If Governor Chris Christie’s presidential prospects have been damaged by the Bridgegate scandal and associated investigations, you wouldn’t know it by the amount of television cameras at the Town Hall Meeting in Port Monmouth this morning. Middletown officials estimate the crowd was about 500 people. There was easily 50 members of the media including reporters, photographers and videographers.
There was no swagger from the Governor today. No fist pumps, no snazzy introductory video, no in your face insults to hostile questioners. Christie dodged the only hostile question he heard. The Youtube moment came not from an idiot or thin skinned reporter, but from a three year old girl who said her house is still broken.
Bridgegate, the controversy over the September lane closures at the George Washington Bridge that has spurred investigations by the U.S. Attorney and a Special Legislative Committee never came up. The people who came to today’s meeting would gladly trade places with the Bergen County residents who were inconvenienced by traffic jams for four days. They been without their homes for 16 months.
New Jersey’s Comptroller issued a scathing report yesterday alleging that Newark’s Watershed Director stole millions of dollars during the Booker Administration.
The report included an referral to the Attorney General for a criminal investigation and was sharply critical of Cory Booker, the former Newark Mayor who is now a U.S. Senator, completing the term of the late Senator Frank Lautenberg.
Not a peep out of Murray Sabrin, Brian Goldberg, Rich Pezzullo or any of the other candidates for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate whose names I don’t know.
Joe Kyrillos stepped up about HUD prolonging the agony for New Jersey residents with the strongest statement I’ve heard from him in the eight years I’ve been covering New Jersey politics. How about someone who is actually running for office this year stepping up and getting from free media?
Can we get a Republican who wants to be on the ballot this year grow some balls please?
“My message to the federal government, get the resources where they are needed as fast as possible, as hard as possible and for the duration. Because the recovery process, obviously in a place like New Jersey is going to take a significant amount of time….
I told the mayors and the governors, if they are getting no for an answer somewhere in the federal government, they can call me personally at the White House.” ~ President Barack Obama, October 30, 2012
“On October 29 last year the job changed for me. It’s no longer a job, it’s a mission.
You see a mission is something that is different from a job. A mission is sacred. It’s a sacred trust that was thrust on me, and you, on October 29 of last year.
And that mission is to make sure that everyone, everyone in New Jersey that was affected by Sandy to return to normalcy in their lives.
I will not let anyone, anything, any governmental entity, or any force get in between me and the completion of my mission.” ~ Governor Chris Christie, November 5, 2013
Welcome back to Monmouth County, Governor Christie. We’ve been waiting for you.
State Senator Joe Kyrillos came out swinging this afternoon regarding the news that the Department of Housing and Urban Development denied the Christie Administration’s request to allow victims of Superstorm Sandy to continue to rebuild their homes while they are applying for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) grants.
Kyrillos implored HUD officials and New Jersey’s congressional delegation to do whatever is necessary to allow Sandy devastated residents to rebuild their lives.
“It’s ridiculous, to say the least, that the people of New Jersey are being denied access to grant money because they are trying to rebuild their lives after the worst storm ever,” Kyrillos said. “The people of my district and the surrounding areas were some of the hardest hit and their federal government should not be hindering their recovery. Our home owners should be able to rebuild as they apply for grant money and I urge our congressional delegation to get to work immediately”
Senator Kyrillos added that the people deserve a reasonable return on their federal tax dollars in the form of Sandy grants.
“A lot of good has come out of the $1.83 billion in initial aid to New Jerseyans, but the reality is that more resources are needed for this state to recover from nearly $37 billion in damages,” Kyrillos said. “New York has received about $4 billion more, so the time is now for HUD officials and our congressmen to turn their eyes to our state.”
The Associated Press reported today that HUD denied a Christie Administration request to waive a rule that all reconstruction work must stop when a property owner applies for RREM grants. The federal government wants be sure that historical structures are protected and that the properties are rebuilt to the new elevation standards. No work that is completed prior to a HUD approval of the plans will be reimbursed with RREM grants, even if the work complies with the standards.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has turned down a request from the Christie Administration that the rule requiring that reconstruction work on homes damaged by SuperStorm Sandy stop upon the homeowner applying for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation(RREM) aid, according to an Associated Press report posted on NJ.com and other outlets.
HUD rules require that the plans for all work on properties receiving RREM grants be evaluated and approved by the government. Work done without the RREM approval is not eligible for reimbursement under the program, even if the work complies with all requirements. This process has created a major logjam is funds being awarded and homes being rebuilt.
In an undated letter obtained late Tuesday by The Associated Press, HUD rejected the state’s request.
HUD says the rules, which have been the source of many complaints from homeowners struggling to rebuild after the October 2012 storm, are intended to make sure historically significant properties aren’t damaged or demolished, and that aid is not duplicated among the numerous Sandy reconstruction programs offered by federal and state governments.
Yolanda Chávez, HUD’s deputy assistant secretary for grant programs, wrote to New Jersey Community Affairs Commissioner Richard Constable listing other reasons why the rule can’t be dropped as well.
“If the construction does not meet elevation requirements and must be undone, resources will be spent with no benefit to the recovery,” she wrote.
If you’re going to Governor Christie’s Town Hall Meeting in Middletown tomorrow, expect to hear about this rule and others as the source of the delay in RREM funding, and as an explanation for why the multi-family projects outside of Sandy impacted areas, notably the Belleville and New Brunswick projects that have been in the news, have been approved while Jersey Shore residents are still waiting and not living at home.
The weather reports say it will be too warm to snow on Thrusday and Governor Chris Christie is hoping the third time is the charm.
The twice postponed Town Hall Meeting on Sandy Relief Funds is now scheduled for Thursday, February 20th, 11am, at VFW Post 2179, 1 Veterans Way (Off Rt 36) in the Port Monmouth section of Middletown Township. Doors open at 10:00 am. Seating is first come first served. RSVP’s are requested via email at TownHall.Middletown@gov.state.nj.us.
Joining Christie will be Office of Recovery and Rebuilding Executive Director Marc Ferzan, Community Affairs Deputy Commissioner Chuck Richman, Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin, Human Services Commissioner Jennifer Velez, Economic Development Authority CEO Michele Brown and Banking and Insurance Commissioner Ken Kobylowski.
A mobile cabinet meeting to assist Sandy impacted homeowners and businesses is scheduled to follow the Town Hall from 12:30 till 2:00 pm.
Congressman Rush Holt announced this afternoon that h.e will not seek a 9th term in the House of Representatives. In a statement posted on facebook, the rocket scientist/Jeopardy champion said it was a honor to serve and that there are no hidden motives in his decision to retire. “For a variety of reasons, personal and professional, all of them positive and optimistic, the end of this year seems to me to be the right time to step aside and ask the voters to select the next representative.”
Holt couldn’t debate healthcare with Rhoda Chodosh. He certainly doesn’t want to debate Dr. Alieta Eck this fall.
Holt was a candidate for U.S. Senate for the Democratic nomination in the Special Election to replace the late Senator Frank Lautenberg last summer, losing then Newark Mayor Cory Booker, the winner of the nomination and the seat, and Congressman Frank Pallone.
Democrats are lining up to compete for the nomination to replace Holt in the 12 district which includes parts of Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset and Union Counties and is considered a safe Democratic district by most political experts.
Ben Dworkin, Director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics, introduces U.S. Senate candidate Steve Lonegan at a September 24, 2013 event.
Rider University’s Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics has cancelled its 2013 Campaign Managers Conference. The annual event is designed as a open discussion of the previous year’s general election featuring key players from each party.
The recent scandals over the George Washington Bridge lane closures and allegations that the Christie Administration has been dolling out federal Sandy relief money with political and economic strings attached is the reason for the cancellation of this year’s event which was schedule for Thursday, February 20th.
Benjamin Dworkin, Executive Director of the Institute issued the following statement:
The 2013 gubernatorial campaign in New Jersey was a fascinating race, and we had eagerly looked forward to focusing on this particular race during the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics’ Campaign Managers Conference – our annual look at how modern campaigns are run.
Unfortunately, due to recent controversies and ongoing investigations, it has become clear that a full discussion of the campaign is not possible at this time. Therefore, the Rebovich Institute has chosen to cancel the conference.
We want to thank all of our panelists, including Hon. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Hon. Bill Palatucci, Adam Geller, David Turner and Michael DuHaime for their willingness to participate. We look forward to a meaningful discussion of this campaign at some point in the future.
We apologize for any inconvenience to our panelists, supporters, and for all others planning to attend this event.
The next public event for the Rebovich Institute will be Leadership & Comedy: An Evening with Hon. Jon Bramnick, NJ Assembly Republican Leader, on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 at 7 p.m.
Former Howell Mayor Joe DiBella said he “would love to” run against Congressman Frank Pallone if Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden decides against running.
Golden has been considering a run, at the behest of party leaders, for several weeks, but has yet to make a decision. Sources close to the sheriff say he is leaning against running due to his agenda in the Sheriff’s Department and the impact a candidacy would have on his family. Golden was reelected as Monmouth County’s Sheriff last November by a 64%-36% margin.
A 23 year veteran of the health insurance industry, the charismatic and articulate DiBella would offer a sharp contrast to Pallone, the self-professed author of ObamaCare, in matters of both style and substance during a federal election when once again ObamaCare is expected to be the predominant issue nationally. DiBella is an Executive Vice President of Connor Strong & Buckelew, the prominent insurance broker run by South Jersey’s Democratic power broker George Norcross and Joseph Buckelew, the former Republican Mayor of Lakewood.
