5 million YouTube views

Governor Chris Christie’s YouTube channel reached the 5 million viewer milestone yesterday.   His office released a reprise video in celebration:

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Governor Chris Christie Calls On State Legislature To Act On Tax Relief At Special Session

Remarks As Prepared For Delivery

Good afternoon, Lt. Governor Guadagno, Senate President Sweeney, Speaker Oliver, and all the members of the Legislature.  I take my constitutional powers and responsibilities seriously, as I know you do.  When there are pressing matters that I believe must be addressed, it is my responsibility to call our Legislature into special session. 

Giving the certainty of tax relief to our citizens and making our state more competitive with our neighbors in job creation—today—will allow us to put more New Jerseyans back to work this summer.  What could be more important for us to do today?

I know it’s been a long year and I know over the last few weeks each of you have been working hard to bring this legislative session to a successful conclusion.  We did many great things together.  But there is one greater thing left to do—lock in tax relief today that will help to create new jobs tomorrow.

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Christie to Monmouth County Residents: Conserve water, don’t use fireworks

Water emergency to be repaired by July 4th

Gov. Chris Chrisite boarding a State Police helicopter on his way to address a power outage in Atlantic County after addressing the press in Monmouth County about the current water crisis. Photo by Art Gallagher

Oceanport, NJ- Governor Chris Christie implored Monmouth County residents to conserve water and to express their patriotism by not shooting off private fireworks for the duration of the water crisis caused by the major infrastructure failure at New Jersey American Water Company’s Swimming River water treatment plant.  Addressing the press at the Wolf Hill Recreation area in Oceanport, Christie said “if a lot of things go perfectly” the water crisis will be over by the July 4th holiday.

Christie announced that residents of twenty two towns should boil their water before drinking or cooking.  Those towns are : 

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Governor Christie Calls Special Session To Make Case for Middle-Class Tax Cut

Trenton, NJ – Determined to reverse the path chosen by Democrats in the legislature to impose an $800 million tax hike on New Jersey residents, while holding middle-class tax relief hostage, Governor Chris Christie today called for a special session of the state legislature Monday.

In a letter to Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, Governor Christie noted the fundamental choice confronting Democrats in the legislature:

“Continue to move forward by letting people, and not government, enjoy more of the earnings produced by their own labor, or take a step back to repeat the days where taxes are the answer to each and every challenge,” said Governor Christie.

Yesterday, for the third year in a row, Governor Christie signed into law a constitutionally balanced budget that delivers on key priorities for the people of New Jersey without raising taxes – despite attempts to inflate spending and raise taxes.

“That budget, which contained billions of dollars in spending, failed to address the single issue that strikes at the heart of our shared interests, and our continued prosperity. Lowering the tax burden imposed on every New Jersey resident is a matter of unique and critical public interest that demands our immediate and full attention,” the Governor wrote to the legislative leaders.

Beginning with his budget address in February, Governor Christie sought to reach agreement on tax relief and, for a time, received numerous commitments from legislative Democrats to not raise taxes – only to have those commitments pulled back in favor of a massive tax increase. The Governor said in his letter today that he seeks to address both houses of the legislature to communicate his objections to bills which together betray those promises.

The Governor closed his letter to Senate President Sweeney and Speaker Oliver by noting the impending celebration Wednesday of Independence Day. It was 236 years ago that the forefathers recorded in the Declaration of Independence that they had united against the “history of repeated injuries and usurpations” imposed by government, including the imposition of taxes “without our consent.”

“Today, our citizens deserve the same opportunity to decide whether a new direction, embodied in the recommendations I will share, is needed to end the cycle of tax increases that has paralyzed our State’s growth, and stunted our citizens’ progress,” the Governor said.

“When you convene this Monday at 11:00 a.m., I will ask for the opportunity to address your members on the two paths that face all who are fortunate enough to serve as elected representatives.”

