Gov. Phil Murphy’s special counsel for the Atlantic City transition and state takeover, Jim Johnson, accepted an offer for corporation counsel for New York City.
Johnson will begin the role on Nov. 4, according to an Oct. 31 announcement from New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“Johnson has showed he knows the power of our laws to hold the corrupt to account, protect the defenseless and strengthen the voices of those who have been, for far too long, ignored,” de Blasio said in a prepared statement.
Jim Johnson speaks as the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs issues its Atlantic City Implementation Plan on April 23, 2019. – AARON HOUSTON
It is not clear who would take his place in the special counsel role, as representatives from the New Jersey governor’s office and Department of Community Affairs – which oversees Atlantic City’s government – could not be immediately reached for comment.
“Jim ably served our administration as Special Counsel in Atlantic City and is a fierce champion for fairness and equal justice under the law,” Murphy tweeted Thursday morning. “New York City’s gain is New Jersey’s loss.”
He will leave behind a city under state control since 2016, which the Murphy administration said would likely last until 2021; the full five years envisioned by Republican former-Gov. Chris Christie during the takeover.
Less than a month ago, Frank Gilliam stepped down as mayor of Atlantic City after a federal wire fraud guilty plea for allegedly stealing $87,000 from a local nonprofit youth basketball league, which he used for lavish personal expenses.
At the time, Christie tweeted that Gilliam’s corruption scandal was the latest proof that the state government was justified in seizing control of the city’s government and finance.
