Christie Has New Fleece, Baby. The Super Bowl Is In New Jersey And The Weather Will Be Fine

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Christie Roasts Boomer Esiason At The Friars Club

With Governor Chris Christie’s schedule this week…Super Bowl events, appearances on sports talk radio, and Howard Stern’s Birthday Bash, one might think that he is letting the media frenzy over Bridgegate just roll off his back.  He’s having a good time and basking in the limelight.

But Christie’s appearance at the Friar’s Club to roast Nassau County Hall of Fame quarterback Boomer Esiason reveals that Bridgegate has taken a toll on Christie’s fun.

You may have read that the lawyer handling the Bridgegate inquiries for Christie’s office is earning $650 per hour.  Being a good Republican, Christie apparently cut the budget elsewhere to come up with those funds.  His comedy writer must have gotten the axe.

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Samson Loses Rockefeller Group’s Business

David Samson

The real estate developer at the heart of Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s allegations against the Christie Administration has fired it’s law firm, Wolf and Samson, according to a report in the New York Times.

The law firm is led by Port Authority of NY/NJ Chairman David Samson, a former NJ Attorney General.  Samson, who has been subpoenaed by the legislative committee investigating the George Washington Bridge lane closures that have dominated the state and national political news this month and put Governor Christie’s presidential prospects in jeopardy, appears to be a central figure in both the Hoboken and George Washington Bridge controversies.

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Christie to attend Howard Stern’s Birthday Bash

Governor Chris Christie is scheduled to attend radio shock jock Howard Stern’s Birthday Bash tomorrow evening at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan.   Stern is turning 60.

Stern spoke out in support of Christie last week.

It’s Stern. There is language that some may find offensive in this video.

The birthday show, which published reports say will last from 2 1/2 – 4 hours will be livestreamed here.  There is a pre-show at 4PM.  The main event starts at 6PM.

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New Jersey’s Difficult Choices

Governor Chris Christie can no longer claim that New Jersey is a model for bi-partisan governance that Washington should emulate.

Yesterday, Senate President Steve Sweeney, playing the role of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) before The Star Ledger’s Editorial Board, threatened to shut down New Jersey’s goverment if Governor Chris Christie doesn’t support a budget for the next fiscal year that makes the state’s payment into the pension system required by the “landmark” legislation that Sweeney and Christie hammered out in 2011, and that Christie has touted as one of his major accomplishments.

Sweeney is reacting to what Christie said about the pension system during his State of the State Address two weeks ago.

Here’s what Christie actually said:

Lastly, let me share with you one more, hard truth that makes this new attitude of choice necessary for New Jersey’s future.

We have discussed many exciting opportunities for investment in our state. K-12 education. Higher education. Crime prevention. Drug rehabilitation and job training. Health care. Infrastructure investment. Lower taxes. Job growth. All exciting, all of which, done responsibly, could make New Jersey an even greater place. But here is the simple truth. We cannot afford to do it right now.

Why?

Because of our pension and debt service costs. For the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget, the increase in pension and debt service costs could amount to as much as nearly $1 billion.

That’s nearly $1 billion we can’t spend on education. That we can’t invest in infrastructure improvement. That we can’t use to put more cops on the street. That won’t be available to improve access to health care. And for those who would advocate for higher income taxes like the ones I have vetoed before, remember that the amount raised would not even cover the increase in our scheduled pension payment and would undoubtedly make us less competitive in the job market nationwide.

These are the consequences of failing to engage in an attitude of choice. If we continue in an era where we believe we can choose everything, we are really choosing nothing. We need to have the conversation now about further changes to our pension system and to adding further to the state’s debt load. But the time to avoid this conversation and these choices is nearly over.

If we do not choose to reduce our soaring pension and debt service costs, we will miss the opportunity to improve the lives of every New Jersey citizen, not just a select few.

I am ready to engage in those conversations and help, with you, to truly create an attitude of choice. The result will be a better, smarter, stronger New Jersey. The results from our refusal to choose – a weaker New Jersey with a middle class burdened by even higher taxes. That is an abandonment of our duty.

Centuries ago, a philosopher wrote that “choice, not chance, determines your destiny.”  And this remains true for New Jersey today.

Our destiny is not set – it is the product of the choices we make. Our future is not set – it, too, is the product of the choices we make from this day forward.

So let us choose wisely.  And let us not fail to act.  Let us create an attitude of choice.

