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Governor Christie’s Sunday Evening Briefing on Hurriane Sandy

Watch live streaming video from governorchrischristie at livestream.com
Posted: October 28th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Chris Christie, Hurricane Sandy | Tags: , | Comments Off on Governor Christie’s Sunday Evening Briefing on Hurriane Sandy

Christie: “If I turn out to be right, and you turn out to be dead, that’s not a good equation. Don’t be stupid. Get out.”

Posted: October 28th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Chris Christie, Hurricane Sandy | Tags: , | Comments Off on Christie: “If I turn out to be right, and you turn out to be dead, that’s not a good equation. Don’t be stupid. Get out.”

Christie: “If it looks stupid, it is stupid”

Governor Declares State of Emergency

Orders Mandatory Evacuation of Barrier Islands and Atlantic City Effective 4PM Sunday

Urges Residents to Use Nice Weather Saturday and Sunday to Get Prepared

Warns Retailers Against Price Gouging

Governor Chris Christie thanks first responders from the East Keansburg Fire Company prior to his Hurricane Sandy preparedness briefing in North Middletown

Middletown- Governor Chris Christie flew into to Middletown this morning to announce that he has declared all of New Jersey under a State of Emergency in preparation of Hurricane Sandy.  The storm is expect to made landfall in New Jersey, somewhere between Cape May and Seaside late Sunday.

Christie has ordered a mandatory evacuation of New Jersey’s barrier islands south of Seaside and Atlantic City effective at 4PM on Sunday.  All roads heading into those locations will be closed.

Residents of the northern coastal regions of Monmouth and Ocean Counties are left to their own discretion to voluntarily evacuate, pending updates from the National Weather Service.

Christie said that when shelter is needed that, except in those areas being evactuated, residents should stay in their homes or arrange to stay with family members.  Shelters are being set up in all counties for those who can not stay at home or with family.  The State will have five shelters open in the event of overflow at the county shelters.

“As we move towards what is an increasingly likelihood of seeing Sandy make landfall in New Jersey, I am urging all New Jerseyans to take every possible and reasonable precaution to ready themselves for the storm’s potential impact. That means having an emergency action plan for their families and other loved ones who may require assistance, and avoiding unnecessary risks in the severe weather, including staying off of the roads,” said Governor Christie. “At the state level, we are taking immediate steps to prepare for the storm’s impact and ensure that state, local and county governments have the tools they need to manage and respond in a coordinated way. With this, government at every level can respond more effectively to conditions on the ground, activate emergency operations plans, and ensure that resources are being marshaled to assist and protect the public through this storm.”

Christie encouraged residents to stay off of the roads during the storm and announced that NJ Transit will cross honor tickets and passes, Monday through Wednesday, giving those commuting to work greater access and flexibilty to public transportation in the event that their normal routes are closed due to the storm.

The governor emphasised that, unlike previous storms that have move through quickly, Sandy is expect to move slowly and impact the area for up to three days.

Utilities repair crews will not restore power while the storm is ongoing. Power outages are expected to last for as long as 7 to 10 days.

Residents should consult http://www.ready.gov/ for updates and preparedness tips.

In response to a reporter’s question, Christie urged residents who are using power generators to make sure they are doing so correctly according to the manufacturers’ directions.  “If it looks stupid, it is stupid,” the governor said, responding to the question about residents sharing power from generators with their neighbors via extension cords.

Following Christie’s briefing to the press and about 200 Middletown residents, his office issued a warning to merchants against price gouging.

“During emergencies, New Jerseyans should look out for each other – not seek to take advantage of each other,” said Christie. “The State Division of Consumer Affairs will look closely at any and all complaints about alleged price gouging. Anyone found to have violated the law will face significant penalties.”

Price increases are deemed excessive under the law if they are more than 10 percent above the price at which the good or service was sold during the normal course of business, prior to the state of emergency.  The law does allow that, if the merchant faces additional costs imposed by suppliers or legitimate logistical concerns, a price increase is considered excessive if it is more than 10 percent above the amount of markup from cost, compared with the markup normally applied.

Violations of the price-gouging law are punishable by civil penalties of up to $10,000 for the first offense and $20,000 for the second and subsequent offenses. Each individual sale of merchandise is considered a separate and distinct event.

Posted: October 27th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Chris Christie, Hurricane Sandy | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Christie: “If it looks stupid, it is stupid”

Christie defends Oxley nomination

State Street Wire, the pay sister site of Politickernj, is reporting that Governor Chris Christie said that the controversy State Senator Ray Lesniak is making over former Monmouth County Sheriff Joe Oxley’s nomination as a Superior Court Judge is “just another excuse” by Lesniak and the Democrats not to give Christie’s judicial nominations confirmation hearings.

Lesniak wants the FBI’s files from their investigation into Solomon Dwek’s allegations that Oxley, while sheriff, tipped off the real estate swindler to foreclosures in Monmouth County prior to the information becoming public.  Oxley has refused to authorize the release of the files and the Justice Department has declined Lesniak’s appeal that the public interest outweighs Oxley’s privacy.

