A Conversation with Governor Phil Murphy

Mike Ham sits down with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy inside the Choose New Jersey offices to talk about all things Garden State. From his international economic missions to bring jobs to NJ, to his deep love for Monmouth County, to the growing impact of the film and soccer industries in New Jersey — this conversation touches on the past, present, and future of one of the most iconic states in the U.S.

Governor Murphy shares his thoughts on:

• Why New Jersey is a global destination for business and talent
• His family's decision to plant roots in Monmouth County
• The booming film industry and Netflix's billion-dollar investment at Fort Monmouth
• New Jersey's role in the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the Club World Cup 2025
• The importance of small businesses and local legacy
• His passion for soccer, local wine, and the “you talking to me?” Jersey attitude

Whether you're a lifelong resident or just Jersey-curious, this episode celebrates the diversity, grit, and cultural power of the Garden State. Don't miss Governor Murphy's reflections on his legacy and why he believes “New Jersey is unlike anywhere else in America.”

🎧 Listen now and learn why we’re from Jersey, baby — and you're not.

🌐 Links & Resources:

• Choose New Jersey
• FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Tickets
• Mayo Performing Arts Center
• New Jersey Wine Growers Association
• Radio Garden State
• https://nj.gov/governor/ 
• Facebook, Instagram, X

Transcript

Mike Ham [0:14 - 0:36]: All right, what's. Everybody, welcome back to another episode of Greetings from the Garden State. We have a very special guest here today. We're in the Choose New Jersey offices, the conference room. So shout out to them for allowing us to come through and use their stuff. I texted Wes this morning, and he. He had a lunch meeting so he couldn't stop by, but very special guest. Busy guy, busy guy. Of course, you keep him busy. Governor Phil Murphy. Governor, welcome to the show. 

Phil Murphy [0:36 - 0:38]: Mike, nice to have you, man. Love the hat, love the coat. 

Mike Ham [0:38 - 0:44]: Absolutely. We have to get you a hat. I feel like at least I'll get you, like, one of these little. Maybe a Jersey lightning bolt pens. 

Phil Murphy [0:44 - 0:44]: I love that. 

Mike Ham [0:44 - 0:58]: Yeah. And you've been doing a lot of. I mean, a lot of media stuff, but also, since we're here with Choose, a lot of stuff with choose recently, some overseas trips, international trips, and really trying to show everybody what Jersey's all about. I think that's. That's amazing. 

Phil Murphy [0:58 - 1:37]: Yeah, I mean, Jersey sells really well internationally. Our location, our diversity, the amount of multinationals that are here already. Again, proximity to New York, our ports, airports. So we with choose, do a bunch of economic missions and basically pitch the state for jobs, for investment. Just came back from the Gulf, so we're in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. Very successful. Yeah, we'll do a couple more before we're out of office. Probably get back to India. Would love to hit Mexico, and so we'll take it from there. 

Mike Ham [1:37 - 1:45]: Yeah. I'm curious, like, so if people don't know this and somehow you skated this for the last eight years, you're not a born and raised Jersey guy. 

Phil Murphy [1:45 - 1:47]: I'm not born in Boston. 

Mike Ham [1:47 - 1:51]: Which doesn't preclude you from being a part of the show, at least. We appreciate that. 

Phil Murphy [1:51 - 2:03]: Although I did have to show my papers on the way in here. I want folks to know now. Born in Boston, grew up outside of Boston, but bought our home in Monmouth county to raise our kids. 

Mike Ham [2:03 - 2:03]: Yeah. 

Phil Murphy [2:03 - 2:13]: And when I was campaigning, I used to say, wait a minute, did you get a choice where you were born? I didn't think so, but you can choose where your kids are born. And that's what my wife and I did. And best decision we ever made. 

Mike Ham [2:13 - 2:21]: Yeah. And at what point? Because I know, obviously, like, the finance background, the diplomacy background. So at what point in your career did that. Did you move to Monmouth County? 