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Water Emergency Will Last Until At Least Sunday Evening

The water emergency caused by “a major infrastructure failure” at the New Jersey American Water Company’s Swimming River water treatment plant in Middletown will last until at least Sunday evening, according to an announcement on the Borough of Rumson’s website.

All Monmouth County residents are advised to refrain from non-essential use of water and to boil water before consumption.  Outdoor water use is banned until the state of emergency is lifted.

Governor Chris Christie and Cabinet Officials will be holding a press conference this afternoon, 1:45, at the Wolf Hill Recreation Area, Oceanport to update the public on the water main break situation.  MMM will be there.

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Governor Christie Delivers Third Balanced Budget Without Raising Taxes, Protects Key Priorities for New Jerseyans

Amends Budget to Restrict Spending to Lower Levels than FY2008 and FY2009 Budgets, Provides Sound $600 Million Surplus

Press Release

Trenton, NJ – For the third year in a row, Governor Chris Christie today signed into law a constitutionally balanced budget that delivers on key priorities for the people of New Jersey without raising taxes. The Governor’s Fiscal Year 2013 Budget as enacted spends $31.7 billion, which is lower than the Governor’s originally proposed budget as delivered in February 2012 and lower than the budget passed by the Legislature. This year’s budget continues the return to fiscal discipline and controlled spending, while focusing on funding critical priorities that speak to the needs of all New Jerseyans. The Fiscal Year 2013 Budget is smaller than both fiscal years 2008 and 2009, while still increasing aid to schools to the highest level of state spending on K-12 education in the state’s history.   

Governor Christie said, “The budget the Legislature sent me violated two core priorities of this Administration – it denied tax relief to our hard working, middle-class families while proposing an $800 million tax increase and rejected fiscal responsibility by including millions in new spending that threatened to undo the hard won progress of the last two years. I am unwilling to surrender the gains we have made to establish fiscal responsibility in the state budget by raising taxes on our people at a time when they need and deserve tax relief. The budget I am signing today reverses irresponsible funding decisions, establishes funding levels based on realistic and responsible revenue assumptions, and increases our surplus to a healthy level that paves the way for continued economic growth.”

“The revised budget I signed today would continue to fuel the New Jersey Comeback if it included immediate tax cuts for New Jerseyans. After two hard years of shared sacrifice we’re no longer on the brink of fiscal catastrophe. Because of the tough and difficult choices we’ve made, this year’s budget allows us to make an unprecedented commitment to education, make one of the largest pension payments in our state’s history and fund critical programs that protect our most vulnerable,” said Governor Christie.

Governor Christie put Corzine Democrats on their heels by vetoing $361 million in unnecessary or unsupported spending that threatened to reverse the renewed fiscal health, economic growth and investment of the last two years. In addition to piling on new spending in the budget, Corzine Democrats tried to circumvent the tough choices required to meet a balanced budget by passing additional spending bills outside of the process. As Governor Christie has repeatedly said, spending needs to be accounted for as part of a comprehensive budget plan.   

“This spending as usual is just more of the same mentality that plagued the eight years before I became Governor when there was reckless spending and a cycle of raising taxes and fees every 25 days. We cannot go back to the old way of doing things which got us into a fiscal mess in the first place. Corzine Democrats need to realize that they cannot add millions of dollars in spending outside of the budget when every homeowner, student or family faced with financial choices is spending within their budget,” said Governor Christie.

As a result of Governor Christie’s actions, the budget signed into law today maintains a sound, responsible surplus of over $600 million – more than double the Fiscal Year 2013 projected ending fund balance from the Governor’s originally proposed budget and exceeds the levels in the budget as passed by the Legislature. This sound surplus and the fact that the Administration aggressively manages government throughout the year is a signal that the state’s fiscal health is on strong footing.

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Christie: SCOTUS confirmed what we knew all along–ObamaCare is a tax

Governor Chris Christie issued the following statement about the Supreme Court’s decision on ObamaCare:

“I’ve been clear from the very beginning that I do not believe a one-size-fits-all health care program works for the entire country and that each governor should have the ability to make decisions about what works best for their state. Today’s Supreme Court decision is disappointing and I still believe this is the wrong approach for the people of New Jersey who should be able to make their own judgments about health care. Most importantly, the Supreme Court is confirming what we knew all along about this law – it is a tax on middle class Americans.”

