Hochul aide says NJ first lady Tammy Murphy unfit to be senator over alleged mishandling of 2018 rape claim
A key administrator to Gov. Kathy Hochul is trying to torpedo New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy’s campaign for US Senate — claiming Tammy failed to help her after she said she was raped by an aide to her husband, Garden State Gov. Phil Murphy.
“Tammy Murphy should not be a sitting senator for New Jersey,” Katie Brennan, executive director for New York storm recovery/resilience, homes and communities told The Post.
“I thought she would be sympathetic. She was not,” Brennan said.
“She had opportunities to lead. She failed to lead. She failed to respond to me.”
Brennan previously volunteered on Phil Murphy’s first campaign for governor and served in his administration as director of the state housing and mortgage agency.
Brennan in 2020 reached a $1 million settlement with the state and Phil Murphy’s gubernatorial campaign over claims that her rape allegations against another campaign staffer, Albert Alvarez, were mishandled.
No criminal charges were brought against Alvarez, but he was bounced from his job in the Murphy administration when Brennan’s accusation hit the media.
The New Jersey legislature also conducted an independent review that found Murphy’s team botched the response to Brennan’s accusation and approved laws along with the governor to better handle such claims in the future. Â
“I do not believe she has proven herself,” Brennan said.
She shared an email she sent to both Phil and Tammy Murphy at separate addresses on June 1, 2018.
“I would like to reintroduce myself. By way of background, I had the pleasure to volunteer for the campaign, serve on the Economic Working Group, lead the Housing Transition Committee, and currently have the honor of serving as Chief of Staff at the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency,” Brennan wrote in the email.
“Reluctantly, I am coming to you today to discuss something that happened during the campaign. If possible, I would like to meet with either of you one on one for this sensitive matter,” added Brennan.
Phil Murphy did respond to Brennan, and said he answered on behalf of his wife as well.
“We know you well. Adding our respective teams to get on with scheduling something.
Hang in. We are on it. If we prove not to be fast enough don’t hesitate to come back to Tammy or me directly. Many thanks,” Phil Murphy said, signing off as “Phil and Tammy M”.
Tammy Murphy announced her candidacy after incumbent Sen. Robert Menendez and his wife Nadine were indicted on federal bribery charges. Menendez has denied the charges and it’s unclear whether he will seek re-election next year.
Brennan is backing Democratic Rep. Andy Kim for the Senate seat.
Republican Christine Serrano Glassner, the mayor of the Borough of Mendham, has also thrown her hat in the ring.
Tammy Murphy, in a statement, said systemic changes were put in a place “to never let a situation like that happen on our campaigns or in our workplace” in response to how Brennan’s rape accusation was handled.
“I believe survivors of sexual assault and I believe Katie. As Phil and I have said before, we deeply regret that this experience happened to her. As a survivor of sexual assault myself, I believe Katie was extremely brave in speaking up,” Tammy Murphy said.
“With that said, we vowed to never let a situation like that happen again on our campaigns or in our workplace. We created systemic changes on Phil’s re-election campaign, and have done the same on this campaign. These systemic changes include training on harassment, inclusion, diversity, and a handbook to ensure staff understand what is expected of them to have a positive and inclusive workplace,” she said.
As first lady, Tammy Murphy worked on key programs in her husband’s administration, including clean energy initiatives. She was previously employed at Goldman Sachs and is the mother of four children.
Brennan made it clear her broadside is personal and unrelated to the relationship between the New York and New Jersey governors
Hochul and Murphy are engaged in a spat over the planned $15 congestion toll to enter Midtown. Murphy has sued to block the new toll, claiming the extra cost is unfair to New Jersey motorists. Hochul supports the toll to generate $1 billion in revenue to fund mass transit and curb rush-hour traffic.