Phil Murphy [2:21 - 3:10]: So we were in Asia, living in Hong Kong, just having our first child. And my wife made the observation that most of the expats that we knew got pulled back to headquarters either before the amount of time they were anticipating, but in some cases after. And she said, I don't want to be caught flat footed. I'd love to have a home, love to know where the kids are going to go to school. We kicked the tires in greater New York. We were pretty convinced from the get go, even though we love New York City, that we weren't going to be in New York City. And then friend of ours said, listen, you got to check out the Two river area of Monmouth County. And it had us at hello, as they say in the movies. And we've loved it there. It's the best decision we ever made. 

Mike Ham [3:10 - 3:22]: Yeah. Was there a moment like in, you know, when you first moved there and obviously, like I said, you spend time overseas, all that kind of stuff. Was there a moment where Jersey finally was like, this is home. Was it immediately or was it instantly? 

Phil Murphy [3:23 - 3:49]: We had a ton of friends there already. I had worked in New York City for a bunch of years, as had my wife Tammy. So we knew the place. We always loved it. We loved the attitude, the character, you talking to me stuff. And that sort of fits very nicely with who we are. And instantly loved the place from the moment one and love it now more than ever before. 

Mike Ham [3:49 - 4:00]: Yeah, it really is. We're actually getting married in October in Asbury Park. Thank you, I appreciate that. So. And there's just, you know, Monmouth County, Asbury park in particular is like such a big part of, you know, like my life overall. 

Phil Murphy [4:00 - 4:01]: Yeah. 

Mike Ham [4:01 - 4:09]: Her life as well. And then just getting to a point where now we're, you know, we're looking for places and it was a no brainer first year. She lived in Montclair her entire life. 

Phil Murphy [4:09 - 4:10]: And now we live People's Republic. Montclair. 

Mike Ham [4:10 - 4:19]: That's right. Yeah. No, but I think that's, that's really great and you know, obviously great that it was something that drew you in right away because it has that effect on people. 

Phil Murphy [4:19 - 4:20]: No question. 

Mike Ham [4:20 - 4:35]: I'm curious now, like almost on the reverse because one of the things that we always say is that no matter where you go, you always bump into somebody from Jersey. Like we went to Key West Memorial Day weekend. So we're down in Key west and I was sitting on the beach and I have a New Jersey tattoo on my side and somebody walks. 

Phil Murphy [4:35 - 4:37]: You're not going to show it in this program. 

Mike Ham [4:37 - 4:51]: I mean, I will. This is that kind of show. No. So we. Somebody walked up and like, oh, I'm from New Brunswick and I was like, that's crazy, but it's like one of those things where everywhere you go, there you are. I mean, do you. Do you notice that even now, doing all the stuff that you're doing all. 

Phil Murphy [4:51 - 4:58]: The time, including elected politicians who are from New Jersey? The governor of West Virginia is from New Jersey. 

Mike Ham [4:58 - 4:59]: Oh, is it? I didn't even realize that. 

Phil Murphy [4:59 - 5:39]: Which is crazy. Particularly in the talent space. It just blows your mind, the amount of folks who are. Have a Jersey, have Jersey roots. You and I were talking off camera. We saw Jack Antonoff at the Stone Pony Summer stage on Saturday night. Jack's a great example. He's a Bergen county guy. He counts now both Monmouth county and LBi as his homes. This guy's the mega producer in pop today, a great performer. He's one example of literally, and you know it, thousands. Not to mention the guys like you talked about from New Brunswick, where you're somewhere. Where are you from? 

Mike Ham [5:40 - 5:40]: Yeah. 

Phil Murphy [5:40 - 5:47]: Boom. Instant connection. Somebody's from Jersey. And I don't think any other state is like that. I have to say. 

Mike Ham [5:47 - 6:19]: No, I really don't think. I don't think so either. I was listening to you on another show talking about, like, soccer, talent that comes out of New Jersey. But, like, if you really start to dig, like, the amount of just unbelievable people that are from New Jersey that, like, you don't even realize it, you know, like from Danny DeVito or like, I'm an old school wrestling fan, like a Bam Bam Bigelow from Asbury Park. I mean, you know, just like anybody, you really start to start to look through. And then even people that have now, even though maybe they're not from here originally, have made it their home for whatever reason, you know, like Eli Manning or a Stephen Colbert or place people like that, you bet, it's really impressive. 

Phil Murphy [6:19 - 6:32]: And they behave, even though they're not from here originally, as though this is the place they're there have always been and always will be. It's a magical place. Again, I don't think any other place in America has cast that spell. 