Christie said that his successor as US Attorney, Paul Fishman, found “no factual basis” in Dwek’s claims.

Christie said he knows first-hand how the data provided by cooperating witnesses can be.

“Sometimes it can be reliable, sometimes it can be fiction,” he said.  “I think it’s unfair to put that kind of fiction on the public stream.”

Christie said that the judiciary committee should do its job and hold a confirmation hearing for Oxley.

Oxley has referred requests for comment to the governor’s office.

As a practicing attorney, Oxley could have legitimate reasons, including attorney-client privilege, for refusing to authorize the release of his recorded conversations.

Posted: October 23rd, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Chris Christie, Joe Oxley, Monmouth County Court, NJ Courts, NJ Democrats, NJ Judiciary, NJ State Legislature | Tags: , , | 2 Comments »

Final Senatorial Debate Airs This Morning

The final debate of the race between U.S. Senator Bob Menendez and State Senator Joe Kyrillos for a 6 year term in the U.S. Senate was taped for television yesterday afternoon.  It will air at 9:30 this morning on ABC in Philadelphia and at 11 on ABC in New York.  NorthJersey.com reports on the debate here.

NJ.com has an excellent write-up contrasting Menendez and Kyrillos by Matt Friedman and Jarrett Renshaw.

Kyrillos will be attending the 14th Dushahra Celebration in Edison this afternoon at 3:50.  This morning he makes a South Jersey swing, appearing at the Southern Jersey Jewish Coalition Brunch at the Hotel ML in Mount Laurel at 10:30.  At 11:20 he will be attending the Blackwood Pumpkin Festival before heading to Atlantic County for the Smithville Irish Festival at 1:20.

Governor Chris Christie will be campaigning with Kyrillos in Princeton tomorrow, 10:30am at the Princetonian Diner on Route 1.

Posted: October 14th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: 2012 U.S. Senate Race, Bob Menendez, Chris Christie, Joe Kyrillos | Tags: , , , | 5 Comments »

Governor Christie: You need a Trenton to English dictionary to understand Democrats

Posted: October 12th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: 2013 Gubernatorial Politics, Chris Christie | Tags: , | 2 Comments »

If it’s Sunday, It’s Chris Christie

Governor Chris Christie will be appearing on the Sunday morning talk shows of ABC, CBS and NBC this weekend.

Christie will be live with George Stephanopoulos in ABC’s  “This Week”, 10am in New York and rebroadcast at 10:30 am in Philadelphia.

The interviews with CBS’s “Face the Nation” and NBC’s “Meet the Press” will be taped.  Face the Nation airs at 10:30 am in both New York and Philadelphia.  “Meet the Press” airs at 10:00 am in Atlantic City and at 10:30 am in New York and Philadelphia.

Following his live interview with Stephanopoulos, Christie is scheduled to attend the 25th Annual Governor’s Military Review at the New Jersey National Guard Training Center in Sea Girt at 11am.

Unless Stephanopoulos is broadcasting from Sea Girt, Christie will very likely be traveling from ABC’s studio in New York to Sea Girt via helicopter.  Expect Democratic whining on Monday.

Posted: September 28th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: 2012 Presidential Politics, Chris Christie, Media | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on If it’s Sunday, It’s Chris Christie

Poll biases: It’s not just the sampling weights

As some national polls show President Obama widening his lead in his race for another term, much has been made about the sampling weights that pollsters use.  Analysts on the left insists the polls are accurate.  nalysts on the right say the polls are inaccurately favoring Obama by assuming his supporters will come out on election day in the same numbers as they did in 2008.

But its not just weighting that reveals a pollster’s bias.  The way the question is asked also makes a difference.

In a Monmouth University/Asbury Park Press  poll  about the 2013 New Jersey gubernatorial race released this morning, pollster Patrick Murray asked if voters were “bothered” with how Governor Chris Christie interacts with his critics and detractors.

Thinking about Chris Christie’s style and not his policies, does the way he speaks to or about people who disagree with him bother you personally or not bother you? [If BOTHER: Is that a lot or just a little?]

63% of respondents said they weren’t bothered by Christie’s style.  23% said they were bothered a LOT and 11% said they were bothered a LITTLE.  Given the way Murray asked the question, one could conclude that 74% of New Jersey voters are indifferent about Christie’s style.

In his narrative of the poll, which sets the tone for how much of the lazy lefty media covers it, Murray highlights his spin on Christie’s style.

“NEW JERSEY ON CHRISTIE’S STYLE: ‘MEH!’ ” is Murray’s headline.   His opening sentence:

Governor Chris Christie’s job approval rating has ticked up a few points in the latest Monmouth University/Asbury Park Press Poll and few New Jerseyans are particularly bothered by the way he deals with people who disagree with him.

