Democrat George E. Norcross III, one of New Jersey’s most powerful political bosses, says he’s stepping away from politics.
Norcross told Politico “it’s time for others to lead the party,” after a string of setbacks. A Norcross spokesman, Dan Fee, confirmed the Politico report in a statement to Gothamist.
In the Politico report, Norcross said that ever since his top lieutenant, former Senate President Steven Sweeney, lost his re-election bid in 2021, he has experienced a diminishment of his power. He was “involuntarily pushed to a different place” and has been “sitting in the backseat,” according to the Politico article.
Norcross, 67, runs a political machine in South Jersey that extended its power statewide and nationally over the last 20 years. He controlled the largest voting bloc in the New Jersey State Legislature, as well as key elected officials across the southern part of the state, including county commissioners, city council members and many other boards and public authorities.
He is the chairman of Cooper University Hospital, the largest employer in Camden and a major driver of downtown development. Norcross owns Conner Strong & Buckelew, an insurance agency that contracts with government entities across New Jersey.
He has come under scrutiny for $1.1 billion in economic development tax breaks connected to him, his business associates or his family. Gov. Phil Murphy, a fellow Democrat, created a task force to investigate the state tax break program, which resulted in a referral to the State Attorney General’s Office for a criminal investigation.
The tax breaks connected to Norcross were part of the focus of the inquiry, but the task force never released the names of companies that it referred for criminal investigation.
Norcross in the news
NJ Advance Media published a report 10 days ago, citing anonymous sources, that Camden City Hall has been hit with subpoenas relating to an investigation into Norcross business dealings on the Camden…
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