Mike Ham [6:32 - 7:19]: Definitely not. And I think it's interesting too, because, like, you know, we could always do the same. You know, questions about the Sopranos or the Jersey Shore, you know, all the stuff that people talk about when. When I go other places, people are like, oh, you friends with Snooki? And I'm like, no, we get that all the time. But I think what's interesting, the fact that there's such a fascination with New Jersey from people outside of it they love to hate. But I think it's just, A, they're jealous, and B, they just don't quite get it. So they get these little lenses into what we're all about. And then you have cultural phenomenons like a Sopranos or a Jersey Shore, where people. They get a glimpse into a little bit of what the state's all about. And it's pretty cool to see. I mean, obviously you had that viral moment. We're from Jersey, baby. And you're not. 

Phil Murphy [7:19 - 7:20]: You're not, man. 

Mike Ham [7:20 - 7:25]: Yeah. That's gonna live with you for the rest of your life. It'll live in infamy. Like, that's one of the best lines. We actually use that as a sweep on the station. 

Phil Murphy [7:25 - 7:26]: Yeah. 

Mike Ham [7:26 - 7:27]: On the radio station. 

Phil Murphy [7:27 - 7:29]: Yeah. There could be a lot worse lines to be known for. 

Mike Ham [7:29 - 7:30]: Sure. That's pretty good. 

Phil Murphy [7:30 - 8:17]: When you tell you something that we talk about, we get back to you said, we work with Jews and we do these economic missions. One of the interesting elements of New Jersey is it's the most densely populated state in America. It's also, by many measures, the most diverse state in America. You can combine density and diversity. It says a lot about our tolerance, our attitude, our character. We're a very unique state. And not that all of this is defined by math in terms of bodies per square mile, but I said to somebody a few years ago, hey, we have the second largest South Asian population of any American state. And they said, well, who's got more? I said, california's got slightly more. 

Mike Ham [8:17 - 8:17]: Yeah. 

Phil Murphy [8:17 - 8:45]: They said, well, of course California. I said, wait a minute. California is nineteen and a half times geographically the size of New Jersey. You could go months and not run into somebody from some other ethnicity or diaspora. You can't go a minute in New Jersey without bumping into somebody 100% right. A different religion, different ethnicity, whatever it might be. And I think that says so much about our Persona, our character. I've always thought that and always will. 

Mike Ham [8:45 - 9:09]: Yeah. It's honestly like, if we go back and look at some of the other episodes that we've done in the past, that's literally what I always say is one of my favorite things. Like, obviously, the density of the population. You know, we deal with a lot of traffic, but it makes us hardened individuals. But the diversity, like being one of the most diverse populations in the country is something that makes you more worldly, more, like, aware of what makes people tick. You can, like, interact with people a little bit better. 

Phil Murphy [9:09 - 9:15]: And it's why a company, you know, in Mumbai, India, will look at us and say, you Know what? That's a place I want to be. 

Mike Ham [9:15 - 10:02]: Yeah. So I mean, my fiance is Cuban and her, you know, her mother came from Cuba and lived in Union City, which. Union City has more Cubans per square mile than Havana Cuba does. You know, so it's really something, something crazy. But we're talking about community. Yeah, 100% and we're talking about talent. We're talking about attracting, you know, businesses and stuff from abroad and all that. But obviously there's been like a huge kind of swing on film in New Jersey, big time with Netflix coming here, Lionsgate coming here, setting up headquarters, all that kind of stuff. I mean, the Bruce Springsteen biopic, the Bob Dylan biopic, all these other films that are going on in New Jersey, that's gotta be like, what do you think is the reason why maybe we're taking that talent and that kind of like awareness away from an LA or a New York or places like that? Yeah. 

