Nj Governor Put His Children On State Board Just Before Leaving Office

Shortly before leaving office, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy made permanent a little-known but influential office that would be the linchpin for all things tech in state government.

His administration touted the newly created New Jersey Innovation Authority as a national model for harnessing technology like artificial intelligence for a more efficient government. Murphy named some of the state’s top legal and policy advisors to the agency’s board, promising to “further New Jersey’s reputation as a national leader in innovation.”

But the governor also quietly installed two people to the board especially close to him: his children.

POLITICO learned through public records that the outgoing Democrat appointed his daughter, Emma, and son Charles to the 13-member board of the authority in January. The board is the governing body over the new authority.

Murphy’s appointment of his children raises questions of nepotism — and not for the first time. Former first lady Tammy Murphy’s bid for Senate in 2024 drew so much opposition among grassroots Democrats that it inadvertently led to a wholesale change in how New Jersey’s ballots are designed, weakening its longtime party boss system. And in Phil Murphy’s first term, a patronage scandal at a school construction agency led to the ouster of his handpicked CEO, a series of reforms and about $1 million in taxpayer dollars paid in lawsuits.

Murphy’s appointments are not the only controversial acts he made just before leaving office. He pardoned the son of a well-connected Democratic donor who was found guilty of a fatal hit and run and commuted the sentence of a woman found guilty of burning her children to death in 1994, drawing blowback from victims’ family members and state lawmakers.

The Murphy family declined to comment through a spokesperson. But at least one good government group is questioning the under-the-radar appointments.

"Too often, these practices reflect a broader culture where access and insider relationships matter more than merit, experience, or accountability,” Erik Cruz Morales, the director of democracy for the League of Women Voters of New Jersey said in a statement to POLITICO. “Political appointments become another way for a small circle of connected individuals to keep their thumb on the scale of power and influence. Even if family members are qualified to be appointed to positions of influence, New Jersey deserves transparent processes that do not undermine public trust."

The authority is playing a key role in Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s nascent administration. It is expected to help figure out how to implement work requirements for Medicaid mandated by President Donald Trump’s landmark domestic policy law and oversees how artificial intelligence is used by the state workforce. Sherrill’s spending plan proposes giving the authority $23.5 million for the upcoming fiscal year.

Assuming that money is approved by the state Legislature, Murphy’s kids will have a small part in determining how it is spent. The authority’s board oversees its annual operating budget.

According to state law, the board’s members must have expertise in “data science; public engagement; the development and implementation of digital technologies and digital product development; and the digital delivery of products, services, or benefits.”

Emma Murphy, who is currently an MBA student at the University of Pennsylvania, is a 2022 graduate of the University of Virginia where she majored in English and minored in data science, according to her LinkedIn profile. It is unclear what experience Charles Murphy has in those fields — he graduated Princeton University in 2023 where he majored in German, according to an online bio. His senior thesis was on the influence of soccer in Germany.

Former state Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, a longtime good-government advocate, said that the governor appointing his own children to government boards doesn't provide for the best optics.

“It never looks good, appointing your kids to influential posts within the government when you were the governor,” she said. “If you have choices of somebody else who can serve in those positions, someone who is not one of your children, that's the better decision to go with — then there are no questions.”

Shortly before leaving office, Murphy signed into law a bill that created the authority and allowed him to appoint several members. He directly appointed his children a week later and they are mentioned in the authority’s most recent meeting minutes. Other appointees to the board include the former chief counsel to the state Attorney General and a former senior Murphy aide who is now a lobbyist for an artificial intelligence company.

Gubernatorial appointees to the board are unpaid but can be reimbursed for expenses “incurred in the performance of the members’ duties” according to state law. There are 13 total board members.

Like most government authorities, the governor could veto the board’s decisions — although that rarely happens in practice.

A spokesperson for Sherrill referred a request for comment to the authority, which did not comment on the specific members.