Despite all of the huffing and puffing that surrounded the buildup to the state budget, in the end, Gov. Christopher Christie was not as powerful as he hoped he would be in influencing state legislators, nor as powerful as Democrats feared.
This circumstance has nothing to do with the numbers. The state Democrats passed the budget they wanted, and the Republican governor vetoed what he didn’t like, so in some ways politically both sides can claim victory, and blame the other for the negative impact the budget will have in the future.
Christie is literally the bull in the china shop, moving through state government with a vengeance that has shaken some of his own previously strong supporters so that some polls recently done suggest that he might not be able to get reelected as governor.
But Christie is a hit with other people because he reacts in much the same way to the bureaucracy as ordinary people do, and this is both his blessing and his curse, sometimes creating the impression that his decisions are more knee-jerk than well-reasoned.
But in the end, Republicans will be able to sell Christie as “true champion” of reform, while Democrats can sell him as insensitive to urban and poor of the state and it will be curious to see which prevails in the upcoming elections for the state legislature – since there will be two more budget battles before Christie must seek reelection in 2013.
The problem is: he might actually get what he asks for and then will truly have to live with the outcome of proposed budget cuts, and won’t have a Democratic legislature to blame for the negative outcomes.
Not that Brian Stack, another one
Some people unfamiliar with the state budget process took notice of an odd item in the governor’s portion of the budget: $10,000 set aside for a Brian Stack intern program.
While the most of the items were related to operating the governor’s office or had to do with national governor organization membership, the Stack item stood out as a bit odd to some lawmakers, especially since the item was placed with the governor’s office expenses. Was this some devious way to help fund Christie’s favor Hudson County state senator?
Apparently not. There are actually two Brian Stacks, one who is Christie’s friend in Union City, and another who was an intern in the governor’s office, and whose death was commemorated by establishing this fund.
Who said Christopher Christie doesn’t have a heart?
Scrambling for a candidate
U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez got a boost last week when biotech millionaire John Crowley, whose story was depicted in the Harrison Ford film Extreme Measures, announced he would not run against him in 2012. Polls showed Crowley would face off favorably against Menendez, and this leaves the Republican Party scrambling for another candidate.
Hoboken council comes out swinging
The Hoboken City Council reorganization meeting on July 1 looked a lot like the last scene of the classic film “The Godfather,” in that the agenda was fully loaded with dynamitic items that did much to shoot down the hopes of those opposing the administration of Mayor Dawn Zimmer.
Opponents, however, said some of the moves made at the first meeting of the newly constituted City Council will provide them with plenty of ammunition to use against Zimmer when she runs for reelection in 2013.
Supporters say the council’s moves put Zimmer back on track and will allow her to carry out the agenda she first introduced when she became mayor in 2009.
Zimmer lost control of the council last November when Tim Occhipinti beat Michael Lenz in a special 4th Ward election, but regained the council majority July 1 after her candidates prevailed in the 5th and 6th wards.
Her supporters complain that over the last sixth months, her opponents conducted a campaign to derail her efforts and make her administration look foolish.
Now with the council majority again on her side, her supporters say, she will be able to get on with what she wanted to do and will be judged by whether her vision for Hoboken works or doesn’t.
The big issues are managing the budget, the current federal investigation into possible email tampering, and the sale of the hospital.
“Dawn is beatable,” one opponent said, pointing to the hospital sale as one vulnerable area, and recent polls that show that Freeholder Anthony Romano appears to be a likely contender. He will likely get support of various unions, the local business community, and city entities that dislike Zimmer’s close relationship to Gov. Christie.