Phil Murphy [10:02 - 11:35]: So some of it's, there's no one reason, some of it for sure is financial. We incent these studios to both make stuff here and to build, I think even more importantly to build permanent presence here. It's our talent, it's our location. It's a big union industry and we're a big union state. So it's a combination of all of those. But you're right, Netflix is going to invest almost a billion dollars in a 300 acre campus in Monmouth county, by the way, at Fort Monmouth, which was left for dead a decade or so ago. This has injected enormous life back there. Lionsgate building a big studio in the south ward of Newark, 1888 studios, which I think is going to have some big news to share over the summer in Bayonne, New Jersey. You've got studios in Jersey City, Carteret, Atlantic City. So I think it's a combination of all. We make the math work in a way that by the way, works for the studios. But also importantly, most importantly, given my job works for taxpayers, we get a lot back for what we put. The chum we put in the water gives us a lot back. But again, talent, union friendly. And it's one thing to make stuff here. And you mentioned a bunch of the stuff. West side Story, Spielberg made it here, he's making something else here now. He loves making stuff in Jersey. We want that to happen all day long. But to think about building soundstages, yeah, that'll have multi decades of a life that's. There's a permanence there that is a huge game changer for our state. We're incredibly excited about all of that. 

Mike Ham [11:35 - 12:09]: Yeah, no, I love that. It's so cool to see, like, we're very friendly with the folks that own Ruts Hut. So, like, we're there quite a bit. And they've done a couple things with, you know, we went to the Bob Dylan and the Bruce Springsteen movie. They've done some stuff there. I'm also curious too, like, and this show really, like I was mentioning to you off Mike before, almost four years old, it's 180. I forget how many 80 episodes in it was really like built on the backs of small local businesses, you know, like mom pop shops, you know, people just, you know, entrepreneurs and really, you know, that kind of stuff. Telling their story, telling their story. That's really, that's what the crux of this show is. 

Phil Murphy [12:09 - 12:13]: And by the way, the film business is a huge game changer for those mom and pop stores. 

Mike Ham [12:13 - 12:13]: Totally. 

Phil Murphy [12:13 - 12:21]: The deli, the diner, the dry cleaner, et cetera, that's going to get the hotels and restaurants. Huge impact. 

Mike Ham [12:21 - 12:38]: Absolutely. And I think. But I do think that there is, especially with, you know, different industries and stuff like that coming in. I mean, obviously, like, you know, progress is inevitable. Like, it's coming and you can't expect the business that's been there for 100 years to stay there for 100 years more. Doesn't always happen that way. 

Phil Murphy [12:38 - 12:39]: You hope it does. 

Mike Ham [12:39 - 13:08]: Yeah, you hope it does. And so, I mean, I think it's still important too where like that balance, striking that balance. Because I think what makes New Jersey interesting is we're a really old state. We have a lot of old stuff that looks cool is interesting. Like an Asbury park we just talked about is something that has a lot of, you know, architecture and businesses that have been around for a while. So, like, when you are, you know, obviously it's not you always specifically, but when you're working with teams on how to bring companies in, does that, like, come into play? Make no question that balance. 

Phil Murphy [13:08 - 13:13]: 60% of all folks who are employed in New Jersey are employed by a small business. 

Mike Ham [13:13 - 13:13]: Yeah. 

Phil Murphy [13:13 - 13:38]: So as proud as we are of Netflix or Johnson and Johnson or Merck or Verizon, all of whom are great corporate citizens and love Jersey, those small businesses continue to be the backbone of. Of our economy. And you're getting me at a really good time. More people live in New Jersey than ever before. More people are employed in New Jersey than ever before. And more businesses are in operation in New Jersey than ever before. 

Mike Ham [13:38 - 13:39]: Yeah. 

Phil Murphy [13:39 - 13:50]: So for all the turmoil in Washington and around the country and around the world. Inside the four wall Jersey, we're humming. We're not perfect by a long shot, but we are humming right now. 

Mike Ham [13:50 - 13:50]: Yeah. 

Phil Murphy [13:50 - 13:52]: And that includes especially small businesses. 

Mike Ham [13:52 - 14:03]: Yeah, I mean, yeah, because like it's important. Like that's what downtowns are built on and that what makes places like we talked about Montclair or you know, I said I live in Bloomfield or Morristown or Jersey City. Like all these places or look at the shore. 

Phil Murphy [14:03 - 14:11]: The shore is a huge economy. 140 miles of shoreline overwhelmingly powered by small businesses. 

Mike Ham [14:11 - 14:11]: Yeah. 

Phil Murphy [14:12 - 14:22]: That's the story of our state, which is something we're all incredibly proud of. Again, not instead of the big guys we also love. But there's an and both reality in New Jersey which you don't get everywhere. 

