Gov Christie and the Legislative Weak Link

To be frank with you, I, as a former Governor, am cautiously optimistic about our new Governor Chris Christie. He certainly is living up to his reputation as scrappy Jersey tough. His budget address and subsequent interviews were terrific and threw into stark relief the gluttonous public sector unions. And it’s especially delicious to know Carla Katz won’t be negotiating while whispering sweet nothings in the Governor’s ear this time around.

But you see, the problem that Christie faces, and I believe the lovely Lisa Llewellyn would agree, really lies in the weak-kneed legislators and their lobbyist handlers. The big unions in New Jersey, namely the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the Communication Workers of America and the New Jersey Educators Association, have been buying and selling legislators for decades.

Yes, the problem is nationwide, where public sector labor unions are referred to as the “New Tammany Hall,” but nowhere is the union problem more acute than in New Jersey. Well, it is pretty bad in New York too, but I digress.

Rumor has it that New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney plans to give Christie just enough votes to pass his budget, allowing for zero Republican defections.

So what has Gov. Christie done to counter the threat labor unions pose to his agenda?

For starters, Christie cleared out the Republican Legislator notoriously sympathetic to the unions—State Senator Bill Baroni. Clearly, giving the man nearly $300k annually is worth marginalizing his vote.

Christie’s allies have also entered into lucrative deals with Democrats. For example, Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean and Democratic state senate powerhouse Ray Lesniak have joined forces. Lobbyist Jeff Michaels and New Jersey Democrat Uber-boss George Norcross went into business together. There are more deals out there, too numerous to list here.

Meanwhile, Democrats are keeping their jobs and wavering Republicans have been shorn up. For instance, Linda Stender has kept her job at the Turnpike Authority. Kevin O’Toole got the top spot on the Judiciary Committee.

I am no whip, so I am not going to count to votes. But it seems that Christie is dangling the promise of future returns like a carrot for support now. We wish him luck and remain, skeptically optimistic. That’s a small step for a man, but a giant leap for Jersey-kind.

Below is a list of NJEA donations to legislative GOPers. When the going gets tough, will the weak-kneed GOPers in the legislature stick with the deep-pocketed unions who can influence their election next year, or will they stick with Governor Christie?

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