Midday News: Travel Ban Could Affect Local Immigrants, Advocates Say Afterschool Plan Doesn't Serve Students with Disabilities, and NJ Governor Primary Nears...

Announcer: Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Friday, June 6th. Here's the midday news from Michael Hill.

Michael Hill: Immigrant rights advocates say the Trump administration's decision to impose a travel ban against citizens of several countries will have a profound impact on immigrant New Yorkers. The ban goes into effect on Monday, prevents citizens of Yemen, Afghanistan, Somalia, and other countries from entering the USA. Debbie Almontaser co-founded the Yemeni American Merchants Association. She says the ban will keep many New Yorkers separated from their loved ones.

Debbie Almontaser: It's discriminatory, it's divisive, and clearly rooted in a desire to exclude Muslims and countless other Black and Brown communities.

Michael Hill: President Trump cited terrorism concerns when he announced the measure and said, "Nothing will stop us from keeping America safe." Some advocates for students with disabilities say Mayor Adams' "Afterschool for All" plan won't really be for all until the city updates its bus contracts. Many students with disabilities depend on yellow buses for transportation to specialized programs, and they don't serve after school. Lucas Healy is a high school junior with autism. He attended a rally yesterday, and he says many of his classmates need buses.

Lucas Healy: They still needed the busing because they can't travel independently. They missed out on the plays, the sports, the clubs, and a general opportunity to make new friends and have new experience.

Michael Hill: The mayor's initiative would add thousands of new seats to after-school programs next fall. In response to the rally, City Hall says the mayor is committed to expanding education access for students with disabilities, including after school. We have more for you on our news site at Gothamist. 81 and sunny. Now partly sunny 85 today with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. The Republican and Democratic primaries for New Jersey's next governor are in the final days of their primary campaigns. Election Day is this Tuesday, and you can still also vote early over the weekend. Max Pizarro is editor in chief and co-founder of Insider NJ, which comes covers Garden State politics. He joins us now to help us tee up the days to come. Max, welcome to Morning Edition.

Max Pizarro: So happy to be here, Michael, thank you.

Michael Hill: You're most welcome. Let's start with the very basics, Max. It's a crowded field of candidates. Remind us who is running for the Democrats and for the Republicans.

Max Pizarro: On the Democratic side, Michael, you have Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, Congressman Josh Gottheimer, former Senate President Steve Sweeney, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, and New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller. Those are the Democrats. On the Republican side, you have former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, Senator Jon Bramnick, radio personality Bill Spadea, and Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac.

Michael Hill: Max, who are the front runners in each of these races as of right now, based on polling, and are they expected to be the victors come Tuesday?

Max Pizarro: Michael, it's a little more complicated on the Democratic side, so I'll start with the Republicans. The clear frontrunner, based on polling, consistently now throughout this entire election season, has been Jack Ciattarelli. Now, Ciattarelli has run for governor two times before. He has a very high name ID. He is also aided by the fact that President Donald Trump endorsed Ciattarelli in a Republican primary, and that's highly significant. On the Democratic side, the polling has shown Mikie Sherrill running first, but with a significant opportunity among the other candidates to conceivably catch her if they get the vote out on Tuesday.

The trouble is, some of those candidates seem to be impairing one another. Sherrill has some of the traditional support of organizations, while her rivals, namely Ras Baraka and Steve Fulop, who are both running in the progressive lane, do not have that support and are trying to engender backing through their messaging and through their campaign organizing, but they're fighting in many ways for the same progressive vote. The same is true for Gottheimer and Sweeney, who are also impeding each other in the more moderate or conservative wing of the Democratic Party. Sherrill is the favorite, Michael, but just in brief.

As you know, the bracketing system has changed in New Jersey, so the organizations perhaps do not have the strength they did even just two years ago. We'll be watching to see who wins the primary for the Democrats on Tuesday. We're also watching to see if the organizations, without the benefits of a ballot that traditionally always gave their candidates an advantage, still maintain some kind of power.

Michael Hill: Max, based on the way you're giving this description, you're describing the Democratic races; this is going to be a toss-up come Tuesday.

Max Pizarro: I think it is, Mike. I do. I think it's a very, very close race. I do think, as I said, Sherrill holds an advantage going in based on polling and based on the coherence of her organizational strength, namely Middlesex and Essex counties, where there are large numbers of Democratic voters who are working with the machine, and they're adding to Sherrill's defined base of suburban voters.

Michael Hill: Max, tell us what have been the defining issues in each of these races, and have they differed by party?

Max Pizarro: They certainly have. I do think that the presidency of Donald Trump is significant here. Trump did a call with Republicans, a virtual call with his supporters on Monday, Michael, in which he talked about really trying to win here in New Jersey. As I said, he has endorsed Ciattarelli. He's all in, and his agenda, I talked to Ciattarelli, who voted yesterday, is highly prized by this candidate. It's a law and order candidacy. It's less government, and it's low taxes, and it's anti-illegal immigration. On the Democratic side, Trump is also the most significant figure because each candidate is trying to prove that he or she is most capable of fighting the Trump agenda in New Jersey.

Michael Hill: Affordability is a big issue, Max.

Max Pizarro: It certainly is. It's certainly a big issue. You see the Republicans trying to make the case that having Democrats in office has cost the state a great deal in terms of energy costs and property taxes, and they want a new regime. Jon Bramnick, running in the Republican primary, has pointed out that the state needs someone else in the executive branch, that the Democrats do control the legislature, Michael, and to have a balance of power is needed right now. Democrats, particularly Gottheimer and Sweeney, are running on affordability messages. They both want to lower property taxes. That's why they're occupying what I would call the more moderate lane of the Democratic Party.

Michael Hill: Max, who are the biggest spenders in this election? We have 30 seconds.

Max Pizarro: The biggest spender is actually the political action committee that supports the teachers' president, the education union president, Spiller, which has spent almost $40 million backing this candidate. The campaigns themselves, Michael, I would say that Sherrill has spent the most. Gottheimer has the most in his war chest. Ciattarelli, on the Republican side, has the most money.

Michael Hill: Well, that is Max Pizarro. He is the editor in chief and the co-founder of Insider NJ. Max, as always, my friend, thank you.

Max Pizarro: Michael, my friend, thank you so much, sir.

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