Mike Ham [14:22 - 14:56]: The coexisting of both of them. The Mayo Performing Arts center is the heart of arts and Entertainment in Morristown, New Jersey. MPAC presents over 200 events annually and is home to an innovative children's arts education program. To see Impact's upcoming schedule of world class concerts, stand up comedy, family shows and more, head to mayoarts.org or just click the link in our show notes. Speaking of something that you're proud of. We're proud of. And we were also talking off mike with the World cup coming here in 2026. Obviously the club World cup is going on right now. You are obviously. If people don't know you're a huge soccer fan. 

Phil Murphy [14:56 - 14:56]: I am. 

Mike Ham [14:57 - 14:59]: Where did that passion for you come from? 

Phil Murphy [14:59 - 16:13]: Yeah, so it's a fun story. One of my childhood friends, a guy named Gary Middleton, his parents were Scottish, they moved to America and his dad was an obsessive fan with one of the big soccer clubs there. I think it was the Glasgow Rangers. And we used to listen to their matches on a transistor radio on a Saturday morning when I'd do a sleepover at his house and I got the bug. I played it. Not well, I might add. Then ultimately in my business career, lived in Germany and Germany at that time where the defending West Germany were the defending World cup champs. So there was a real infectious element there. Started to really follow the clubs. Then married, had kids. All of our kids played at high levels. One of our sons won a national championship in College, Division 3. We just got completely into what we play as a family. We bought into the women's pro team for New York, New Jersey, FC Gotham. We got in there I think earlier than we probably should have, but now it's the women's league and the women's sports are booming. 

Mike Ham [16:13 - 16:17]: Yeah, we just did a whole episode not too long, like a few weeks ago actually with Yale Auerbach. 

Phil Murphy [16:17 - 16:21]: Oh, Yale is our GM and she is a rock star. 

Mike Ham [16:21 - 16:22]: Yeah, phenomenal. 

Phil Murphy [16:22 - 16:49]: She's constructed an incredible roster over the past five to seven years. We were the champs a couple of years ago. I think we've got a good shot again this year. And as you mentioned, we've got the, the first ever global club World Cup. Right now we have nine matches, including quarter a quarterfinal, both semis in the final. If my math is right, this is going to air on the day of the first semi on July 8th. 

Mike Ham [16:49 - 16:50]: 8Th. Yeah. 

Phil Murphy [16:50 - 17:40]: So we've got the 8th and the 9th and then the final on the 13th. Shameless promotion. FIFA.com if you want tickets. And we've got some of the, the big, the big boys. This will, this game will have played by the time you and I, by the time this airs. But Real Madrid is going to play Borussia Dortmund in the Meadowlands in New Jersey on Saturday, June, July 5, in a game that counts. Yeah, we've had a lot of summer soccer from the big European powers over the years, but those are exhibitions. Yeah, this is for the marbles. And then next year, as you said, the granddaddy of them all, the World cup, eight matches, five first round, two eliminations, and what will be the most watched event, not sporting event, watched event in human history, the World cup final on Sunday, July 19, 2026. Yeah, in Jersey, baby. 

Mike Ham [17:40 - 17:42]: They said, that's right. And they said, well, they think 2. 

Phil Murphy [17:42 - 18:06]: 3 billion people, the current estimate, 2.7 billion people will watch it. Yeah, we'll have between a million and 2 million visitors. New York City's our co host, by the way. Shout out to them, great job. Million to 2 million visitors in the region. Economic impact 3 to 4 billion. 14,000 permanent jobs. I mean, it's an incredible win for the region and we could not be more excited. 

Mike Ham [18:06 - 18:33]: Can we talk too about. I mean, I, like I said before, we do a lot of stuff with different organizations like you know, the statewide Hispanic Chamber or N.J. d back and see the other, other organizations that are like kind of trying to prepare themselves for this World cup coming next year. Obviously there's a lot of things to prepare for. When you talk about a few million people descending upon your region that you're not necessarily prepared for. You don't, you know, interact with as much, especially with what we talked about. There's already a lot of people here, you know, so yeah, we're starting. 

Phil Murphy [18:33 - 18:34]: We're not like in the desert. 

