Christie, Democrats Have Different View Of State Of The State Of NJ
By David Madden
TRENTON, N.J., (CBS) -- New Jersey Governor Chris Christie delivered his 6th State of the State address to a joint session of the legislature in Trenton.
Christie and legislative Democrats do not see eye to eye on how things are in the Garden State.
Christie's 50 minute address opened with a bit of a joke. "It's good to be home." A clear reference to his being out of New Jersey most of the year pursuing the Republican Presidential nomination.
READ: Gov. Christie's 2016 State Of The State Address Transcript
The speech was a greatest hits list, sprinkled with a wish list of program improvements and criticism for Democrats for pursuing dedicated funding for state pensions.
There was a jab at President Obama's state of the union address. "It's the world as he wishes it was, not the real world his failed leadership has left to all Americans."
Democrats in response insist Christie had his political interests front and center. Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald said, "It was Chris Christie running for President. His audience was not the people of New Jersey."
Perhaps the biggest disagreement, and political problem in the year ahead, is the legislature's push for a constitutional amendment requiring state pensions be fully funded. Christie suggested that to accomplish that goal, taxes would have to be raised by 3 billion dollars or spending cut by the same amount, affecting everything from hospitals and schools to law enforcement.
And Christie hinted Democrats would not be above board about how they would get that extra funding. "They won't tell you now," he said. "They'll wait till the dark of night in some smoke filled back room and then they're going to take your money."
Democrats respond by insisting that without the amendment, the state's bond rating will continue to plummet. Assembly speaker Vincent Prieto agreed with Greenwald that the Governor was probably more concerned about a national audience. "I didn't get much of it as a State of the State as just lecturing and pandering," Prieto told reporters in Trenton.
The Governor highlighted past bipartisan cooperation and called for increased funding for education and drug treatment programs. Democrats say he'll pay for that by shortchanging the pension fund. He also called for repeal of the estate tax.
