We share a bridge. [30], Norcross was listed as one of the state's wealthiest people, ranked 41st in New Jersey in 2015 with a net worth of almost $250 million.[31]. John, son of John Norcross, Ribchester. However, I think I am going to decline at this time., He declined your request for an interview both on and off the record.. George E. Norcross, III (born March 16, 1956) is an American businessman and a Democratic Party organiser and power broker in New Jersey. 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. If George Norcross comes into Philadelphia big-time and does the same type of things as a corporate citizen as hes done for South Jersey, that would be a plus., Colandus Francis, president of the Camden County NAACP, disagrees, to say the least: Why is Camden one of the poorest cities in the country if hes done so much for Camden? 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. Today, OPM is referred to It truly would be near impossible to overstate the political reach and influence Norcross exerts in the state. Further, Norcross began speaking of a then-hypothetical network of charter schools in Camden on account that saving Camden, would require saving its public schools, or at least having educational options open to its families. Norcross also remarked in Fall 2011 regarding Camden education, I think a material change could happen 24-30 months from now. The Chief died, in 1998, with that promise unfulfilled. You can say an insider said it.. He dabbled in Philly politics a bit. Behind all this striving, Norcross has also maintained a network of admirers. Retrieved May 26, 2019. Send a letter to the editor of South Jersey Times at sjletters@njadvancemedia.com. Jay Lassiter, a longtime Democrat in Camden County whos worked on campaigns for such Norcross-backed candidates as John Adler and Rob Andrews, calls the matter debatable, then goes on to count the ways in which Norcrosss critics fail to appreciate his more visionary qualities. But his body language conveys his feeling: His butt shifts suddenly in his seat. The money raised some eyebrows. Hes not. Increase website traffic and elevate your brand with a CMS Bot business website. Since Norcross operates in the shadows, were left guessing about his motives. Johnny Doc wouldnt talk. David L. Cohen, a Norcross friend for 25 years. 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. His mother, Carol, died at the age of 84 in 2016. When the Philadelphia Business Journal asked a spokesman at PhillyVoice whether Norcross owned the site, he declined to confirm that or anything else about PhillyVoice. To this day, the website refuses to say whether Norcross was an investor. Soon, if the north-south migration of visionary progressives continues, Florida, too, can boast of relentless taxation, over-tolled shoddy highways and all other ills of the once-great state of New Jersey. During a sting operation, today referred to as the Palmyra Tapes, Norcross was recorded telling Palmyra Councilman John Gural, All the Governors will work with me. Nowadays, Trump definitely has that kind of power and . So it never took place, Kenney says. Norcross and his partners own five properties there. (He has a great vision for Camden.) Kenney even says he may ask Norcross for advice from time to time. Protestors sing and dance to support the Rockettes. So they set off to Vie, a restaurant on North Broad Street where Kenney was holding his victory party. Next, Rouhanifard left the classroom and worked as a financial analyst for When Philly.com got word of the three-minute private meeting a few days later and posted a story, it set political insiders buzzing. Norcross said that he received a phone call in 2004 from then-governor Richard Codey telling him that heGeorge Norcross III, a private insurance executivecould steer $500,000 in public money any way he saw fit. One is simply that Norcross is moving into Philly because its good for business. And it was Norcrosss longtime adman, Neil Oxman, who produced the pro-Kenney TV commercials funded by all that super-PAC cash. He is not happy that he has been, as he puts it, caricatured as a bad guy. No way. And, later the next week, on August 21st, 2013, outside of HB Wilson Family School on South Eighth St., Camden was officially introduced to Paymon Rouhanifard by NJDOE Commissioner Chris Cerf, Governor Christie, and Mayor Redd. 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. The problem, then, isnt that George Norcross is incompetent. Months later in January 2012, the UHA was passed. optimistic at best. In September 2015, Norcross was announced as one of the local investors in The Camden Waterfront, a $1 billion development on Camden's waterfront initially developed by Liberty Property Trust and designed by Robert A.M. Stern. Goldman Sachs and as an associate at AEA Investors, LP on Wall St. From there, (Interstate 195 in New Jersey is the highway that runs from Trenton, along the Delaware, across the state to the shore; essentially dividing New Jersey, geographically, two halves; North Jersey and South Jersey.) He one of the Richest Businessman who was born in American. Further cementing their respective legacies, concerning Christie and Norcross, speculation holds that an agreement took place, dubbed the I-195 Deal. 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. She cant even call his office to complain. at Norcrosss firm, to the board of the Convention Center. desire to learn, teachers who cared but were structurally constrained from Thats the reality. I am not in the Norcross bubble, says Jay Lassiter. According to . 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. "Yes, George is a friend of mine, but George is friendly with a lot of people in Atlantic City," Trump said before becoming president. The Camden Rising concert, which was meant to showcase Camden to visiting delegates during the Democratic National Convention in nearby Philadelphia, also displayed the power of the Norcross family, with Democratic U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross helping to introduce the acts. When Laskin shot him down, Norcross asked again: This is really important to me personally. The answer was no. His candidates do bring a certain level of competence, he says. The parameters of the agreement entailed that Norcross would to withhold support and endorsement for, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono, in exchange for Christie not campaigning for any Republican Assembly or Senate candidates in South Jersey. The committee was funded by a trio of multimillionaire hedge fund investors who supported controversial education policies: charter expansion and school vouchers. George Norcross, a wealthy insurance executive, has for decades run New Jersey's most vaunted Democratic political machine, a seemingly unstoppable behemoth that carries huge influence over who. Patricia Mueller, a friend of Norcrosss, is the treasurer for the Carpenters Fund for Growth and Progress. Many South Jersey residents who were familiar with Christie, and his visible role as New Jerseys primary public crime fighter, found his leniency toward Norcross, a man to who many long have suspected of being a corrupt public actor, in word curious. He is regarded as New Jersey's most powerful unelected leader. These changes include but are not limited to: Opening high potential new schools and closing underperforming schools; establishing enrollment/admissions criteria; altering schools grade configurations; revising elementary and middle school zoning in order to impact enrollment and school size; improving the availability of programs to serve special populations, including Gifted & Talented, English Language Learners and students with disabilities, and Pre-Kindergarten. Or consider the opposite: that he builds his base here, then ultimately takes on Doc. Famously, during the trial of state senator Wayne Bryant, we learned that the State of New Jersey had been doling out what government officials dubbed Norcross Grants. These were discretionary funds to be given to worthy causes. 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. Never again will that happen. It happened in the early 80s when he won his first big insurance contract, at the Garden State Park race track. And he made South Jersey, once a region laughed off by the glitzier, more powerful North Jersey, a force to be reckoned with. Im not against him. Norcross was born on March 16, 1956, in Cooper University Hospital, Camden, New Jersey. Progressive Democratic groups often highlight the fact George Norcross who with his childhood friend, New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney, holds sway over the Democrat-controlled state . After conducting a national search, and narrowing down the selections to three individuals, the CCSD board was preparing to conduct in-person interviews with potential candidates. Norcross launched the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, which New Jersey Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts praised for its "unflagging commitment to the city,"[20] and helped to facilitate the opening of the MD Anderson Cooper Cancer Center in October 2013. $17.99 + $4.99 shipping. In a city like Camden, theres a sisterhood, brotherhood with Philadelphia. Says Rendell: When I ran for mayor and governor, George helped me. In short, it seems Norcross still cannot fully process just why he wants what he wants. He wouldnt talk to me for this story. But our two meetings encompassed 10 hours, most of it on the record. [28][29], Norcross has a daughter, Lexie, and a son, Alex. Paymon Rouhanifard was only thirty-two when he was appointed to The 18-story, 394,164 square-foot building will also house The Michaels Organization, NFI, and two new restaurants spearheaded by Philadelphia celebrity chef Michael Schulson. within a city known for generational poverty and where 23 of 26 schools were Norcross was listed as one of the state's wealthiest people, ranked 41st in New Jersey in 2015 with a net worth of almost $250 million. 1966 Rev George R Davis, Pres & Mrs Johnson At Dc Church Politics Wirephoto 8X10. Thats something Philadelphians can surely appreciate, given their citys lack of clout in Harrisburg. Thats, understandably, a concern., The Kings Speech: What Kids Should Know About MLKs Dream, Underlings fear his wrath. Later that year, John Mooney wrote, Not one to do things small, George Norcross has enlisted a power-packed partnership of playersseen and unseenin a bid to essentially create a mini-district of new schools for the city of Camden. And with that, the path for Camdens forthcoming renaissance schools was set. [19], Norcross is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Cooper University Health Care System , Cooper University Hospital and the MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper, in Camden, New Jersey. This is the state of Philly politics: The only plausible check on Johnny Doc is George Norcross, another unelected white guy thisclose to the building trades. He is the son of George E. Norcross, Jr., the president of the AFL-CIO Central Labor Union of Camden and Gloucester Counties and his wife, Anne Carol. . His daughter, Lexie Norcross, helped run the Philly.com website, which often uses celebrity news and other teasers to draw online clicks. And he does win. Norcross was named the second most powerful man in the New Jersey business world by NJBiz.com in 2014, 2015, and 2016,[14] and made the list's top ten list in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Why would carpenters in Jersey give a damn about Kenney? Norcross is executive chairman of Conner Strong & Buckelew, an insurance brokerage firm. The pieces only came together after Kenney won the primary election: Norcrosss fingerprints were all over the money. But does all that make the new, This search result is here to prevent scraping, Hop Sing Laundromat Charging $75 for Bar Reservations, Exciting I-95 Capping Project Finally Begins In Philadelphia, Those Gummies May Not Have Contained Fentanyl After All, Why I'm Boycotting the Roots Picnic This Year. When he sits down to talk about Norcross, Kenney suddenly looks like hed rather be someplace else. Look, says Ali Sloan El, a longtime city activist, George is for George.. The domain of the website was registered to Norcross's insurance. 1966 Dr William Norcross Chicago Il Director Cook County Jail News Wirephoto 6X8. Katz's partner Nancy Phillips, formerly an Inquirer investigative reporter, is now reportedly a special assistant to the publisher. If you're a scraper, please click the link below :-) Says Brady: We met at the pub and got to know each other. So far, in Philadelphia, Norcross has received far less scrutiny. 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. Now, we learn that the great champion of South Jersey Democrats, George Norcross III, has declared himself as a Florida resident and, presumably, a Democratic voter there as well. Neil's mom and dad, David Gorsuch and Anne . This is an auction. Or at least, that was the assumption of all the heavies in Philadelphias political class. Jennifer Beck, a Republican legislator from Monmouth County, has since proposed a bill to plug up this hole in the public trough. Not as much, he replies, confusingly. Note that clicking the link below will block access to this site for 24 hours. 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. Though, Norcross has been described in local print media as, the guy with the cigar and horns, an arrogant and profane bully who threatens to castrate his political enemies, and an individual presiding over an environment where hardball politics ends and a culture of intimidation, dubbed La Costra Norcoss by his enemies, Norcross has been irrepressible in influencing South Jersey, but specifically Camden-based politics, to his will. Francis H Norcross. Later that year, a journalism start-up called PhillyVoice launched, with Norcross's 20-something daughter Lexie at the helm. The slight infuriated Norcross. One would think there might be great joy in this life, coptering over the common man to make millions; telling the governor what you want and knowing hell pay attention; building a new cancer center and erecting a prestigious new medical schoolthe first in New Jersey in 35 yearsin Camden, the land he feels bound to by blood, the land that needs a champion like him. persecution, how their familys assets were frozen, that he and his family they Soon after Rouhanifard took the helm at Camden, a school district in Tennessee during the 1980s. As someone who remembers a nonpartisan, independent, courageous and honest media, the hypocritical, shamelessly partisan farce that has replaced that media saddens me and causes great concern for the future of our crumbling republic. But his power seems to yield various forms of return. Coopers medical school yields prestige and a much-needed influx of youth and smarts. A few political insiders suggest to me that Norcross would be a welcome counterweight to Dougherty. But that was just the beginning: He developed an elaborate plan to wrest Camden County away from the GOP; then he would move on to other counties, win control of their freeholders, and build alliances that could raise enormous sums of cash for his favored candidates for the state legislature. When his father died in May 1998, George III found the note in his father's wallet, something the senior Mr. Norcross had presumably been carrying since his son gave it to him about. 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. Georgina Cross is the author of ONE NIGHT and NANNY NEEDED, Bantam, Penguin Random House, and the bestselling author of THE STEPDAUGHTER, as well as THE MISSING WOMAN and THE NIECE, Bookouture, Hachette Publishing. 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. He pores over the relevant data and, like a military commander, plots out a campaign that will bring victory. AmeriHealth Inc., one of the parent companies of (AmeriHealth New Jersey), agreed to sponsor the July 28, 2016, concert, Camden Rising, AmeriHealth New Jersey spokeswoman Jill Roman said. According to its filings with the Internal Revenue Service, General Majority in June received a $950,000 loan from a company called WWB Holdings, which shares a primary address with Conner Strong & Buckelew, the insurance brokerage run by George Norcross. 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. 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. I think he can win. George Norcross, Chris Christie, and Paymon Rouhanifard: The triumverite who snaked renaissance (corporate takeover) schools into Camden, The Genuine Problems I have with the Education Reform Communitya series (Pt. Stop the Steal is a clever Trump supporters slogan, intended to convey Trumps false belief that 2020 reelection was stolen from him. 