Mike Ham [18:34 - 18:40]: Right. Like, we start with a lot of. Bunch of. It's not like a fire fest situation. It's like we already got a lot of people, we're adding more. 

Phil Murphy [18:41 - 18:42]: Did that ever happen, by the way? 

Mike Ham [18:42 - 18:45]: I don't. I mean, I think they're trying to do it again, you know, but they're always trying to do it again. 

Phil Murphy [18:45 - 18:46]: That was great. 

Mike Ham [18:46 - 18:54]: Can we talk too, about, like, I think one of the. One of the things that I hear from a lot of business owners in those organizations is, like, they went through the super bowl that came through here. 

Phil Murphy [18:54 - 18:54]: Yeah. 

Mike Ham [18:54 - 19:02]: Which was like, obviously great and all that, you know, for exposure and everything. But, like, as soon as the super bowl was over, it was done. 

Phil Murphy [19:02 - 19:10]: Let me, let me, let me address that. I'm very happy you asked it, Mike. So a couple of. A couple of very big differences. Number one, that game was in February. 

Mike Ham [19:10 - 19:12]: That's right. That does hurt us. 

Phil Murphy [19:13 - 19:40]: So people descended largely from hotels in New York City right into the Meadowlands at MetLife, went to the game and went back largely to New York City. What's different? This is June and July. Eight matches. We are. I can't speak to how the super bowl was managed, but I can speak to how this World cup is being managed. There's a lot of Jersey in the. In the engine room here. In fact, my wife is the chair of the host committee. 

Mike Ham [19:40 - 19:40]: Yeah. 

Phil Murphy [19:41 - 19:49]: Interestingly, it's the biggest World cup ever in terms of the amount of teams. So it's going from 32 to 48 teams. 

Mike Ham [19:49 - 19:49]: Right. 

Phil Murphy [19:50 - 19:54]: That means it goes from 60 something matches to 104. 

Mike Ham [19:54 - 19:54]: Yeah. 

Phil Murphy [19:54 - 20:04]: I mentioned a minute ago, we're incredibly proud to have eight matches at MetLife. That means, if you do the math, there are 96 matches that will not be in MetLife. 

Mike Ham [20:04 - 20:04]: Yeah. 

Phil Murphy [20:04 - 20:18]: So what do we do? We just inaugurated a massive fan fest that will be at Liberty State park in Jersey City. It'll televise on 22 massive screens every single match. 

Mike Ham [20:18 - 20:18]: Yeah. 

Phil Murphy [20:19 - 20:37]: Capacity at any moment, 45,000. All sorts of small businesses and vendors in the. In the area. And when I say at any moment, let's say there were four matches in a day. You may want to see a Germany match, I may want to see a span, a Spain match. We'll come and go. 

Mike Ham [20:37 - 20:37]: Yeah. 

Phil Murphy [20:37 - 20:47]: So There'll be probably 75 to 100,000 people there, all told, during the day, we're going to make sure. Can you imagine the East Ward in Newark on a day that Portugal's playing. 

Mike Ham [20:47 - 20:48]: Oh, my God. 

Phil Murphy [20:48 - 20:59]: Or Brazil is playing. We're going to make sure a huge bulk of the economic impact is in Jersey. A big bulk will still be in New York City. And by the way, they deserve it. We don't get this without New York City and they don't get it without us. 

Mike Ham [20:59 - 21:00]: Right. 

Phil Murphy [21:00 - 21:07]: Because we've got the stadium, and I mentioned Liberty State park and other big assets. But we're going to get our fair share, I promise you that. 

Mike Ham [21:07 - 21:26]: Yeah. And this must be, you know, obviously, like a very, like, as a soccer fan, to be able to bring the. The biggest. You said not just sporting event, but just event, particularly soccer, to the state where I know, like. And I mentioned some other stuff. New Jersey youth soccer, we work a lot with and some other. Other organizations that are really trying to, like, grow the game. 

Phil Murphy [21:26 - 21:26]: Yeah. 

Mike Ham [21:26 - 21:36]: You know, so we've done stuff with Tab Ramos and John, you know, John Harks and John Meola, you know, so, like, I think all that kind of stuff is really important to kind of growing the game overall here in Jersey. 

