The warring tribes of Democrats in Trenton smoked a peace pipe on Thursday and tentatively agreed to rescue Atlantic City from bankruptcy at the last minute.
But this was not really a peace treaty. It was a surrender.
For the last two months, state Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson) has been fighting with all his might to block a state takeover of Atlantic City.
He said he would let the city go into bankruptcy, if that's what it took. He said a takeover would disenfranchise local voters, doing violence to the idea of democracy.
He said the plan presented by his rivals would trash the right of public worker unions to bargain over their pay and benefits, which must be "sacrosanct."
But on Thursday, Prieto agreed to a deal that includes all that.
He walked a short distance across the thick red carpet outside his office in the state house, and sat down across the hall with his rival, state Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), to talk terms.
He agreed to a state takeover, the core issue. Under this deal, Atlantic City will have 150 days to fix its budget on its own, according to several sources on both sides. Sweeney had offered 130 days weeks ago, so this concession was minor, a way for Prieto to save face.
Prieto yielded on collective bargaining, too. Under this plan, the state will have the authority to rip up those sacred union contracts in the event of a takeover.
This deal was tentative; no bill had been drafted as of Thursday evening. And while Gov. Chris Christie has been following Sweeney's lead on this, the governor was not part of this final round of talks.
So maybe Prieto's loss will be softened by some hidden victories that emerge in the next few days. And remember, he did force the change that at least gives Atlantic City its 150-day Hail Mary.
Still, it was Prieto's blood on the ground in the end. Sweeney had a stronger plan from the start, and he had the political juice to carry the day.
A week ago, Prieto promised to rally the votes for his own flawed rescue plan, and he was unable to muster them. After that loss, Thursday's surrender was almost inevitable.
"I like Vinny," one Democrat said. "But I'm one of the people who asked him, 'What's the strategy here? You don't have the votes to do what you want to do. So what are you negotiating with?'
"He has some people advising him who aren't particularly knowledgeable about how New Jersey politics works."
Prieto was up against not only the governor and Sweeney, but the Democratic machine of George Norcross, the majordomo from South Jersey who commands loyalty from at least a dozen members of Prieto's own caucus.
When Prieto stood up to Norcross, many members of the Assembly from the middle and northern regions of the state cheered him on. "There is South Jersey fatigue in the Legislature," said Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver (D-Essex), the former speaker.
For good reason. Norcross is a conservative Democrat who has forged a close alliance with Christie over the last six years on fiscal issues, like pension and health reform, a reform that most Democrats opposed. By delivering votes for Christie on those issues, Norcross has won favorable treatment for South Jersey over and over.
He built his machine over decades, raising tons of money from public contractors, and recruiting strong candidates who are loyal to him personally. His faction is the largest in the Legislature by far, and the most unified.
Like it or not, that is a fact of life in New Jersey politics. Christie understood it, and used it to his advantage. Prieto did not.
And Norcross is not the charitable sort who will forget this and move on. He settles scores. If Prieto serves another term as Speaker, I'll be surprised.
In battle over Atlantic City, long knives come out | Moran
Another loser in this: Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, a Prieto ally who wants to run for governor next year. Fulop accused Norcross of backing the takeover so that he could enrich himself in Atlantic City. But he was unable to back up the charge, and came across as a shrill conspiracy theorist. Look for Norcross to seek revenge on him, too.
And finally: Public worker unions took another serious blow. They fought hard and lost over the collective bargaining issue.
And now there is only one way they can save that right: Make deep concessions on salaries, benefits and layoffs during the five months Atlantic City has to put its house in order.
If they don't make those concessions, the Christie administration will come in and impose them.
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