Notice the use of the word few.

Christie’s numbers are the highest they ever been in a Monmouth poll. 55% of registered voters approve of the governor’s performance. 36% do not approve.

Yet Murray spins the results to read that a few people like him better and a few people are bothered about how he talks to people who don’t agree with him.  The few who are bothered take top billing over the fact disclosed but not reported that Christie’s numbers are better than ever in Murray’s poll.

What does that tell you?

The Asbury Park Press’s coverage of the poll leads with the “bothered” question.

The headline at NJ.com for an Associated Press story is Christie’s approval rating up slightly, poll says.

To their credit, PolitickerNJ cut through Murray’s spin and covers the poll results very well.   They reported the real news of the poll results;  New Jersey’s sagging economy is not hurting Christie’s popularity with voters and that of potential Democratic challengers in 2013, only Newark Mayor Cory Booker and former acting Governor Richard Codey have sufficient name recognition to be considered credible candidates for governor next year.

What if instead of asking if voters were bothered by Christie’s style, Murray asked if they liked his style?   If Murray had done that, the headline would be:

CHRISTIE’S APPROVAL AT ALL TIME HIGH

New Jersey voters like his style

Posted: September 27th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: 2013 Gubernatorial Politics, Art Gallagher, Chris Christie, Cory Booker, Monmouth University Poll, NJ Media, Patrick Murray, Richard Codey | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

O’Scanlon Blasts Democratic Colleagues, Statehouse Press Corp Over S &P Outlook Spin

The three major credit rating agencies affirmed the credit ratings of New Jersey’s bonds within the last week.   Two of the three, Moody’s and Fitch affirmed the outlook for the State’s credit as stable.  However, while affirming their AA- rating today, Standard and Poor’s lowered their outlook for New Jersey from stable to negative.  S&P’s rationale for lowering their outlook is that they consider Governor Chris Christie’s revenue projections optimistic.

Democratic legislators, Assembly Budget Committee Chairman Vincent Prieto, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Paul Sarlo and Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald, a potential gubernatorial candidate next year, all jumped on the S&P outlook downgrade to score political points against Christie.  The Statehouse Press Corp was happy to advance the negative spin.

Monmouth County’s Declan O’Scanlon, the Assembly Republican Budget Officer, fired back against the Democrats and the media for “crowing” about the S&P report while falling mute over the Fitch and Moody’s reports is a scathing statement:

“My Democrat colleagues are like vultures seeking to pounce on potential prey despite the fact that their appetite will not be satisfied by one agency’s outlook,” said O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth. “They are always ready to jump on what they perceive to be negative news and many in the media buy into their political theatrics. Instead of working with the governor and Republicans in the Legislature, they continue to wait for gloom and doom predictions.

“The conduct and glee from our leading legislative Democrats is remarkable and disturbing. For days, they sat silent when two ratings agencies affirmed New Jersey’s credit rating in response to the Schools Development Corporation bond offering and today are dancing in the streets when a third rating agency – after also maintaining the state’s credit rating – gave an outlier’s opinion and lowered its outlook,” explained O’Scanlon. “To see this kind of political opportunism and rooting for failure from individuals entrusted with some of the highest leadership positions our government offers is disgraceful. Their Swiss cheese, fragmented perception of reality – with the holes miraculously lining up with anything positive about our state’s fiscal condition – is disturbing, but not surprising.”

“That our Statehouse press corps simply gobbles the partisan nonsense up so willingly is also a real disappointment, stated O’Scanlon. “That is especially so when you see them blindly quoting even those lawmakers who so vigorously fought bipartisan pension and benefits reforms in an effort that would have crippled New Jersey’s long-term efforts to fix our long-term economic health.

“Had we followed the path of the very people now attacking the Governor the outlook for the state’s future would be dramatically worse. They cannot, with a straight face, criticize this Governor with any credibility,” said O’Scanlon. “It was this governor that has started to turn our state around – and he had to fight the very people now attacking him in order to do that. The governor and Republicans know we are in a difficult economy and these are risky times. But we are also not afraid to make tough decisions. Previous Democrat administrations talked about tough times, but never took action. Without taking decisive action to fix many of our state’s problems,New Jerseywould be in a financial abyss.

“The Democrats’ are selling a bill of goods to the public and the media which conveniently ignores their eight-year record of expanding government spending and want us to believe their distorted view of reality,” commented O’Scanlon. “We have more work to do in turning our state around, but I am much more confident entrusting our state’s future with the Christie administration than its Democratic predecessors.”

 

Posted: September 18th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: 2013 Gubernatorial Politics, Art Gallagher, Chris Christie, Declan O'Scanlon, Fitch, Legislature, Moodys, New Jersey State Budget, NJ Media, NJ State Legislature, Standard and Poors | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Christie: New Jersey has earned the right to be proud of itself again

Posted: September 12th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Art Gallagher, Chris Christie | Tags: , , | 7 Comments »