Phil Murphy [21:36 - 21:37]: So if I may. 

Mike Ham [21:37 - 21:37]: Yeah. 

Phil Murphy [21:37 - 21:45]: The club World cup is a month. The World cup is six weeks in. And of those four weeks and six weeks, this will be the biggest show on Earth. 

Mike Ham [21:45 - 21:46]: Sure. 

Phil Murphy [21:46 - 22:30]: Right. And next year, you know, as I said, the granddaddy of them all. But the real litmus test to whether or not we did a good job is what will it do to the kid who never would have thought about picking up soccer or the neighborhood that doesn't today have a pitch but will have one, or what the legacy will look like 10, 20, 30 years from now. Last time the US hosted a World cup was 1994. Major League Soccer was born from that World Cup. You're going to see some very similar. I'm not sure what they'll be exactly. Quantum leaps in the sport, in community engagement. As they say about soccer, all it takes is the ball. 

Mike Ham [22:30 - 22:30]: That's right. 

Phil Murphy [22:31 - 22:56]: Anybody can play the sport. And I think in particular, driving that into underserved communities that don't right now, for whatever reason, not able to participate in the community elements of what soccer brings. That's, to me, the ultimate litmus test. And that's where the biggest legacy impact will be. 

Mike Ham [22:56 - 23:00]: Yeah, for sure. I know we're getting closer and closer to the end of this episode. I know we have. 

Phil Murphy [23:00 - 23:01]: How can that be? 

Mike Ham [23:01 - 23:08]: I know you talk to your guys here chugging right along. Jeff wants to take your portrait at the end of this, so take your picture before you go. 

Phil Murphy [23:08 - 23:11]: Jeff needs more security clearance on his shirt here before I take. 

Mike Ham [23:11 - 23:12]: He could take Matt's and we'll put. 

Phil Murphy [23:12 - 23:14]: And then Mat could use some more. 

Mike Ham [23:14 - 23:32]: We'll get them dragged out of here. New Jersey. New Jersey wine. You're a big proponent of New Jersey wine. We've done a lot of stuff with the Wine Growers association, you know, over the last few years. Let's quickly touch on that and how that stands up against wines from all over the world. 

Phil Murphy [23:32 - 23:37]: Yeah, I mean, it's a. It's a. A secret that too few people know about. 

Mike Ham [23:37 - 23:37]: Yeah. 

Phil Murphy [23:38 - 24:28]: We have a Gold cup competition every year that we host at the governor's mansion. These wines hold up in blind taste tests against the best in the world, California and France and Italy and places that have been at it for hundreds of years. And the value for money, I mean, what you have to pay for a bottle of Jersey wine that holds up globally versus what you pay for, like some big ass Cabernet name Napa Valley, is like a fraction. It's a little bit. Honestly. You know, I look at the wine industry in particular, but craft brewery spirits now, increasingly. My wife Tammy passed sort of a rule five or six years ago in the governor's mansion, assuming it exists. We only serve Jersey stuff. 

Mike Ham [24:28 - 24:30]: I love that. I'll have to come visit. 

Phil Murphy [24:30 - 24:31]: You gotta come visit. 

Mike Ham [24:31 - 24:31]: That's my favorite. 

Phil Murphy [24:31 - 24:36]: We should have done this at the Drumthwackets. Ladies to my colleagues. Maybe next time. 

Mike Ham [24:36 - 24:38]: Yeah. We'll do the radio show at. 

Phil Murphy [24:38 - 24:41]: Let's do Mansion at Drumthwacken. 

Mike Ham [24:41 - 24:41]: I love it. 

Phil Murphy [24:41 - 24:45]: But the Jersey wine industry is a real. You know, we are the Garden State. 

Mike Ham [24:45 - 24:46]: Yeah. 

Phil Murphy [24:46 - 24:59]: And we're sitting in Newark right now. Other than there's some really cool vertical farms in Newark. You wouldn't associate where we are right now with a big AG state, but we are. And wine is right in the middle of that. No question about it. 

Mike Ham [25:00 - 25:09]: I think the last question or one of the last questions that I have for you, and I love all the wine stuff because we've been able. Had the opportunity to try a lot of them from a different vineyard. 

Phil Murphy [25:09 - 25:10]: I'm a Murphy. I like to drink. 

Mike Ham [25:10 - 25:11]: Of course. 

Phil Murphy [25:11 - 25:12]: Listen, I want to get that off my chest. 

Mike Ham [25:12 - 25:29]: Yeah. I think that's why we'll get along when we hang out later, when we're talking about New Jersey and obviously people, you could talk about your legacy as governor. But I'm curious what you hope down the road in the future, however many years from now, you hope people remember you as a New Jerseyan. 

Phil Murphy [25:29 - 26:09]: Yeah, I mean, I. I haven't focused. People have asked me. I'm I'm hanging up my cleats as governor in January, so I get a lot of questions with about six or so months to go. What's your legacy? Haven't thought about that, honestly. I will say this, that we've run from day one on a very simple premise. Stronger, fairer, more responsible. So stronger is have you grown the economy, created more jobs? Fairer is are you more equitable? Have you shrunk, yawning gaps of inequity? And responsible is can people trust you again as a state? 

Mike Ham [26:09 - 26:09]: Right. 

Phil Murphy [26:09 - 26:51]: Whether it's the rating agencies or workers or counterparts, that to me is going to be the neighborhood in which I hope that folks will look back and say, you know what, they may not have been perfect, they may not have gotten everything done, but they were exactly who they said they were going to be and they made a good amount of progress. As a New Jersey guy, it'll be much more personal. It'll be the legacy of the notion, as I mentioned earlier, of my wife and I bringing our kids up, making that volitional decision to bring them up in Jersey. It'll be the friends that we've made, probably in my case, some good Jersey attitude. 

Mike Ham [26:51 - 26:52]: Sure. 

Phil Murphy [26:53 - 27:09]: The sort of you talking to me, we're from Jersey, baby, and you're not. I hope it'll be some good dose of that. We live on the shore. We love the shore. My guess is that'll be a good amount of our life going forward. Just love this place. 

Mike Ham [27:09 - 27:10]: I love it. 

Phil Murphy [27:10 - 27:14]: The people love the place. Love the attitude, the character, everything we stand for. 

Mike Ham [27:14 - 27:22]: Yeah. And I mean, I think that kind of brings us back to the beginning. Like when we talked about, you know, you don't choose where you're born, but you can choose where you, you know. 

Phil Murphy [27:22 - 27:32]: Lay your roots and you're going to get married. You and your, your wife will make those decisions and the ones we made are the best. To plant the flag here is the best call we ever made. 

Mike Ham [27:32 - 27:47]: 100%. Well, I have so many more questions, but I know that we're out of time, so I want to just thank you for taking a few minutes out of your day. My honor. Obviously a busy schedule, but I appreciate you squeezing us in. This is a great conversation. I really appreciate that. 

Phil Murphy [27:47 - 27:47]: Same with me. 

Mike Ham [27:48 - 27:52]: And we'll get you on the radio show, introduce you to the soccer guys and I'm sure they'll have a great. 

Phil Murphy [27:52 - 27:56]: Conversation with that shameless promotion for your radio show. What are your call letters? 

Mike Ham [27:56 - 28:02]: We are not terrestrial radio. We are Internet based radio. So radio Garden State Radio. 

Phil Murphy [28:02 - 28:02]: Garden State. 

Mike Ham [28:02 - 28:04]: Boom. There you go. We don't talk about it on the Internet. 

Phil Murphy [28:04 - 28:05]: Switch it around there. 

Mike Ham [28:05 - 28:05]: Yeah, that's right. 

Phil Murphy [28:05 - 28:13]: Okay. I'm looking forward to getting on there and maybe spinning some tunes or talking soccer. You're the boss at doing him toll 100%. 

Mike Ham [28:13 - 28:27]: Yeah, I got you. Don't worry, we'll take you for a great ride. Awesome. Excellent. So this has been the Greedy Speak RSA podcast. Thank you to choose New Jersey for letting us use their space. Thank you to Governor Phil Murphy for being the guest. I'm Mike Ham. Thank you for listening and we'll catch you next time. 

Phil Murphy [28:27 - 28:36]: Bye. Alright. 

Mike Ham [28:37 - 29:18]: Oh, tell me before you go all the way, do you all. Sam.