

GWB: So the George Washington Bridge may be falling apart?

Belleville: You really can’t beat local news when it comes to politicians acting bonkers. In Belleville on Tuesday, Mayor Michael Melham lost reelection by 20 points to a 24-year-old. It took him nearly a full day to concede the race, and when he did (on Instagram), he added this: