NJ Lt. Governor Announces Bid For Governor, Takes Jab At Christie
KEANSBURG, NJ (CBS) -- New Jersey's first Lieutenant Governor has now entered the fray to seek her boss's job.
Kim Guadagno used a speech in her home county of Monmouth to not just launch her Gubernatorial campaign, but to deliberately distance herself from Governor Chris Christie. She even brought back one of the issues that dogged Christie early on.
"I have traveled tens of thousands of miles in several cars that you pay for," Guadagno said. "I don't do the helicopter."
Christie cut back on his use of a state police helicopter early on in his administration after getting criticized for taking the chopper to see his son play a baseball game.
Guadagno took credit for trimming the state's jobless rate in half and pledged to continue to bring jobs to the state if elected saying she'll work for New Jersey and only New Jersey, a reference to Christie's frequent out-of-state travel.
And she promised to limit state spending and lower taxes, opting to take the actions many families are already doing. "Cut out the luxury items. Cut up those credit cards and stick to the basics. State government has to do the same," she told supporters. "We simply do not have the money to turn the state house into the palace of Versailles."
Christie is working on a $300 million, four-year overhaul of executive offices at the state capitol, a plan that has received mixed reviews in the legislature.
Guadagno faces Somerset Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, Nutley Commissioner Steve Rogers and Ocean County businessman Joseph Rullo in next June's Republican primary.
Four Democrats are seeking their party's nomination. They are State Senator Raymond Lesniak, Assemblyman John Wisniewski, former US Ambassador to Germany Phil Murphy and onetime Treasury Undersecretary Jim Johnson.