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We’re Still with You, Mr. Governor

By Matt Rooney, cross posted from SaveJersey

Governor Chris Christie took his tax fight to a standing-room-only town hall crowd in Brick Township (Ocean County) yesterday afternoon.

And at that Brick gathering, my dear Save Jerseyans, we caught a welcome glimpse of the no-nonsense style of politics that quickly transformed Chris Christie into a national figure; you’ll likely remember his viral warning to beachgoers in the run-up to Hurricane Irene:
 

Surely, the contrast between Christie and Corzine in Election ’09 couldn’t have been clearer. I was proud to have been one of his earliest and most vocal grassroots supporters. I still am.

But what is our state party’s winning contrast with the liberal legislature right now in this ongoing budget fight?

I’m with MMM‘s Art Gallagher on this one, Save Jerseyans. There is no meaningful contrast.

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The Return of Corzine Democrats…..and Whitman Republicans

Photo Credit: NJ.com

Governor Chris Christie has taken to the town hall stump declaring that the Corzine Democrats are back.

“In the last couple weeks, we’ve seen an ugly type of Democrat start to rear its head again,” Christie said during a town hall last week. “I think you thought you had slayed this type of Democrat in 2009 — that you had taken the wooden stake and out it through this type of democrats heart. But I am here to tell you today that I fear this type of Democrat has returned to the state legislature. You know what kind of Democrat I’m talking about: A Corzine Democrat.”

The governor will likely expand on the Corzine Democrats theme at his town hall meeting in Brick this afternoon, as he did last evening in his statement about the budget passed by the Democratic State Legislature yesterday:

“With today’s budget, Corzine Democrats reversed course and sent a loud and clear signal that they want to go back to the eight years prior to my administration when taxes and fees were raised every 25 days. After two years without raising taxes, the only way to feed the Corzine Democrats’ obsession is to hold tax relief hostage. I will not allow New Jersey to go back to the same failed policies that nearly put our state over a fiscal cliff. Tax relief for our hardworking families is long overdue and that is exactly what I will continue fighting for.”

But the budget the Democrats passed doesn’t raise taxes once every 25 days.  It doesn’t raise taxes any day.  It also doesn’t reduce income taxes as Christie’s budget proposed.  Nor does it reduce property taxes as the proposal that Senate President Steve Sweeney reneged on would have done.

The budget that the Democrats passed spends $400 million less than the budget Christie proposed.

Christie’s budget would have increased spending 8% with a phased in 10% income tax reduction.  It relies heavily on one shot gimmicks and increased borrowing.  Christie’s revenue projections, which the Democrats have acceptted, are based upon extremely optimistic assumptions that seem to have little grounding in reality. New Jersey’s economy would have to suddenly start growing faster than the rest of the country in order for Christie’s revenue projections to come close.   That sounds a lot like the fiscal cliff that the Whitman/DiFranceso/Bennett Republicans drove New Jersey over in the 1990’s until New Jersey voters kicked them out of power in 2003.

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Jersey Boys: Christie and Springsteen

Jeffery Goldberg’s account in The Atlantic of the Springsteen concert he attended with Governor Chris Christie and his entourage at The Rock is a must read for friends and foe of Christie.  Mitt Romney’s vetters and the DGA will be reading it.  You might as well.

Hat tip to our friends at InTheLobby.

Christie is having a Town Hall meeting in Brick on Tuesday the 26th, four days before the State’s budget is due or the government shuts down, except for the State Police and the Casino Control Commission.

Bruce is invited but probably won’t show.  You are invited too!

The meeting is at the Lake Riveria Middle School, 171 Beaverson Road, Brick.   It starts and 3PM.  Doors open at 2:15.  RSVP here is you are going.

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