Central Jersey may soon be on a state map, but debate over its existence lives on

The long debated existence of Central Jersey could soon have the imprimatur of state government — but, it being New Jersey, that hardly suggests the fight is over.

On June 22, state lawmakers overwhelmingly voted in favor of a bill that would redraw the state tourism map and create a “Central Jersey” region. The bill now awaits Gov. Phil Murphy’s signature.

Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset are among the counties that make up the new region. The bill also aims to include Central Jersey in all regional marketing activity through the “VisitNJ” website.

Lawmakers say they hope that promoting tourism to Central Jersey will lead to higher annual tax revenue from visitors.

Murphy voiced his support of Central Jersey’s existence during his first tenure as governor and his signature is the last step to making it a law.

In a state map tweeted in 2019, Murphy outlined how some counties like Ocean and Union are “central debatable” as they are near the southern and northern parts of the state, respectively.

But the signing of the bill may not permanently end the generational debate on how the Garden State has been, or should be, divided.

Of the General Assembly’s 80 members, only one voted “no” on the bill: Republican Assemblymember Brian Bergen. He said that such a bill was a “colossal” waste of time.

“I never cared,” Bergen told Gothamist. “It’s just an irrelevant discussion that doesn’t really rate what we should be doing in our state government.”

Bergen, who actually represents Morris County, also said the New Jersey state government has proposed many other bills that have “fundamentally” bothered him, like recognizing “Kimchi day” and making cranberry juice the state juice — both of which he voted against. In fact, Bergen guessed that he’s been the only “no” vote on 18 different bills.

In New Brunswick, which many argue is the cultural heart of Central Jersey, New Jerseyans had differing opinions on how the state is…