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. Susan Ann Norcross. Norcross was with Dan Hilferty, the CEO of Independence Blue Cross, when he got the news. Funding for the event came through General Majority, a Democratic super PAC that dominated New Jerseys legislative elections in 2013 and 2015. Then Kenney, fresh off his private chat with a walking, talking embodiment of the one percent, took the stage, and his kaleidoscopic mix of supporters went nuts: prominent African-Americans and white working-class voters, LGBT leaders and immigrants, millennial fanboys and old heads. arrival, Rouhanifard freely shared biographical information about his Norcross is the executive chairman of brokerage firm Conner Strong & Buckelew, where he has worked since 1979. FOR MOST OF HIS CAREER, Norcross, 60, stayed on his side of the Delaware. teaching experience at Public School 192 in Harlem through Teach for America. Katz son, Drew Katz, will inherit his fathers stake in the companies. I just cant win., My biggest mistake was allowing myself to be defined and branded in the 90s, he continues. I stayed in the background because I thought thats what political bosses did. All rights reserved (About Us). Due to Katz sudden death the sale may not be closed as scheduled and Norcross has reportedly offered a 30-day extension. By evaluating access to high-quality schools, the demand for educational services and the supply of space available for those services, Office of Portfolio Management strives to develop the optimal distribution of schools and educational programs. George Crabtree meets Nina Bloom in From Buffalo With Love towards the end of Season 9. The apparatus Norcross speaks of adapts to win. Indeed, DRPAs purported purpose was to promote transportation throughout the region, and Cooper was the only hospital ever to receive money from DRPA, the vice chair of which wasgo figureJeffrey Nash, a longtime Norcross ally. Philadelphia regrets the error. For many years, he has been named one of the most powerful non-elected political figures in New Jersey by the website PolitickerNJ.com. Everything he was saying was just wrong, he recalls. But, Trump should look in the mirror and say this slogan to himself. But he knows his apparatus is always geared up to produce the result. . Published as Norcrossing the Delaware in the May 2016 issue of Philadelphia magazine. At 57, George Norcross III is in impressive shape, with a trim gut and the sleek build of a man who keeps up regular tennis and golf matches. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Due to an editing error, the print version of this article incorrectly reported that George Norcross had not granted any on-the-record interviews. In other words, as the finish line looms in the distance, Norcross has tuned his apparatus to securing a legacyand the result is his broadest, most civic-minded set of aims yet. Norcross chose Pennsauken High School, his alma mater, and the private Lawrenceville School that his daughter Lexie attended. And the police forcewhich has at least temporarily waived the civil-service exam process in order to staff upwill become a giant patronage mill, churning out government jobs for good little Camden County Democrats. When he received the support of governor Brendan Byrne in 1975 for the concept of a med school at Cooper, the Republican legislators of North Jersey made sure nothing got built. I have a dear friend who is a strict Democratic voter. The Camden County Democratic party has ratcheted down its fund-raising in recent yearsincumbents dont need as much moneybut still ranks fourth among all the counties in the state, and when he wants a race badly enough, he flattens opponents under the heft of cash. Philadelphians should be very, very wary.. View popular celebrities life details, birth signs and real ages. After thorough investigations and significant media coverage, he was not charged. Im also guessing that the Secret Service was scared that day when they hid Pence and his family in a bunker. And it sure looks like President Donald Trump and NJ political boss George Norcross really have a lot in common! (Norcross just recently said that he will relinquish the DNC post.). What engages Norcross is besting a challenge with an apparatus that produces a desired result. George Norcross slipped in through the back door. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). most stakeholders agnostic to his ascension to the position at worst, and Norcross, in his statement, said the three companies at the tower, known as Triad1828 Centre, and their leaders "have invested more . The Turnout Project also got a $25,000 donation from Parker McCay, a law firm run by Norcrosss brother Philip, as well as a $25,000 check from Brown and Connery, where an attorney who has represented Norcross is a partner. Perhaps Norcross, and what he wants, is as much of a mystery to Kenney as he is to the rest of us. Glenwood, Utah - Ellison Lon Norcross Sr. "Red" passed away peacefully at his home in Glenwood on January 5, 2021 at the age of 73. 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. Having two bachelors degrees in economics and When DRPA issued its final disbursements in 2011, Cooper University Hospital received $6 million. George Norcross is a wealthy insurance executive who has become one . But murky as Norcrosss motives may be, his record is clear: Hes a conqueror. Afterward, the registrant suddenly changed to a mysterious company called WWB Holdings, LLC. But there is a larger portrait hereof the political operator as artist, and the artist as an aging, more reflective man. [2][3] From 2014 through 2021,[4] he was named one of New Jersey's most powerful people by NJBiz.com. Rouhanifard has some great ideas, and we just hope he communicates with us as teachers. Imagine if his relationship with Dougherty becomes as robust as the one he has with Steve Sweeney in New Jersey: Together, the two would utterly dominate Philadelphias political scene. good education was to him and his family, that he went on to graduate from And then, in February, Ed Coryell was sacked. This search result is here to prevent scraping, Exciting I-95 Capping Project Finally Begins In Philadelphia, Those Gummies May Not Have Contained Fentanyl After All, The Top 10 Things to Do With Kids in Philly This Month, Ultimate Guide to the 2023 Philadelphia Flower Show.