 

Christie concluded that we should choose to fund better schools, safer streets and creating opportunity “for every citizen, through an excellent education, a productive job, and a thriving community.”

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Good News, Bad News Polls For Christie

Two polls release this morning indicate that the news avalanche over “Bridgegate;” the George Washington Bridge lane closures and Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s allegations that Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno and other Christie Administration officials said that Sandy relief was contingent upon a development approval have taken a heavy toll on the public’s opinion of Governor Chris Christie.

A Wall Street Journal/NBCNews national poll points to a sharp reversal of American’s opinion of New Jersey’s Governor.  29% view Christie unfavorably while 22% view him favorably.  In an October 2013 poll, 33% view the governor favorably, while only 17% viewed him unfavorably.

In New Jersey, Christie still has positive numbers, but the stratospheric approval numbers he has enjoyed since Superstorm Sandy crushed the Garden State have evaporated in the heat of Bridgegate.

The Farleigh Dickson University Public Mind Poll released this morning says that Christie’s job approval rating is below 50% for the first time since May of 2011.  48% of New Jersey registered voters approve of the job he is doing, while 39% do not.   53% of FDU’s respondents think Christie probably knew about the GWB lane closures before they happened.

Any ‘normal politician’ would be very happy with the kind of numbers that FDU put out Christie today.  Given the beating he’s been taking in the media, that the voters who know Christie best still approve of him by +9 points, even though they think he probably lied when he said he knew nothing of the GWB lane closures before they happened, the FDU numbers are very positive.

New Jerseyans and the rest of the country are paying close attention to the Christie controversies. 85% of NJ voters told FDU they were watching closely.  79% of Americans are aware of the story, according to the WSJ/NBC poll.

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Zimmer testified that she does not keep a diary

HudsonCountyTV.com is reporting that attorney Louis Zayas of North Bergen claims that Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer testified under oath during a deposition that she does not keep a diary, calendar or memo pad to help her remember events that occur in the city she governs.

Zimmer claimed on MSNBC’s Up with Steve Kornacki last Saturday that Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno told her that Sandy Relief money was contingent on the approval of a proposed Rockefeller Group development.  Zimmer offered Kornacki her diary to support her claims against Guadagno and says she has since turned the diary over to the U.S. Attorney.

Zayas, the attorney who won a $440,000 award discrimination lawsuit against Hoboken last month said at the time that the jury in that case did not believe Zimmer’s testimony. Zayas is currently suing Zimmer and her husband, Stan Grossbard, on behalf of Carmelo Garcia, the head of the Hoboken Housing Authority and a New Jersey State Assemblyman representing Hoboken, for alleged  racial discrimination and “ethnic cleansing.”

Zayas keeps a framed photograph of himself and Governor Chris Christie on prominent display in his law office, as can be seen in this HudsonCountyTV video.

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Will New Storm Brew Over Hiring and Firing of Shore Rebuilding Contractor?

Will New Storm Brew Over Hiring and Firing of Shore Rebuilding Contractor? (via NJSpotlight)

Rebuilding of the Jersey Shore in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy has been touted as Gov. Chris Christie’s signature accomplishment in his first term. But the administration recently fired — with no public announcement other than a posting on a state…

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Christie bridge scandal: Despite U.S. Attorney’s subpoenas, N.J. lawmakers press forward

Christie bridge scandal: Despite U.S. Attorney’s subpoenas, N.J. lawmakers press forward (via NJ.com)

TRENTON — State lawmakers leading the legislative investigation of the George Washington Bridge lane closures today said they plan to proceed with their probes even as the U.S. Attorney is dropping subpoenas in the case. State Assemblyman John Wisniweski…

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U.S. Attorney’s Office Subpoenas Christie’s Reelection Campaign and State GOP

PolitickerNJ is reporting that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has issued subpoenas for documents to the Christie for Governor reelection campaign and the New Jersey State Republican Committee.

“Patton Boggs has been retained to represent the Christie for Governor re-election campaign and the New Jersey Republican State Committee in connection with investigations being conducted by the US Attorney’s Office and the legislative committee,” said Patton Boggs attorney, Mark Sheridan.

“We can confirm that the Christie  for Governor re-election campaign and the New Jersey Republican State Committee received subpoenas for documents from the U.S. Attorney’s office, in addition to the subpoena the campaign previously received from the state legislative committee.  All three subpoenas focus on the closure of lanes on the George Washington Bridge.  The campaign and the state party intend to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney’s office and the state legislative committee and will respond to the subpoenas accordingly.”

 

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