ROI Influencers Power List 2025: Super 75
Phil Murphy
Governor
State of New Jersey
Gov. Phil Murphy briefly pondered the question: Discuss the idea that the result of your actions won’t be felt until after you leave office?
He quickly provided the answer.
“I would hope that, down the road, there would be an understanding that we did the responsible thing, we passed the baton, we sprinted through the tape, we did right by New Jersey, whether or not I was in office or not,” he said.
The question-and-answer scenario easily could have come after his most recent state of the state address in January.
It came in October. Of 2023. At the end of the governor’s nine-day economic mission trip to East Asia. It speaks volumes about how Murphy always has approached his job.
“That’s the nature of this business — planting seeds,” he said then.
Which takes us back to that state of the state address on Jan. 15.
Murphy not only offered a laundry list of ideas and initiatives — he did so with an understanding (certainly by his staff) that they should be put in motion before he leaves office 11 months from now.
It’s about putting the state first, he has said on many occasions.
That philosophy is one of many reasons Murphy remains in the No. 1 spot on the ROI-NJ: Influencers power list.
Some elected officials may check out during their final year in office — or only put an emphasis on items that will help cement their personal legacy.
Murphy, always quick to use sports metaphors, insists he will “go full speed” until he “hangs his cleats up.”
Whether you agree with his policies and philosophy or not, you have to respect the fact that he always gives it his all.
Murphy has told members of his administration that his ultimate goal for 2025 is simple: For no one to be able to tell if it’s his first year in office or his last.