New lawmakers meet to get on the same page on state issues

Two of the four new Democratic members of Congress from the state met with Gov. Phil Murphy, Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver and New Jersey's two U.S. senators on Monday.
The meeting was to bring all of New Jersey's federal representatives on the same page on issues from infrastructure to property tax deductions and offshore drilling.
"We covered a lot of ground. We didn't necessarily solve all the problems that face us, but we had really good substantive, meaningful discussions," Murphy says.
Reps.-elect Mikie Sherrill and Tom Malinowski will take over districts currently represented by Republicans.
The new and returning congressional reps say their top issues include keeping New Jersey's military bases open, tax relief for residents and the Portal Bridge and the Gateway tunnel, which they say the state can't afford to delay.
"And we all work really well together and I think it's very important that the whole delegation work together," says Rep. Josh Gottheimer.
Two of the newly elected Democratic representatives were unable to make the meeting. Rep.-elect Andy Kim had a personal commitment, and Rep.-elect Jeff Van Drew was at an education event in his South Jersey district.
The state's lone Republican member of Congress, Rep. Chris Smith, was unable to attend the meeting. Smith was chairing the House Subcommittee on Global Human Rights in Washington, D.C.