Author Archive

Brent Johnson | December 3, 2013 | Star-Ledger

They compare him to French President Charles de Gaulle at the end of World War II. They call him a “happy warrior.”

But above all, the staff members of GQ bestowed a new honor on Gov. Chris Christie: “Boss of the Year 2013.”

The magazine included the Republican governor in its latest Men of the Year edition, saying “he might be the only politician in America who had a good 2013.”

“In New Jersey, he was stalwart in the wake of (Hurricane) Sandy — first providing storm victims a shoulder to cry on, then browbeating D.C. politicians into delivering the aid money those victims desperately needed,” GQ writes in a featurette on Christie. “Nationally, he was a lone voice of reason in an increasingly insane GOP, picking fights with everyone from John Boehner (over that Sandy relief) to Rand Paul (national security). Along the way, he turned himself into that most unlikely of pols: a happy warrior.”

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Jonathan Tamari | November 21, 2013 | The Inquirer

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Ohio Gov. John Kasich has seen Gov. Christie at his pugnacious best, so he knows what the rest of the country should expect as New Jersey’s famously blunt governor takes on a new job that will have him crossing the nation to campaign for fellow governors.

“Christie, he’s now like a force, so people want to be around him,” Kasich said at a conference at the luxurious Phoenician resort here, where Christie is set to become chairman of the Republican Governors Association on Thursday.

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Bill Mooney | November 20, 2013 | PolitickerNJ

ATLANTIC CITY – They are about as diverse a group of leaders as could be assembled in one room: three Democrats, two Republicans; some elected, some appointed; one ruled for eight years while one served less than four days.

Some have become revered elder statesmen. One who resigned in disgrace has endured as a champion for social causes.

They served in vastly different eras from the mid-1970s into the early years of the 21^st century, but former Govs. Brendan Byrne, James Florio, Donald DiFrancesco, John Bennett and James McGreevey share a bond: They once sat where Gov. Chris Christie sits now, and were in prime position Wednesday at the N.J. League of Municipalities’ conference here to assess Christie’s successful re-election romp and what might await him.

Byrne, the only member of this quintet to achieve a second term, expressed surprise that Christie did not have coattails to pull in some GOP legislative wins, but Bennett summarized why that happened: the map produced by redistricting left only two or three truly competitive districts whereas in his era he estimated as many as 10 districts year in and year out could be considered competitive.

During the session moderated by News 12’s Luke Margolis, the ex-governors were in general agreement on why Christie won and won easily: A combination of his post-Superstorm Sandy charismatic leadership, the weakness of his opponent, Sen. Barbara Buono, the inherent power of incumbency; and his style of leadership as seen in direct contrast to the chaos that was occurring in Washington, D.C.

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Jenna Portnoy | November 20, 2013 | The Star-Ledger

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Gov. Chris Christie arrived on the impeccably manicured grounds of the Phoenician Resort Tuesday with one stated goal for his term as chairman of the Republican Governors Association: To elect governors from his party.

But along with the resources to influence 36 governor’s races next year, Christie assumes the power to help shape the GOP’s future — and his own.

“There’s a perception that Republican governors are the future,” said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University.

From Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, the outgoing RGA chairman and New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Republican governors count among them a number of potential presidential hopefuls.

But, according to early polls of 2016 voters, Christie is at the top of the list.

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Lynda Cohen | November 5, 2013 | Press of Atlantic City

Atlantic City has a new mayor.

“With that, it’s over,” Mayor Lorenzo Langford said as he prepared to concede the race when he saw Republican challenger Don Guardian’s lead was too much to overcome with two districts still out.

Unofficial results from the Atlantic County Clerk’s Office showed Guardian with 3,066 votes to 2,904 for Langford, with all 21 districts reporting. John W. McQueen Jr. had 145 votes.

“It’s very humbling,” said Guardian, who admitted he worried down to the last few districts as the numbers came in for the tight race.

“Sometimes David beats Goliath,” the mayor-elect told supporters who crowded into the Tun Tavern to hear him claim victory. He joked about writing three speeches, including a concession speech and one if the race were “too close to call.”

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Jenna Portnoy | November 6, 2013 | The Star-Ledger

Gov. Chris Christie, a hard-charging federal prosecutor turned political celebrity, trounced Democrat Barbara Buono on Tuesday, easily winning re-election in a race viewed as a precursor to a bid for the White House.

It was the first time a Republican took more than 50 percent of the popular vote in a statewide election in New Jersey since President George H.W. Bush did so a quarter century ago. Even in a blue state, one-third of Democrats voted for Christie, rejecting Buono, a state senator whose candidacy seemed doomed from the start as party leaders abandoned her for the popular governor.

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Steve Peoples | November 7, 2013 | Associated Press

Gov. Chris Christie was re-elected with ease Tuesday, demonstrating the kind of broad, bipartisan appeal that will serve as his opening argument should he seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.

With 94 percent of precincts reporting, Christie had 60 percent of the vote to Democratic state Sen. Barbara Buono’s 39 percent, putting him en route to become the first Republican in a quarter-century to receive more than 50 percent of the New Jersey vote.

This, in a state that President Barack Obama carried a year ago by more than 17 points, his biggest margin in the nation.

“Thank you, New Jersey, for making me the luckiest guy in the world,” Christie said in a victory speech late Tuesday in the shore town of Asbury Park.

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The Record Editorial Board | October 31, 2013 | The Record

OVER RECENT election cycles, the 38th Legislative District has been considered “in play” by political observers. This year with Republican Governor Christie atop the ballot and vowing to make newfound gains across Bergen County, it may be one of the most competitive races in the state.

The district, made up overwhelmingly of towns in central western Bergen County, and also including Hawthorne in Passaic County, is a difficult one to measure ideologically. The Democratic slate is a hodgepodge, with state Sen. Bob Gordon of Fair Lawn leading a ticket that includes one other incumbent, Assemblyman Tim Eustace of Maywood, and one newcomer, Joseph Lagana of Paramus, drafted to fill the ballot slot once occupied by former Assemblywoman Connie Wagner, who chose not to seek reelection.

The Gordon team is opposed by a trio of formidable Republican challengers, including Senate candidate Fernando Alonso, an Oradell attorney and Fairleigh Dickinson University educator and program director; and Assembly candidates Joseph Scarpa of Rochelle Park and Joan Fragala of Fair Lawn.

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Bill Mooney | October 30, 2013 | PolitickerNJ

TRENTON – Further evidence that the closer election day nears, the more intense the campaign rhetoric becomes.

There is a mailer making the rounds in LD15 that slams Democratic Sen. Shirley Turner by linking her to the capital city’s most high-profile criminal defendant, AKA Mayor Tony Mack.

Underneath his photo and a headline about his corruption indictment, the mailer proclaims: “Tony Mack was career politician Shirley Turner’s choice to lead Trenton.”

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Mark Bonamo | October 30, 2013 | PolitickerNJ

FAIR LAWN – Gov. Chris Christie stopped for a moment during a Wednesday campaign stop in Bergen County to bluntly state why incumbent State Sen. Bob Gordon (D – Bergen) should be ousted from his seat.

“He’s an obstructionist and has not been willing to be bipartisan in any way,” Christie said immediately after speaking to more than 100 people at the Fair Lawn Senior Center and before continuing his statewide bus tour. “And anything he says to the contrary is just opportunist.”

Christie’s comments came after the governor called on Legislative District 38 voters to vote for the GOP slate, led by Oradell attorney Fernando Alonso. The Bergen-based district is one of a targeted handful that Christie is focused on in the final days of the campaign in his push to put the state Senate in Republican hands.

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